The service was held in the community hall. Often when you get to be 92 the attendance at your funeral is small. Not on Thursday, the hall was full to the brim, and the overflow was in the basement. Clearly, he had an impact on so many, and they wanted to say their good-byes.
The funeral was led by a lay minister. She announced that it was her 129th service and never before had this been done at one of her services. My uncle wrote a song several years ago and he wanted it played at his funeral. The slideshow began with him singing his song which he called, "All Season Song". The pictures that followed were a touching remembrance of his amazing life. He struggled to read but you would never know it as his list of accomplishments was long. He became a terrific businessman and rose to the top as a Chianina cattle breeder. He was known to have some of the best land around and would take on fixing anything. Not to mention write songs and sing apparently.
My Dad was the second oldest of a family of ten. They spanned from 1919 to 1943. From that original ten there were 36 first cousins. When Grandma Dixon passed away in 1995 at the age of 96, she had well over 100 grandchildren.
Not many families are able to say that all ten siblings lived to be seniors. My aunt was the first one to leave the family and passed away with cancer at the age of 70. There is longevity in the family, all but 3 lived into their 90s before they passed away. The family is now down to the baby of the family. She was 4 years old when she started to become an auntie. There is no doubt she will be around for a long time yet; at 83 she is incredible. She has said so many good-byes. My Mom and another aunt, "the sister in laws" along with my aunt are the remaining 3 from the original 10.
If you are from a big family, you will relate to what I have written. There is no way you can be close to 34 first cousins; to be honest I have lost track of most of my cousins. We are spread out over most of the western provinces, and it seems we only come together at funerals.
There were six girls in the Dixon family. Four became nurses and two were teachers. The four boys were men of the land. They knew everything there was to know about mother nature and how she would perform. One of my uncles recently passed away at 97. He lived every day the way he wanted and when he did take sick, he died shortly after he arrived at hospital. He had his own little homestead in BC. It was so remote there wasn't even cell service. At one time he was being threatened by wildfires. He wasn't going against the evacuation order; he just wasn't going to move until he absolutely had to. His plan was to let his horses loose, he knew they would be able to survive in a fire. I am not sure what he was going to do with the chickens but there would be a plan. Thankfully it never got to that.
I have written about my dad many times and how at 28 he started his life as a World War II veteran and a TB survivor. I grew up watching him help everyone that he could. He was a big part of putting the telephone lines in and building the hall and church. When he retired to town, he became mayor for 14 years. He was very proud to work right along with the paving company as they paved every street in the town. His loyalty was always to the Legion and the town of Carievale. He had his own barber chair in the basement of his town house; he would cut men's hair with clippers for $5. When each grandchild got their first car, he bought their first tank of gas. He was an inspiration and a role model for so many of us.
Something I have taken for granted is how wonderful it is to be part of such a large family. It is days like a family funeral that I realize just how big it is. As it becomes smaller at the top, it becomes larger at the bottom. I always say, "families are interesting". The Dixon family may not be close, but at the time of a family service, we just show up and reconnect. I realized on Thursday that showing up for another family member is a very important role in any family.
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