Paul and Stacy Jensen Family

Thanksgiving Weekend

A multi-post travelogue of our adventures in Utah.
Part III

Saturday was the day of the Funeral and the main reason we had made this epic journey. Our morning consisted of hasty attempts at preparing for the cold weather anticipated for the graveside service. Coming from 85-90 degree weather in Florida and landing in 40 degree weather in Utah was manageable while driving from place to place and building to building. Keeping a 3 year old warm while standing quietly during a funeral was another challenge all together.

The funeral date was shared with the largest football game of the year. The BYU and UofU game was played in Provo that afternoon and as always, is the largest producer of bad traffic in the entire valley. We picked up Mike from his hotel on the way down to Payson and made it to the chapel with little incident. We did notice quite a few people driving south from Salt Lake City trying to keep their red clothing under wraps until they arrived at the stadium.

The service was wonderful. The whole Onines family made it as well as a good majority of the rest of Grandma's family. The service at the chapel was very touching. Marsha Boyle gave a life sketch of memories and anecdotes from Verda's life. Steve Onines spoke of the plan of salvation as well as some of his memories. Glenn Boyle lightened the mood with his comments and informed us of the rest of the plans for the day.


At the end of the service, the casket was taken to the cemetery on the back of a horse drawn wagon and those that wanted to were able to walk behind the wagon to the graveside service. Ash Boyle played the bagpipes and Elver Boyle dedicated the grave. Despite the chilly temperatures, the sun was shinning and the company was warm.


After the graveside dedication everybody returned to the chapel for a lunch and an impromptu story telling session. Stories shared ranged from tender and poignant to cheeky and almost bordering on off-color. Just like Grandma.

After the services, the Onines family decided to meet up for an evening meal and family get together in Springville at Glen and Sharon's house. Since we had a couple hours before that event, we decided to drive up Springville canyon to spend a little bit of time in the mountains and practice driving on a curvy road. On our way back down the canyon we came around a bend in the road and stopped just in time to watch 8 deer cross the road. The only thing missing was snow.

Like most large families, when the Onines clan gathers, food folks and fun is guaranteed to ensue. The party broke up into two groups. The 'adults' stayed upstairs talking and catching up. The 'kids' stayed down in the basement watching TV and entertaining themselves. I stayed down in the basement with Cavell and the rest of the younger cousins. I think our gathering was a little quieter than the one upstairs. A good time was had by all. The only thing we missed was a group picture.

Pictures taken by Stacy at the funeral can be seen here.
Pictures taken by Lee can be seen here.