The Trail to Tincup by Joyce Lynette Hocker

Author:Joyce Lynette Hocker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2018-05-21T04:00:00+00:00

Three Memorials at Tincup

On July 7th, family and friends have been notified that we will hold a service at the cemetery for Mom, Janice, and Dianne. Tom and Gary arrive the day before. We plan a full memorial service for Mom in Colorado Springs. As we prepare to go to the cemetery, I remember something.

“Do you have Janice’s ashes?” I ask Tom.

“Uh, no. Guess I’d better get those.” Tom retrieves the ceramic blue-and-green vase containing Janice’s ashes. Ed brings a small box containing some of Dianne’s ashes.

We all drive the rocky road to the Tincup cemetery. Walking past the spot Janice and I discovered as children, we gather at our plot. Mom and Dad’s summer friends join us at the Tincup cemetery to mourn and honor Jean. Her brother Fred and his wife Mary place a rosebush with white roses behind her spot, knowing it won’t last the winter. I love seeing the roses, as I know Mom would. Mollie and Morris sit on the bench at their site next door.

First, we honor Jean, whose friends have come to be with us. Not knowing whether he will be able to stand, Dad sits in a deck chair that Ed’s best friend Clyde has brought for him, while others sit on logs or stand. At the right time, Dad rises and tells the story of the day Jean said “Yes” to his proposal. His voice sounds strong and firm. We bury Jean’s ashes, pouring them directly into the hole Ed and Clyde dug. We hadn’t found the right container in the short time since she died. I wish I had thought of one of her quilted pieces to wrap around the ashes.

Not knowing whether people will want to stay for the service for Janice and Dianne, we create a break and give friends a chance to leave, but they all stay. Many friends seem stunned at the experience of burying three family members at one time. We hold abbreviated, separate memorials for each in turn. Ed reads what he wrote for Dianne’s service in Colorado Springs, about the wildfires in the forest and the fires of their love. Gary plays a song for Dianne on his Native American flute. I read a poem for Janice, Thomas Centolella’s “In the Evening We Shall Be Examined on Love.” Tom reads a rewritten John Denver song for Janice. Gary plays “Morning Has Broken,” and prays. Newton gives a benediction. His dignity and love for Mom and Dad help us.

The two marker stones are made of dark red granite, with white incised letters. Dianne’s marker reads, “Not all who wander are lost.” Ed has told us how much it meant to Dianne to be welcomed into our family circle after a life that felt like wandering. Janice’s stone reads, “Born of love, bearer of the light of kindness.” We agreed that Janice’s essence was kindness. Mom’s granite stone will have to wait until next spring to be ordered and set. We place Janice’s and Dianne’s

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