Putting the fun back...

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Tony DeWitt and it was a...well, it was a unique experience! In a video, shot in 2004, Tony was recorded as saying about his funeral, I don't want it to be too sad, I want it to be a FUNeral. And so it was. The family, pastor & musicians were decked out in hawaiin shirts, there was a rag band in the lobby afterward playing "When the Saints Go Marching In," and at the graveside there were balloons and clowns making animals. It was really cool to see how this family processed their grief. Tony was diagnosed with cancer over 9 years ago, and so this day had been talked about for a long time. And although, there was plenty of levity, there was a healthy dose of tears and eulogizing. Here's a couple of highlights:

• They played Brandon's song Better Man, that he wrote about his dad
• Chip Handerich said: "Tony did show us how to die with cancer, he showed us how to live with cancer."
• Several speakers highlighted the fact that the DeWitt's have house about 170 foster kids over the years. Wow!