...so much for your thoughts, prayers and for sharing your memories with us. I cannot tell you how much your responses and support have meant to me, Jacqui and the rest of Rich's family.
I'm sitting here trying to put it in perspective, and I'm left thinking this: there are 300+ responses from around the country, and from people that, for the most part, have never even met my husband personally.
I always knew he was special, but this is truly mind-boggling
And it says so much about this board, and it's members - each and every one of you
Today we held Rich's service, and I thought I'd share a bit of what we did. Obviously, you know that Rich was not a "conventional" kind of guy, so it was only fitting that we held a somewhat unconventional service.
With some of his favorite CD's playing softly in the background (Aerosmith, David Bowie, The Doors, etc), I printed out all of your posts and set them out for everyone to see. We also placed a big Mickey and Goofy in the front of the room, along with four poster-boards filled with pictures (most of which were from Disney...including his very first visit back in 1973).
Approximately 100 people gathered and after a brief Catholic service (this was for me and his family....so sorry Rich!), several members of his family and a few friends got up and shared favorite times and memories of Rich.
Many of you know he was not a religious guy - so we placed his picture on the front of the funeral cards, along with this on the back:
Rich Hyams
"A Man, A Legend, A Way of Life"
Finally, I'd like to paraphrase one part of the priest's service (he was from my daughter's Catholic HS, BTW): "Love perseveres....not even death can stop love .
Even Rich, with his strong religious opinions, could not have agreed more.
Thank you all - and God Bless,
Lisa & Jacqui
I'm sitting here trying to put it in perspective, and I'm left thinking this: there are 300+ responses from around the country, and from people that, for the most part, have never even met my husband personally.
I always knew he was special, but this is truly mind-boggling
And it says so much about this board, and it's members - each and every one of you
Today we held Rich's service, and I thought I'd share a bit of what we did. Obviously, you know that Rich was not a "conventional" kind of guy, so it was only fitting that we held a somewhat unconventional service.
With some of his favorite CD's playing softly in the background (Aerosmith, David Bowie, The Doors, etc), I printed out all of your posts and set them out for everyone to see. We also placed a big Mickey and Goofy in the front of the room, along with four poster-boards filled with pictures (most of which were from Disney...including his very first visit back in 1973).
Approximately 100 people gathered and after a brief Catholic service (this was for me and his family....so sorry Rich!), several members of his family and a few friends got up and shared favorite times and memories of Rich.
Many of you know he was not a religious guy - so we placed his picture on the front of the funeral cards, along with this on the back:
Rich Hyams
"A Man, A Legend, A Way of Life"
Finally, I'd like to paraphrase one part of the priest's service (he was from my daughter's Catholic HS, BTW): "Love perseveres....not even death can stop love .
Even Rich, with his strong religious opinions, could not have agreed more.
Thank you all - and God Bless,
Lisa & Jacqui
