My Words at Dad's Funeral/My Parents' Elopement

In Remembrance of our dad, granddad, great-granddad, uncle, cousin, and friend.
On Augusta 27, 1938, practically here on this very spot, a young preacher's daughter ran out the back door of the church, while her daddy, the church pastor, led the congregation in prayer. She ran as fast as her short bowed-legs would carry her and across the road to where an anxious young man was working in his uncle's store.
They hopped into his Uncle Frank's Chevrolet and off they went in a cloud of dust in search of a Justice of the Peace. A witness said that once the foot hit the gas pedal, they never saw that car again. Soon the knot was tied. When the young couple returned to tell the bride's daddy, a very unhappy father of the bride replied, "Now you think you could eat her all up and a year from now, you'll wish you had."
The proud young groom took his bride by the hand and off he went, calling back over his shoulder, "I may just eat her all up today."
After 66 years, that journey ended with the passing of my mother, on June 4, 2004 and now the circle is complete on the other side.

He is our comfort and strength.
He is the coolness of newly plowed ground,
the scent of freshly mown grass in the springtime,
a dipper of cool spring water on a hot summer day,
the reds, oranges, and yellows during the warm Indian Summer,
the big homemade quilt that keeps us warm in the winter.