Jerry's 56 Olds following him to the Blacksmith
My cell phone rang as I was walking out the door heading to Coleten’s T-ball game, knowing Jerry was sick I was not surprised that Sharene was calling to let me know that she would soon need our help. Four days later the Handlos Family gathered at the funeral home to plan the funeral as Jerry passed away the day before. They had decided to have a traditional vistiation and funeral with cremation to follow, Tim talked about a few options on how we could conlude a funeral service when cremation was planned and then turned to me for my input. Knowing a little about Jerry and his Family I suggested we go in procession from the funeral home to The Blacksmith Lounge in Hugo. Their eyes lit up and the ideas started to fly. Following Jerry’s funeral the 250 plus people, including 4 of Jerry’s classic cars, and 80 additional cars from the various classic car clubs that Jerry belonged too headed south on 61 to the Blacksmith. We arrived and the funeral coach pulled through the parking lot and then headed to Jerry’s residence where we took him around his beloved pole barn one last time while everyone else stayed at the Blacksmith for lunch. The music at the funeral, the cars, the Blacksmith, everything about Jerry’s farewell was significant to Jerry and his family. When we can think of different ways of celebrating a life, this is often the feedback we get:
“We just wanted to extend our thanks to you for your efforts with our Dad’s funeral. From the initial arrangements, to the flowers, to the displays and video and obviouly, to the line up of classic cars. Somehow, you seamlessly pulled everything off for us and took much of the burden off of our family. You made an incredibly trying time comfortable, touching and memorable. We can’t say enough about how respectful and easy you made this experience. You truly went out of your way for us and we wanted you to know how much it meant to us. Kelly, it was nice to see you at the Blacksmith, you not only led us through one of the hardest times of lives but you’re also a good friend. Again, thank you!â€
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