This is a difficult entry to make to the blog. There were lots of people at the wake on Thursday evening. Goldman and I had picked Pete up at the airport and after we took Goldman back to his car went straight to the funeral home in O'Fallon where Norman was laid out. Rose and Shirley came later. When Pete and I got arrived, there was already lots of people there. Friends, neighbors and family continued to come and go the whole evening. Quite a tribute to Norm, deservedly so.

Joe and Pete went home with Rose Shirley and me. Maudie Ree and Debby, Joe, and Kathy spent the night with Margaret. Tammy and Cyndi went to Chris and Shelly's overnight. Margaret is having a tough tough time. She had spent all night Monday with Norm and I'm not sure she's even had a chance to catch a nap or have a good night's rest this week. Chris and Shelly are having the remaining visitors for a big dinner tonight (Saturday). Pete has to go back to Idaho tomorrow.

The funeral service yesterday morning again gave tribute to a wonderful person. Reverend Purdy, a friend of Randy, welcomed everyone and spoke a few words about what a great man Norman was. Catrina played a song, "Yellow Bird," a favorite of Normans's, on the piano and Stephanie's son Jacob read the Twenty-Third Psalm and gave a heartfelt tribute to his grandfather. Next Rose delivered the an emotional eulogy in which she recollected meeting Norman for the first time and all about his devotion to his family. Reverend Purdy said that Rose stole some of his thunder from his sermon with her eulogy. After the sermon Chris told a story about Norman taking him to wrestling matches for his eleventh birthday and about an old photo he had found of Norman and his father and his Uncle Jack.

People came from all over the country. - Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Kansas, North Carolina and probably other places I either forgot to mention or didn't know about. The Abbott offspring are helpful to Margaret while dealing with their own loss. A difficult time for all.

Last night (Friday) there was a dinner with some music that was the kind of music Norm enjoyed most. Again a tribute to a Norm.

I didn't list the out of towners because I was afraid I'd leave someone out. I'll do that on a later post when I can talk with Margaret. I'm hoping some or all can come down to the lakehouse before returning back to their homes.