California Fire Prevents Dedication of Mother's Grave

My mother Doris Henion passed away peacefully in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at the age of 92 years and 11 months with her beloved 16-year-old cat Penny by her side.  I was there and watched as she breathed, and breathed, and breathed … then did not breath again. 

I notified my kids by text of her passing and in the afternoon, Stacy rang our doorbell.  She stayed until late in the evening offering solace and figuratively holding my hand, then returned on Wednesday with soup and rolls for dinner.  These little gestures were so appreciated and, reminded me, once again, how sweet it is that I am always able to count on my children’s support when I am in need.  

Larry was able to catch a flight into Las Vegas where we picked him up on Wednesday afternoon.  Kris arrived on Thursday evening driving 12-hours from her home in Sonoma, CA and stayed the weekend at our house.  Kelly and Gary arrived on Friday afternoon, driving from their home in northern Utah and stayed in Stacy and Rick’s air-conditioned camper.    

Larry and I had talked numerous times about how to celebrate our mother’s life since she didn’t know anyone in St. George and most of her friends in California are her age – or older – and can no longer travel.  We finally settled on a family gathering on Saturday evening at Spilsbury Mortuary where we viewed our mother for the last time.  She looked beautiful – with her hair styled and make-up on - after more than five years in bed.  She was dressed all in white except her fingernails which Stacy painted pink to match her final resting place named “Plush Pink.”

At the mortuary, we pulled chairs into a circle and spent an hour or more simply remembering our mother and grandmother.  We laughed, shed a few tears and celebrated her life together.  After Ed gave a family prayer, we met up again at Stacy and Rick’s where we enjoyed hamburgers and a Dutch oven dinner, then played Phase Ten until we all went our different directions for a good night’s rest.

I decided not to put Mother’s obituary in the newspaper since she didn’t know anyone in St. George but mailed copies to about a dozen of her friends … and members of Dad’s family in Washington.

On Tuesday, August 16 we traveled with Larry to say our final goodbye at the National Cemetery in Riverside, CA where she will rest next to our father, getting within 40 miles of the cemetery but not actually arriving there. 

Traffic on the I-15 freeway began to slow a little south of Barstow where we saw a fire on the horizon.  The Blue Cut Fire spread very quickly (ultimately to more than 40,000 acres with dozens of homes and businesses incinerated and more than 82,000 evacuated).  By the time we reached the Ranchero Road off ramp, traffic was at a standstill.  After nearly 2 hours sitting in the middle of hundreds of cars and semi-trucks, we were re-routed off the freeway south of Victorville.  It only took us a minute to decide we would just turn around and head back toward Las Vegas where we were scheduled to drop Larry at McCarren Airport on Wednesday for his flight home to Seattle. 

It was a busy week with many details to address, but we have been anticipating this day for several years.  Nevertheless, losing a parent is a difficult experience no matter how old the surviving “child” is.

Rest in peace, Mother.

PS:  The following morning after arriving home from CA, we left for Denver to be with David on his birthday, to attend the open house for the Ft. Collins Temple and to transport the kids to and from school and other activities while Jan'L was in Tennessee with her mom, dad and sisters.