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Celebration of Life Ceremony for Douglas!!!
The Celebration of Life was fantastic!! OMG, the food kept coming from the kitchen -- the cedar planked salmon was to die for -- and the pepper crusted new york strip was heavenly, plus the salads, potatoes, green beans, chicken in herb and garlic, etc. The dessert was made by Whole Foods -- a carrot cake with a fantastic design. The piping along the edge was "tie-dye" and the main design was a yellow VW van (circa 1967). It had peace signs for the wheel covers, on the front tire, hippies in the bus with a dog in the back. It was covered in flowers of all colors -- Douglas would have been so excited!
There were over 60 people at this event (room held 50) and it was such a blessing to see and feel the love for this incredible man. His family, friends, co-workers, and his caregiver while I was at work. We laughed, cried, told "many" stories and laughed some more. The pictures that were on display went from birth to his death -- and we loved them all.
At the end we set off the balloons with his picture on them (same as the one on this site). I inscribed them with "In loving memory of Douglas Gordon-Jorgeson" June 28, 1947 - July 17, 2009. The room I rented has a huge balcony that overlooks Snoqualmie Falls. The waterfall was perfect -- and the balloons would dip down and them up and over the enormous fir trees up toward the heaven and snow capped mountains. The day was sunny and I know that Douglas was there listening to his favorite tunes -- "Pink Floyd" "Moody Blues" "Beatles" and the list goes on.
My family left the next day and I crashed!! What an exhausting week I had -- and today, Monday, I stayed home from work to recuperate and reflect on the life of my wonderful husband -- and cry some more from happy, not sad. He is loved by so many people, especially me, and I am glad that I took the big step to honor and celebrate his life. The healing process for me is difficult and this celebration helped me to realize just how many lives he influenced -- not just mine, but friends and other family alike. Douglas will never be forgotten.
Lots of pictures were taken and I am waiting for all of the photographers to get the discs to me so I can share with all of you here. Thank you so much for being supportive and loving. I return all of that to each of you -- along with a HUGE hug!
Peace!
There were over 60 people at this event (room held 50) and it was such a blessing to see and feel the love for this incredible man. His family, friends, co-workers, and his caregiver while I was at work. We laughed, cried, told "many" stories and laughed some more. The pictures that were on display went from birth to his death -- and we loved them all.
At the end we set off the balloons with his picture on them (same as the one on this site). I inscribed them with "In loving memory of Douglas Gordon-Jorgeson" June 28, 1947 - July 17, 2009. The room I rented has a huge balcony that overlooks Snoqualmie Falls. The waterfall was perfect -- and the balloons would dip down and them up and over the enormous fir trees up toward the heaven and snow capped mountains. The day was sunny and I know that Douglas was there listening to his favorite tunes -- "Pink Floyd" "Moody Blues" "Beatles" and the list goes on.
My family left the next day and I crashed!! What an exhausting week I had -- and today, Monday, I stayed home from work to recuperate and reflect on the life of my wonderful husband -- and cry some more from happy, not sad. He is loved by so many people, especially me, and I am glad that I took the big step to honor and celebrate his life. The healing process for me is difficult and this celebration helped me to realize just how many lives he influenced -- not just mine, but friends and other family alike. Douglas will never be forgotten.
Lots of pictures were taken and I am waiting for all of the photographers to get the discs to me so I can share with all of you here. Thank you so much for being supportive and loving. I return all of that to each of you -- along with a HUGE hug!
Peace!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kim Hawkins on
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Brigitte this sounds so nice. I am thinking about during something like this also. My husband Barry passed away on June 5th, 2008. That was a very sad day for me but I have came to realize that it was a great day for him because he went to be with our Father in Heaven. He told me while he was sick he wanted to get better because he was scaced to leave me and our two kids. But one thing he was not afraid of was knowing he would be going to see our great God in Heaven. So I am thinking about planning something for June 5th of this year which will be 2 years. I cant believe it sometimes it does not seem that long and other days it seems longer. But I think celebrating his life and his day he entered the gates of heaven may help him not hate that day so much. I would like to hear more about what you did . Did you have different people get up to speak? How did all that work. I am also planning on starting a foundation in my Husband memory. I have to look into all the details on this. But It would be nice to tell all of our friends and family that day about the new foundation. Hope to hear some details soon. Take Care
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Permalink Reply by Yvonne on
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I am so glad it was such a great day for you Brigitte. It sounds like you had a lot of fun shared a lot of memories of a wonderful man, husband, father, friend and made many new memories. Can't wait to see the pictures...especially of that cake.
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Permalink Reply by Deb on
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Brigette,
It sounds like you had an absolutely beautiful day celebrating the life of your
Douglas with family, friends, coworkers, and the people whose life was touched by your Douglas. I, too, am looking forward to your pictures of the event. Now, try to get some rest and relax a little. You have been one busy lady! Take care. God bless.
Debbie -
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Permalink Reply by BoLynn on
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Sounds like a lovely evening. Douglas must have a big smile on his face. My husband's service was not called a "funeral".....no, no, no! It was called a celebration of life. We laughed and cried as we celebrated the life of a man that was loved by so many. They sang for him as they did in the hospital and hospice. Shared a lovely dinner. Nobody wanted to leave after it was all over. How blessed we are to have had wonderful men in our lives.
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Sounds like a lovely evening. Douglas must have a big smile on his face. My husband's service was not called a "funeral".....no, no, no! It was called a celebration of life. We laughed and cried as we celebrated the life of a man that was loved by so many. They sang for him as they did in the hospital and hospice. Shared a lovely dinner. Nobody wanted to leave after it was all over. How blessed we are to have had wonderful men in our lives.
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Permalink Reply by kathleen caylor on
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Great job!Sounds like you're very proud.And you should be!Can't wait to see the pics!I think I'm living vicariously through your party.And it feels good.Thanks,Kathy
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Permalink Reply by Brigitte on
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Here are "some" of the pictures. More coming. Love the cake!!! The last photo is me with my son in law!
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The first photo is the cake -- carrot cake by Whole Foods (my absolute favorite store).
Second photo is one of the room with "some" of the many people who attended. The white balloons have his face on it with the words "In Loving Memory" then his name, date of birth and date of death below the photo. The picture is the same as the one on this site -- I love it!
Third photo is me (the "old" woman) with my son in law from Charlotte, NC. He is kinda cute!
I should have more pictures next week and will share. The room has a balcony and the Snoqualmie waterfall is there. You can hear the waterfall so clear. When we let the balloons go they dipped down the gully, and slowly came back up, floated over the evergreen trees toward the sky with the Cascade mountain range in the background. Loved it!!!
Oh, and Tom -- cake, no ice cream (darn).
Brigitte -
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Wonderful tribute for a "cool" guy! Thank you for sharing the pictures.
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Permalink Reply by Pamela Thomas on
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I'm so happy to hear that the day went well for you. Douglas is very proud of you. Stay strong, and continue to enjoy the wonderful memories.
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Thanks for the pics.And the hugs!I think this was a step in the right direction.As Lois said we can't move forward if we're always looking back.We have to hold these memories close to our hearts as we take these baby steps.These will sustain us.On April 25th(hubby's b-day)we had a BBQ and a lot of stories to share.Let the HEALING begin!!!PEACE to you,Kathy
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