Uncle Larry's Funeral: Cedar City, Utah

Three weeks after my mother had a pacemaker surgically installed to keep her heart beating normally, her brother, Larry Olsen, passed away. Uncle Larry, although colon-cancer free for 6 months, lost his life to an infection due to a hospital stay for stomach inflammation. He passed away in the hospital surrounded by his wife and children.

I frantically made arrangements for my Mom and I to fly into the busy Las Vegas airport during the July 4th weekend. Chris, my oldest sister, and her daughter drove from California to meet us and drive us to St. George, Utah where we would stay for 5 nights. We arrived in the lobby of the airport and were welcomed by this sign:

 You Are Not In Kansas Anymore--Welcome to Vegas!

 (just had to snap a picture)

The weary travelers managed to travel from the airport to Mandalay Bay hotel where we waited for 3 hours for our ride. Needless to say, my Mom was not in the best emotional or physical health for this trip, however, I was proud of her for remaining calm, focused, and alert in traveling to our destination.

Click here to View Uncle Larry's Obituary

After arriving at our Howard Johnson hotel, we became aware that we would be more comfortable and spend the same amount of money at a different hotel. The sights, sounds, and smells made us keenly aware of the busy vacation industry and the repercussions of booking a hotel only 2 days out!  The wonders of PRICELINE enabled us to secure a 3-star hotel for the same price and a much more accommodating environment! The stress of moving to another part of town was worth the effort for our own sanity and comfort.

St. George was the destination for an evening viewing for my Uncle Larry. This is where we met up with my cousins--Troy and Jolene (5 Boys)--Laurie and Kevin Barrett  (3 children)--Marty Olsen---Lisa and Ken Albright (1 child) and my aunt Sharon. My Uncle Mike also was in attendance, however, my Uncle Clair was too ill to attend any of the services. Three of his children attended, however, we did not get to visit with them.

Uncle Larry and Aunt Sharon spent the majority of their life in Cedar City, Utah and we traveled their the next morning for the funeral and graveside service.  My Mom's youngest brother, Uncle Mike, came from Salt Lake City for the funeral. He recently was recovering from Throat Cancer and had lost a lot of weight! It was a short, sweet, and happy reunion for my Mom and Mike.

The funeral services for Uncle Larry were touching and beautifully presented by his loving children and grandchildren. We all felt the spirit and were edified and uplifted with the knowledge that Larry is with his Mom and Dad. My Mom held up pretty well considering all that she was going through. She was so proud of my Aunt Sharon for her strength and resolve and I believe she wanted to be strong for Sharon.

 My AUnt Sharon and I were laughing at the fun times we used to have POWER shopping at the Jones Store when her and Uncle Larry visited us in KC. She also gave me so pointers of serving as Relief Society President as that was her calling at one point.

 Marty Olsen--Kevin and Laurie Barrett--Sharon Olsen --

Troy and Jolene Olsen--Lisa and Ken Albright

Uncle Larry's posterity--children, spouses, grand-children. One grand-child was serving a mission in Colorado, Springs and was not in attendance.

 The women appear in this picture with Uncle Mike--my Mom's youngest brother.

 Sharon Nuffer Olsen's adopted brother and his family. Sharon's brother has a very large family and was so loved by Uncle Larry and Sharon.

I took Katherine, my niece, to a play at Tuacan. My cousin, Lisa and her husband Ken and Sharon also attended the in-door play.

The airline flights to and from Vegas were only affordable if we stayed for 5 days and nights. My Mom was very worried about leaving my sick Dad for that long, but Tanya and Kim were taking good care of him. Mom and I managed to enjoy our time with Sharon, Troy, Jolene and their cute boys. We played Mormon Bridge in honor of Uncle Larry and even got to attend the Elder ordination of Troy's second son, who got his mission call to Canada--SPANISH speaking!

I was able to relax and upload some of Aunt Sharon and Lisa's digital genealogy files, histories, and photos and I even took some beautiful photos of the breathtaking scenery in St. George!