My Brother's Funeral

           Funerals are normally sad occasions, but as with everything else in life, there is a good side too. 

            Recently my brother, David, passed away.  By man’s law, David would have been considered my half brother.  David had other siblings as well; 2 brothers and 2 sisters (not including my brother and sister, who had met David, but never developed a relationship with him).  The younger of David’s siblings I had met, but I was not aquatinted with the older two.

            When I heard of my brother’s passing I found myself looking forward to the funeral; I wanted to meet his family so bad and be with the people he loved.    They were stories I had heard about, like the guy who David looked up to as a father, because his dad (my dad) wasn’t present in David’s life, and the sister who lived on an island in Florida; not to mention the older brother who was a steady anchor in David’s life.  I knew their names and I had seen their faces in photos, but I had never sat with them or spoke to them.

            On the day of David’s funeral the forecast called for rain.  As I left the house that day my mom forced an umbrella in my hand despite my declaration of a dry occasion.  And what a beautiful day it turned out to be.  The ride between Marion, Ohio and Bucyrus was so awesome!  There were flowering peas of golden yellow stretching across the fields, with low lying white fluffy clouds hovering above like a blanket of comfort.  The corn looked like it could touch the sky and the first day of fall was present in its leaves.  There were browns, shaded greens and yellows as the fields flew by.  Such a lovely ride as puppy dog faces formed in the sky.

            Then came that awkward moment when you arrive at a funeral and you realize you only really know two faces out of all the people who are there.  But it didn’t take long to find comfort in each other’s presence. We weren’t strangers for long.  And later in the day, when it came time for family pic’s, they invited me in the mix.  My brother’s funeral was everything I hoped it would be - a celebration of everlasting love. That is my brother’s legacy.   

In Memory of

David Joseph Plumley

July 19, 1974 - September 18, 2019

"Live On"