Chino's Funerals

There is one loss in my life that affected many aspects of my life for many years, the divorce of my parents. I was in barley entering the first grade and the tender age of five, soon to turn six, when my parents spent their last night as a married couple. I do not have many memories of my parents as a couple but I do remember the day my Daddy left. He was a policeman and I watched as his cruiser drove away from our family home. I remember my mom crying and not being willing to console me or explain to me what was happening. All I knew is there was a fight, my dad left, it seemed different than other times when he left, and my mom was crying. Everything about my life changed in the blink of a five year old’s eyes which is what makes this loss so significant in my life.

When I was 12 my grandfather died of cancer. I knew he was sick and was dying but we never discussed it. I was able to see my grandfather before he died and was able to attend his funeral. Two years later my grandmother died suddenly and we were able to attend his funeral. I vaguely remember attending a couple other funerals but I was really too young to understand what exactly was going on.

The experience of a person losing a loved one is very difficult to accept and then cope with. “He gets all teary telling about the good times they had together, how her brother made the war seem almost fun.” pg. 67-68 (Tim O’Brien). Losing someone close to you is hard to accept because once their gone things don’t feel the same anymore and you just can’t stop thinking about them and the memories you guys shared together. It’s also very hard to cope with because you’re so used to having that person around and when their no longer there you feel so empty and that feeling is so horrible. Having to deal with the fact that someone who was so special to you is no longer there isn’t easy to accept.

Having a close relationship with three of my grandparents, as well as being present during each of their dying processes, has greatly shaped my view of death. Death has a way of causing us to reflect. Death causes each of us to reflect on the life that is ending as we know it, to reflect on our lives and to reflect on the legacy we want to leave behind when it becomes our time. Having the

The reality that someone has been removed eternally from your lifetime is a large, unwieldy fact to come to terms with. However, the funeral provides a psychological point of closure so that healing may begin. As stated by Selected Funeral Homes, “…a loved one's death is much more of a process-requiring hours, days, and even weeks to fully believe the reality. Because this realization of death is not instantaneous, funeral rituals help people gradually accept that their loved one has made the transition from here to there.” This is an important point to ponder and internally understand in a world of instant gratification and resets. Often seen in the American pop culture of film, TV, and video game violence are the numerous deaths and gruesome ends that characters meet. It is all too easy to focus on the hero’s triumph, or hit the reset button one more time. It is a world of quick reward and feedback, and if that has not been achieved, you do it again until you are satisfied. It is critical to realize that there is a permanent “game over” for people and things in the real world in order to re-shift focus on coming together as a society to create and celebrate a shared piece of

I have had many family members of mine pass away, but the one death that I am going to share is the one with my poppop, Daniel DelCasale, on my dad’s side of the family. It was not the first death of a relative of mine, but it was the first death that had an effect on me and that I remember having a reaction to. Both of my grandmothers passed away by the time I was six years old. I did not go to my mommom’s funeral on my mom’s side because I was only five years old. I did, though, go to my Nana’s funeral, however, I do not remember going or anything for some reason.

A certain event I experienced, helped me to realize that I was taking life for granted. An Apache name for this place would be, Windy Cliff Where Ashes Blow into Crashing Waters. When I was around the age of five, I attended a funeral. This funeral was for my grandma. At that time in my life I had not experienced the loss of someone close to me or anything else related to death. This funeral was held at the Marin Headlands(Windy cliff where ashes blow into crashing waters) at the top of a cliff on the edge of a hiking trail, where we scattered my grandmas ashes into the ocean beneath us. After releasing her remains into the ocean, we had a picnic to memorialize her. Throughout most of the funeral I didn't feel sad, I felt no sign of grief until our family started memorializing her. I began to think of all the nice things she did for me and my sister. She helped teach us how to bake amazing cookies, she taught us how to sew unique quilts, she would also take us to the store to buy us our favorite strawberry candy. When remembering these things I then realized I will never be able to do these activities with her again. I then began to feel sad and I began to grief. This loss in my life was my first experience with death and it helped me to understand the value of human life. This event taught me that death can impact humans greatly, that grieving is natural, and our lives will be remembered

Author Pat Thomas explains in the book I Miss You: A First Look At Death that when a family member dies, it can be difficult for all the members of the family to explain their feelings. Sometimes parents can just think about their feelings about the death of the recent member that they forget that their children are also feeling the same way as them. The children need support from their parents during these tough times. The book explains to children that death is a natural part of life. All living things grow, change, and then they’ll eventually die. Not only do bad people die, but good people die too. There are different reasons to why a person dies, for example, some die because they are older, some people are just really sick, and some people

The day that my Grandpa passed away started out like any other day. My mom and I went to visit him daily, just because we wanted to spend time with him. It was August 11th so, summer was coming to an end. My mom, Grandma and I were sitting and waiting for him, in his hospital room, to get back from the tests that he had that day. Everything seemed fine. He looked great. My mom and I were only able to talk to him for a few minutes, sadly, before they had to take him away again for more tests. We said our good-byes, not knowing that they would be our last, and we left. When we were at the stop light at 75th and Washington, we got a call.

Having to experience the death of a loved one is an extremely devastating thing one has to experience in life. It can affect people in many different ways as well. A majority of people who experience this will probably have different reactions and obstacles to overcome. I know the feeling, because I went through the pain as well. A few years ago, my grandma passed away due to Alzheimer's, and it was a somber time for my family. Even to this day, we still honor her every year, when my family gathers together to remember her in her day of passing.

Death is an ending that everyone has to endure. I was in the concrete operations stage of cognitive development when I have had encountered my papa’s and uncle’s death. Unlike the story when listened to when the young boy was in the pre-operations, I fully understood the concept of death (Hill). When I was in 7th grade, I lost my papa in a week span of developing Emphyasema. When I was that age, I understood that my papa was sick and that his wishes were to never be on life support. My family followed his wishes. I remember there being our priest being there but I was not sure why he would be there since my papa did not believe in going to church. I noticed many relationships among my family change after my papa’s death. I remember seeing how

I, however, did not cope with death too well. The moment when I found out about my grandmothers death is something I remember like it was yesterday. Let me start from the beginning.

I was six years when my grandfather died. He was very close to me and whenever I go missing my mother new where to look for me. His health stated deteriorating and he was rushed to hospital and died the following day. Death had taken away a close friend who would tell us stories as we sat at his feet. I did not get to see his body but I still remember him being lowered to the grave near our house.

For the move, my parents explained that we wouldn't be terribly far, that we would still come back to our home town and visit, and that we (my siblings and I) would have the chance to make new friends at our new school. When my great-grandmother passed, it was not suddenly - she had been diagnosed with lung cancer prior to her death, which gave my mother time to explain to us what was going on, and that she would die. When she did pass, my parents gave us room to cry, held us close, and attempted to comfort us as best they could with words about how it would be less upsetting with time. When my hamster died I believe I felt the most grief, though looking back I would assume that all of the loss I had experienced prior, as well as the loss of my pet, led me to such extreme feelings of hurt over this loss. I remember my father telling me that my heart of gold was kind and tender, and that was why I felt things so deeply. I've carried that statement with me my entire

In the spring of my sophomore year in high school, my grandfather died. At the time, I was investing the majority of my time preparing for the CAHSEE and various other important presentations. I came as a shock when, in the middle of the night around three in the morning, we received a call and my father rushes our family to a hospital. When we learned that my grandfather had a heart attack, was comatose, and only being kept alive by life support, we were distraught. The doctor in charge explained the situation and told us that it was unlikely he would wake up. It was decided that it was time to let him pass on. Prior to that, we were given time to say final farewells. I watched as my cousins and sibling went forward to reassure our grandfather that they would be happy with life and that they would make him proud. After that, we left. The next month involved funeral services and the like. It was after the funeral that I began to take notice of quite a few issues I had.