An unexpected trip to Utah

On Matthew's birthday (November 21st) my Grandma Sally passed away. She was with her husband, Jack, my mom, and my Uncle Stephen and Aunt Betsy as she passed. She was sick for a very, very long time. Before we moved to Pennsylvania, Chris and I took a trip to Oregon to visit with her. We knew she may not have much longer and we wanted to be able to spend some time with her before we moved to the other side of the country. I am so glad we were able to do that.

Anyway, we didn't say anything to our boys that day because I didn't want Matthew's birthday to always be remembered as the day that Grandma Sally passed away. We waited until the weekend and then told them. They were both very sad and talked about how they missed her. Just the other day Matthew asked about Jack and whether or not he was around family. He asked if he was all alone and whether or not he was sad. It was so sweet. Jack is the reason that this unexpected trip to Utah happened. I knew that in my grandma passed while we were living in Philadelphia, we probably wouldn't be able to attend her funeral. Also, it just so happened that the funeral was the day before one of Chris's finals. Jack offered to pay for my flight (which was insanely expensive) and Chris made sure I knew that going to Utah for the funeral was a priority - no matter how hard it made things on him.

So off I went! I was gone for a total of 29 hours and 10 of those hours were spent in the air. 

When I got to Utah the first order of business was food - since all I had to eat was the above pretzel and soda. In-n-Out, of course. Then I was able to visit with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins. I slept like a rock, thankfully, and the next morning we headed to the church pretty early. My Aunt had been so busy preparing things. She had a beautiful display of Sally's life.

I'll save my feelings and thoughts from the viewing and funeral for my private, personal journal. I don't think I have gathered them all yet. As a matter of fact, I think I will set a goal to go write in my journal tonight. Since I've had this blog, I rarely write anymore. But this is a good opportunity.

Anyway, I'm grateful that I was able to be there. Here are a few pictures...

My Aunt Betsy made this beautiful quilt. It's amazing to me!

 

My super cool cousin-in-law (is that a word?) Dave and my cousin Andrea...

More family... The ward that housed us was so generous. They prepared a beautiful luncheon for the family after the funeral. I was so touched at their generosity.

All of the Duford cousins, minus my two brothers. Kenny is on his mission and Michael wasn't able to get time off work. He was able to Skype with my grandma during her last few days, though, and I know that was special for everyone involved.

Here we are with Jack, my grandma's 2nd husband.

The service was beautiful. My flight left later that afternoon, so I wasn't able to go to the graveside service. Instead I was able to spend some time with Chris's family. We drove to Cafe Rio. The weather was pretty gloomy, so this picture was about the only time I was able to see the beautiful mountains. I felt like Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings talking to Galdalf about mountains. "I want to see mountains again, Gandalf. Mountains!"

It was so nice seeing my two sweet little nieces! I got to hold Cambria while waiting in line and I did not want to let her go.

 

I had about an hour for lunch before I had to get back to the airport and it was nice being able to visit with them. I think it was almost 2 years since I had seen them, with the exception of Sara who came to visit us while we were in Arizona. 

I got to the airport pretty early and found a place to charge my phone. I read for a while before having to get on the plane.

I sat next to a nice guy on the plane home and we talked a lot about music and religion and life. It was nice to pass the time. I was soooo happy to be home and see my boys again. I felt like I was gone for so long, but it was so very short.

I wanted to include a copy of my grandmother's obituary, written by my Aunt Betsy, so that I can have it with the rest of my blogs/journals. Here it is...

Sally Cheere Olsen Duford Woldberg

1931 ~ 2013

Sally Cheere Olsen Duford Woldberg passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 21, 2013 in Salem, Oregon. She was 82. Sally was born November 12, 1931 in Price, Utah, the youngest child of Bryan and Viola Olsen; she joined brothers Kenneth, Douglas and Vaughn. She was raised on a farm in Price, where she loved being with all the animals. She was her daddy's shadow, and she also loved following along with her big brothers wherever they went. Sally attended schools in Price and graduated from Carbon High School in 1950. She attended Carbon Jr. College, where she was editor of the school newspaper. She also attended the University of Utah, and years later attended Brigham Young University. She lived in Lewiston, Idaho and then moved to Santa Monica, California, where she met a handsome man named Paul Duford.

Sally and Paul were married March 3, 1956 in Santa Monica, California. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Los Angeles LDS temple. They were blessed with two sons, Kevin and Stephen, who they raised in Van Nuys, California. Sally worked for many years as an operations officer for Bank of America. She and Paul, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, lived in Van Nuys until Paul's retirement in 1990. Following that they lived in Longview, Texas, and then in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they served a LDS Church Service mission together in the Family History Department.

After Paul's death in 1994, Sally served a second Church Service mission in the Human Resource Department in the Church Office Building. She met and later married Jack Woldberg September 4, 1996 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They lived in Camarillo, California for several years, later in Kingman, Arizona, and finally in Salem, Oregon.

Sally was an active member of the LDS church, where she served faithfully in many Relief Society callings, including as President. Sally was loved by all who knew her. She compassionately reached out to so many people throughout her lifetime. She was a great listener. She could sense a need and didn't hesitate to help. Sally was always so observant of the beauties of nature and enjoyed painting them and, as a gifted writer, writing about them. More than anything, though, Sally's family was her life and she gave her all for and to them. Her 8 grandchildren were the light of her life.

Sally was preceded in death by her first husband, Paul, her parents and brothers, and her grandson Stephen William. She is survived by her second husband, Jack, of Salem; sons Kevin (Irene) of Kingman, Arizona and Stephen (Betsy) of Salem, Oregon; grandchildren Michael (Amber), Nichole (Chris), Andrea (Dave), Bryan (Stephanie), Brent, Elder Kenny Duford, and Jill; and 5 great-grandchildren: Matthew, Aaron, Benjamin, Taylin and Caleb.

Funeral services will be held Monday, November 25, 2013 at the Heatheridge 5th Ward Chapel, 2000 N. 450 E., Orem, Utah at 10:00 a.m., with a viewing there at 9:00 a.m.. Sally will be buried in the Price City Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Services are in the care of Fausett Mortuary. Family and friends may sign the guest book and share memories of Sally at www.fausettmortuary.com.