The rest of the story

So, the rest of the day of dad's passing kinda went like this.
Turned out, accidentally called the wrong cremation place.
that was the Cremation Society.
They didn't call back to say dad wasn't arranged with them, because they said by the time they figured it out, they were close (altho we waited almost 1 1/2 hours for them to get there. But they were nice enough about it, thought they would try to sell us their service and told Con they would wait until Con got ahold of the Neptune Society ( http://www.neptunesociety.com/plans.asp )
Con called & they had records & would send someone so CS guys left. They seemed nice, but almost as if they were ready to head on over to a bar afterward (maybe have a last toast with dad??)

NS guys showed up quicker - within 45 minutes or so -
Came to the door, dressed very neatly in black.
Very polite, respectful.
Explained exactly what they would do, gave us the option to stay in the room or leave it.
Checked with Vic to make sure she was okay.
We chose to stay and they were very gentle and respectful.
Loaded dad onto a gurney, wrapped him gently in a white cloth and then moved him outside to their vehicle.

They drove an SUV and had parked it carefully so he would have little exposure to elements. Loaded him, and were on their way.

Mom was in the kitchen - so she did not witness dad leaving the house. We're hoping that will soften it for her.
We all took a deep breathe, then Con got us moving.
Everything was stripped down, the bed relocated back out of the living room, everything vacuumed and cleaned up, and couches put back in place.
This is a place where mom will continue to live, so it still needs to be a home for her.
It freaked me out a bit about the bed. Then I thought about it. Con works in a hospital. And as she put it, there's probably not one bed in there that hasn't had someone pass away in it. Everything was covered and sanitized (for your safety....)
and I felt better.

Altho, Con said if she heard any strange noises, she was out of there....

Dave (bookkeeper) and Tony (lawyer) stopped by around 7:30 - Con, Unc G, and myself for part of it sat in and they went thru what dad has set up. Pretty much everything he had already told us.
We're gonna try to keep mom in the house as long as possible - as long as she's comfortable there.
Feel free to stop in and visit. For right now, Sundays are Helen's day off - Con is planning on covering those.
We'll see how it goes.
Gabriel talked with the airlines and was able to move up his flight - Con dropped him at the airport Saturday morning and he headed back home.
I headed back home late Friday night
My wonderful neighbor's had cleared the snow from my walk & drive, and Cari even cleaned up my living room for me. (did you know my couch has room for 3 people to sit on it?? lol)
So I came home to a warm inviting home.
Talked to many friends and family.

Please pass the word on if you know we missed informing someone.
Please feel free to comment any remembrances or thoughts you have about dad.
I think you have to have a gmail account to post on this - but it's free to sign up.

We're planning to do something for a memorial in 3 to 4 weeks -
tentative plans now are to rent a hall, hold a luncheon, have photos and or slides and a chance for people to sit, eat, talk and remember dad.
I'll post as I have more info.