The Funeral
In loving memory of Jack Charles Savage
March 30,1953-January 21, 2025
This installment was not supposed to be the first one of this season. I had actually already started writing the installment that is now the third one when I knew this one was a necessity. On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, Mom called me first thing in the morning to let me know that her stepdad, Jack Savage (Papa), had died the night before.
Sadly, I knew this day might be coming. Papa’s health has been declining for the last few years; Paige has only known him with an oxygen tank. On top of that, he had been in the hospital for two weeks on a ventilator due to RSV. And the day before he died, he had a tracheostomy.
My Aunt Shana, Uncle Scott, and their daughter, Lexi, live with my grandma (Nimba), and I knew that my Aunt Cyndi might need a break from her kids, Caitlynn and Cameron. The funeral was scheduled for Monday, the 27th, so Paige and I decided to take the cousins to the mall on the 26th.
Cameron ended up not feeling well, and for transportation reasons, Cyndi ended up staying with us. We ate lunch, got some Starbucks, but we spent most of our time looking for something for Caitlynn to wear the next day.
The next day, I picked Paige up from work, and we drove to the funeral home. During the public viewing hours, I’d estimate that at least 250 people came in and paid their respects.
The funeral started with the pastor leading us in an opening prayer. Afterward, Cyndi got up and spoke. Cyndi said a lot in her 3 minutes, but the biggest takeaway was, every day for their 47 years of marriage, Papa would tell Nimba, “You look so pretty,” and she would reply, “You need your eyes checked!” Papa was an organ donor and actually ended up donating his eyes to someone… so Nimba was wrong; he didn’t need his eyes checked.
After Cyndi spoke, two of my great uncles did, and then I went up. I told two stories; the first was about how Papa introduced me to Beauty And The Beast on the weekend Ryan was born, and inadvertently sparked my interest in storytelling. The second was an account of when Papa taught me how to drive. I emphasized how confident he had been in my ability to drive, which led to some comical ignorance. Finally, having seen me and his mother give speeches, Cameron stood up and told a couple of stories that had everyone laughing.
I try to stay positive in this series. As a result, in the installment that I wrote about Papa teaching me how to drive (Play Another Song), I focused on the negative aspects of learning to drive and Papa’s positive impact overall, as opposed to telling the more comical aspects of that event. Between how I told that story, the funny stories that his brothers told, and how funny Cameron was, the funeral was (relatively) lighthearted. Honestly, I think that’s how he would’ve wanted it.
I love and miss you, Papa,
Your grandson- John Mitchell Ulibarri
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