Presently, our family is in the middle of preparations for the final resting place of my father, Alfred LeRoy Dodson. “Al”, as he loved to be called, passed away on July 13th 2013, following the loss of our mother, Beatrice, his wife, on October 17th 2012. In between the passing of both of these parents, my wife and I witnessed the passing of her mother, Marian Widdifield, on March 23rd 2013.
Three parental deaths within a nine month stretch. This is a lot to contend with for anybody as well as any family. The grieving process has only just begun to subside and loose it’s honed-sharp emotion cutting edge when the jolt of another death arrives like the collision of two trains.
The one saving presence that was already in place with each of these losses was the fact that plans for a final burial place for each were made many years prior. With each parent the resting place chosen was East Lawn Memorial Park in Sacramento, California. While new for my wife’s family, East Lawn has been the choice for many of the Dodson family members and it’s kinfolk since 1959. When the time comes, it is the chosen place for Penny and I as well.
Making supercharged emotional and legal decisions concerning a loved one leading up to and subsequent to their death takes a substantial toll upon the family members who were either chosen in advance to handle such duties or those who had it befall them out of the blue. Having a burial plan and a mortuary/cemetery already selected and paid for in place can and does lessen the stress upon survivors substantially.
Aside from an already established family tradition, I am here to share with you in this blog today our gratitude for having chosen the East Lawn organization and to shout out praise for a few of the amazing folks we have worked with over the past year. Our Funeral Directors that we have worked with include Mr. Robert Russo, Juliet Barbrich and Claudia Hernandez. Robert and Juliet work out of the Elk Grove Memorial Park location. Claudia Hernandez who is a Family Service Counselor, is assigned to the 4300 Folsom Blvd. East Lawn branch.
My wife and I cannot extend enough praise to these three caring professionals who have helped lighten the burden of carrying out the final wishes and memorials for each of our beloved parents. Robert Russo is a sincere, empathetic Funeral Director. He is also jovial, has a great sense of humor and humanity and makes you feel comfortable in working with him and confident that he has all of the fine details handled to the nth degree. We love you Bob Russo.
Claudia Hernandez is another seasoned veteran of East Lawn who is compassionate and one-hundred percent engaged with all of our family’s service needs. Claudia handled beautifully our decision to include each of our parents’ names to the first-in-the-nation Alzheimer’s Memorial Wall at their 4300 Folsom Blvd. location. Thank You Claudia for providing this additional means of memorializing our folks.
Juliet Barbrich is a Funeral Director we just had the privilege of meeting and working with in July of this year subsequent to dad passing. Juliet, while a veteran of the East Lawn organization, is relatively new to the public side of her company. Juliet is a soft-spoken professional who is authentic in her actions and possesses a reverence for what she does. Penny and I have become smitten with Juliet and her work in serving us. My dad would be most proud and delighted with the service and care that she is providing to him. Thank You Juliet for letting your sincerity shine through!
On Saturday July 27th 2013, Penny and I participated in the 5th Annual Fab Forties 5K Walk/Run for Alzheimer’s sponsored by East Lawn Memorial Park and the Alzheimer’s Association. We were moved to do this both to honor our parents and as a result of our dealings with all of the representatives of the East Lawn organization. It was our first time as entrants and it was an enjoyable and rewarding experience. We plan on participating in this event each year until a either a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is found, or, until our health no longer allows us to do so.
For those of you who read this blog today, or in the future, I strongly urge you to consider taking the time to sit down and decide upon a place and manner of your final resting place and wishes before necessity compels it upon your loved ones.
Make the decision now and have all of those choices,.... your choices... committed to, and paid for years ahead of time. Think of it as a means of calling the final shots in how the end of your life is handled rather than leaving it up to chance.
Lastly, if you are a resident of the Roseville, Sacramento, Elk Grove metropolitan area, give strong consideration to making an appointment with the folks at any of the East Lawn Memorial Park locations to choose and finalize your own end-of-life arrangements. Our family has been and continues to be deeply impressed with the service they have accorded us.
Your surviving family members will be grateful when that time is at hand.
Jeff Dodson
August 7th 2013
Elk Grove, California
