Grandpa

Mar 15, 2018, 1:50 PM

I don't remember if I posted this story before but if I did it should still generate a laugh. The story was told to me several years ago. The event happened probably in the late 1940's or early 1950's. At that time most funeral homes did not have facilities for visitation or for on-site services. The common practice at that time was for the funeral home to prepare the body and return the casket to the home. On the day of the service, the casket was moved to the church or to the cemetery if there was to be only a grave-side service.

Grandpa lived with his extended family in the mountains in Northern Oconee County. Having reached an advanced age and suffering from poor health, Grandpa passed away. The funeral home was called to come up to the house, pick up Grandpa and make all of the necessary preparations. Living in the mountains all of his life and never venturing far from his home, Grandpa never had a store-bought suit. His wardrobe consisted only of blue denim "Oshkosh, by Gosh" overalls.

The staff at the funeral home thought Grandpa would look better in a suit than he would in a pair of his overalls. One of the staff went to a men's clothing store and bought a cheap suit for Grandpa. After all of the preparations had been completed, Grandpa was returned to his home in the mountains and was to remain there until the day of his service.

Sometime later, the funeral home got a call from one of Grandpa's family members, asking them to send someone up to help them get Gramdpa back in the casket. That was all of the information the funeral home received. Naturally, they were wondering why Grandpa was out of the casket. When they arrived at the mountain home, they soon discovered why Grandpa was not in the casket.

That was the first time the children and grandchildren had seen Grandpa dressed in a store-bought suit and he really looked nice all dressed up. Family members decided they wanted photos of Grandpa all dressed up. Grandpa was removed from the casket and proped up in a chair as family gathered around Grandpa as the camers were clicked. Someone remarked that Grandpa didn't look natural with his eyes closed. It was suggested they put a pair of sun glasses on Grandpa and take mrre photos.

After the photo session was over, some of the men attempted to put Grandpa back in the casket but, after many attempts, they couldn't get him back in. The only thing left to do was to call the funeral home for help. Grandpa was finally placed back in the casket and the family now had photos of Grandpa, dressed in a store-bought suit for his going away trip.

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Grandpa

Re: Grandpa

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