My Aunt Diane passed away on Friday, June 21st. She was 51 years old and was my Mom's baby sister. She had been fighting cancer for the last 10 months and had a difficult struggle since the cancer was all over her body. I'm so proud of my Mom and Meme for everything they did for her. They basically put their own lives on hold to make sure Diane was well taken care of.
On Diane's final night, Hospice called her family in because they knew she didn't have long. Right before she passed, she opened her eyes and smiled, then closed her eyes and passed away. My meme and cousin-in-law were there to witness and they said that it was pretty incredible to see. Diane hadn't smiled much in the last few months, so seeing that right before she passed really gave my family a sense of peace.
My Aunt Diane and I were not super close, but I did love her dearly. I knew that I needed to be at the funeral to support my mom, meme and cousins. So Camryn and I flew out to Dallas on Wednesday and the big girls stayed back in Arkansas with Daddy.
This was Camryn's first flight and she did amazing (as usual)!
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| Waiting patiently in the airport |
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| sleeping on the plane |
My mom had picked up Meme earlier that week so that she wouldn't be home alone. So, Camryn and I were able to hang out with Meme, mom and Rod all day on Wednesday before heading to the funeral on Thursday. This was Meme's first time to meet Camryn!
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| Hello there Meme! |
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| Meme loving on Camryn |
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| I love it when she smiles like this! |
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| Meme's first In N Out experience, yummy! |
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| Papa and Camryn |
On Thursday, we had to drive 3 hours to make it to Lufkin for the 10:30am funeral so we had to head out very early that morning. Camryn did well in the car but struggled a little at the end since it was so close to her feeding time. The only thing that distracted her was watching videos of her sisters on my phone.
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| Watching Taylor & Addie on the iPhone |
We pulled into the Cemetery and was surprised by my brother Joey. He wasn't supposed to be able to make it, but ended up getting off work and came to the funeral. This meant so much to us! Almost all of Aunt Diane's family was there, but having my brother there was so great for my mom!
My Meme requested that I take a lot of pictures for her at the funeral, so here are the ones I got.
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| Surprised by Uncle Joe Joe |
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| the program |
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| During the service |
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| Meme and Ryan |
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| Charlye meets Camryn |
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| Meme and Heather |
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| Meme and her sister Hazel |
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| Terry, Hazel, Meme & Debbie |
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| Meme with Ryan and Heather |
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| Meme with Diane's family |
The service was very nice and was led by a person from Hospice. Meme actually had me say a prayer at the end of the service which was very difficult for me, but I was thankful to be able to help out for the family. After the service, we went out to eat then headed back to Meme's apartment to visit with family.
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| Hazel and Meme |
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| Hazel, Meme and Joey |
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| Heather with her kids and fiancé Cody |
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| Hazel's grandson Eric & son David |
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| Hazel's daughter Terry, my cousin Amanda & Charlye |
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| Rod & Mom |
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| Amanda and sweet Charlye |
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| Camryn hanging out at lunch |
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| Hazel, Camryn & Meme |
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| Heather and her friend Charlotte |
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| All the cousins (ex Ryan) with Meme |
I found a couple of pictures at Meme's house that I absolutely love!
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| My Pa is the 2nd from the left |
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| Meme with her 3 girls (LtoR - Donna, Diane & Debbie) |
Funerals are always so sad to me but also a wonderful celebration of life! I was very thankful for the conversations I had this week and the time spent with family to remember and honor my Aunt Diane.
