Our Trip To The Washington Coast: DAY 4 "Now, This Is What We Came For!"

We woke up early this morning and headed into Aberdeen, WA for Grandpa Clarks funeral. It was very good. I think there is something really special about hearing a life recounted. It always makes me wish I had known the person better. They talked about Grandpa Clarks “Can Do” attitude. He started his own business-- Clark Electric. He could wire an entire house in one day. This was something he was very proud of. I learned that Grandpa Clark loved missionary work. He did a lot to support his grandchildren on their missions, and treated them like heroes when they returned. He dedicated much of his life to spreading the gospel. The bishop even commented on how Grandpa Clark was always trying to give him money for the missionaries. He always bore his testimony, and taught his children to be proud of what they believed. He was very “individual oriented” and made time for others. They said “You never left Grandpa’s house without first being fed, and then hearing his testimony.” When his wife and he were first married they made a conscious decision to be very active in the LDS church (neither of their families were) and to go to every church activity they could. His son said they were ALWAYS the first to arrive and ALWAYS the last to leave. I only met Grandpa Clark a couple of times. He was always very kind to me. He had the kindest blue eyes with smile lines. I knew, within just a couple of minutes of meeting him that he loved the gospel, and knew it was true. At the end, one of Ryan’s cousins sang “How Great Thou Art”-- it was beautiful, then all of the family stood, and sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” to the rest of the congregation.


After the funeral, we drove up to Tacoma for the burial. It was a beautiful cemetery. On the way back to Ocean Shores, we had to make the usual trek to Skippers for lunch (one word… GROSS! --- the kids and I went to Carl’s Jr., across the parking lot). It was a good day. I am grateful I came, and I am excited to tell all of the neat stories to my little Creed Clark, when he gets older.