Funeral Service

Mom touched so many lives. It was evidenced by the number of people who attended her service and braved the muddy graveside service in the rain. Although there were well over 300 people in attendance, I know there were many who, because of work or other commitments, were unable to make it. Luckily, the Church was gracious enough to record the audio portion of the service. There are a few songs mixed in with Lexi, Matt, and me paying tribute to our mom.

For those of you who were unable to attend, or just want to hear it again....

You may be prompted to download a program such as QuickTime to listen to this. Go for it, don't be scared it's just a little player from Apple and should work on your PC too.

Also if for some reason it doesn't load right the first time, just try refreshing your browser. I am on a Mac so if you're on a PC and/or you are having trouble accessing the audio, please let me know by email at mark_sweeney@me.com

Below is the slideshow that I shared at the service. It's cut out of the above audio so you don't hear the music twice. In the service it was right after I finished speaking. All of the music was written and performed by my sister Lexi.

For those of you not familiar with YouTube inner workings...if you click on the resolution numbers in the bottom bar, you will have other options, also if you click on the outward facing arrows on the bottom right corner, you will get a full screen show.

Thank you to everyone who surrounded our family with love and support over the past couple weeks. It's been a rough ride, and it's only just now starting to sink in.

~Mark

Services

First of all, thank you to everyone for the phone calls, email, Facebook messages, cookies, cold cuts, text messages and other outpourings of love from all.

My brother and sister are doing well and have been surrounded by their friends. Lexi is out now shopping for a dress for the funeral, which makes me sad to think about, but I am so amazed at how well she is holding up and how strong she has been.

These are the confirmed plans:

Thursday will be a viewing/visitation at Struve & Laporte, 41 W. San Luis St., Salinas, 93908 at 7:00pm-9:00pm

Friday at 11am will be a gravesite service/burial at the cemetery in Gonzales. Here is a map. All are welcome

This is where Jake's mother is buried. Mom was extremely fond of Helen and would be proud to be by her side. Mom has no other family from the area so she will be the first to be buried on the West coast.

Friday at 1pm will be a very casual church service and reception at Shoreline Church, at 2500 Garden Rd. Monterey, 93940

We look forward to hearing and sharing stories of mom and how she's touched so many lives.

We are asking that in lieu of flowers donations be made in mom's name to the cancer related fund of your choosing or Hospice of Monterey.

This info is now confirmed

Only the good die young

She was a good one. 62 years isn't enough but they were good years.

Mom finished her 2 1/2 year fight against pancreatic cancer early this morning.

Right in line with her wishes she died peacefully and pain free in the Westland House in Monterey, in the loving care of Hospice. She spent less than 24 hours there and I believe she was ready to go. She had come to a place of acceptance and she was comfortable. She was not afraid of death any more. I assured her yesterday when she was leaving the house for the final time that we would all be okay, and that if she was ready to stop fighting, and move on, that it was okay. She said, "Thank you, I appreciate that." She was ready and she knew it. Deep down I knew it was time too.

Lindsi and I visited her one last time last night around 10:30. She opened her eyes and said hi. I asked if she knew who I was and she said, "ya, Mark". I asked if she was in any pain and she said she was not and that she was comfortable.

Thank you to everyone who has been here for us over the last two years.

Because mom has so many loving friends and family we can't possible be in contact with everyone. For that reason, I will be posting details and a schedule of services, etc. when we know more details. I don't expect a service to take place until at least Wednesday or Thursday.

Check back here for details.

Mom's been struggling to keep on top of the pain for the last week or so. She's woken up a couple times in the middle of the night in pain. Hospice has her on an oral Morphine and a variety of other drugs to keep her comfortable. She's looking very frail as well. I think her weight has probably dropped a little, although there isn't really any left to lose.

Today a social worker is coming by from Hospice to assess her needs. We're wondering if it's almost time to check her into the Hospice house (which I can't remember the name of right now).

With all that said, the other day when I stopped by, she was spot cleaning the carpets. She said, "nobody wants to go out with a dirty house."

Tonight we have an early celebration for my brother's 23rd birthday. I hope mom has the energy to join us. I'm sure she'll be there either way. She's never let a lack of energy stop her from showing up to the party.