The Last Few Days

These last few days have just seemed to blur all together. There has been so many friends and family in town. Below is my Grandpa's Obituary:

Douglas D. Moffit, 73, Bismarck, formerly of Moffit, died June 6, 2008, at a Mandan care center. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, at McCabe United Methodist Church, Bismarck, with the Rev. Art Scanson officiating. Burial will be in Moffit Cemetery.Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. today at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will also be held on Monday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Parkway Funeral Service and on Tuesday one hour prior to the service at the church.Douglas was born July 30, 1934, in rural Emmons County, the son of George and Margaret (Glum) Moffit. He attended Burr Oak School. He married Donna Hayes on June 19, 1954.Douglas worked for Don Dralle for numerous years. In the spring of 1966, after a major blizzard, he went to work at the Long Lake Refuge. In the spring of 1968, Douglas and Donna purchased the Moffit Quality Store, which they had until 1976. In 1972, he was hired as a blademan for the Burleigh County Highway Department, retiring in 1997, but returning as a part-time employee in the summers through May 2006.He served on the Hazelton-Moffit School Board and was chairman of the Long Lake Township for 23 years. Douglas served many years on the church board of the Moffit Methodist Church of which he was a member. He was also a charter member of the Sterling Rural Fire Department and an active volunteer fireman and a charter member of the Moffit Lion's Club. Douglas was a civil defense weather spotter for many years and was president and caretaker of the Moffit Cemetery. He was the first bypass patient in western North Dakota at Medcenter One in September 1979. In 2000, Douglas was awarded the prestigious "Ben Kalberer Award," an honor that he was very proud to accept, as he was nominated for this award from the people of the Hazelton, Moffit and Braddock communities. In 2005, he was honored to be selected the "Grand Marshall" at the Moffit Centennial.Grateful to have shared his life are his loving wife of 53 years, Donna, Bismarck; his daughters and sons-in-law, Carmen and Al Kary, Steele, and Sheila and Carl Robinson, Bismarck; four grandchildren, Jesse (Becky) Mittleider, Gackle, Cody (Elaine) Mittleider, Streeter, Miranda (Randy) Grayson, Bismarck, and Holly (Jeremy) Will, Lincoln; two step-grandchildren, Joshua (Cindy) Kary, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., and Heather Kary, Watertown, Minn.; nine precious great-grandchildren, who he cherished; three brothers, Ronnie, Lincoln, Raymond, Bismarck, and Lee, Moffit; 10 sisters, Nancy Moffit and Rose Ohlhauser, both of Bismarck, Irene Reather, Great Falls, Mont., Shirley Lave, Billings, Mont., Jean Austad, Fairfield, Mont., Betty Grage, Alcester, S.D., Gladys Engebretson, Genoa, Neb., and Donna Houle, Susan Manson and Marcella Moffit, all of Rolla; one aunt, Wanda "Dolly" Anderson, Great Falls; and numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents; and one sister, Juana Dewald, Fallon, Nev.Go to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of Douglas and to sign the online guest book.

At the prayer service on Sunday night they handed a microphone around and people could talk and recall things about my Grandpa or say whatever they wanted. Carmen started out saying the story about how she wanted to make sure that my Grandpa's grave was going to be staked out where he really wanted it to be. My Grandpa took care of the cemetery for years and years while he lived in Moffit. He taught Carmen how to stake out a grave. Well, she wanted to make sure that they were going to put my Grandpa where he really wanted to be so her and Al went down to Moffit to help the new person stake out my Grandpa's grave. On the way down there Carmen told Al that this wasn't going to be as hard as he thinks. She said there will be a sign. When they got there to the cemetery it started to rain, and it rained the whole time they were there. Carmen new the vicinity where my Grandpa had always talked about and when she walked over to the area there buried in the grass where beer cans filled with cement that my Grandpa had marked. On Monday my Dad picked up Cassidy and she told my Dad "Papa, I have a story about Papa Bug". She could never say Doug when she was little and all she could say was Bug, and it stuck with him as the rest of the 8 that came along still call him that. Anyway, she said "You know that story Carmen said about Papa Bug and those cans filled with cement, I was with Papa Bug when he did that." She said, "I asked Papa Bug, 'What are you doing Papa?', and e said 'You'll understand someday', now I know what he was talking about." Just gives me chills. Karenza took the microphone after Carmen. She is not afraid of it at all! She stood on her chair as she was sitting in the second row with Randy and me. She looked back at everyone and said "I wish for God to take care of my Papa Bug, he is at the die (that is what she calls it) and I love my Papa Bug!" Someone clapped, and she continued "Thank you, Thank you very much ladies and gentleman!" And she took a bow! Everyone laughed, as she didn't have a clue what she was doing. But she was just being her self! She lightened the room. Then I read my two pages I had wrote that I posted on Sunday below. It was hard to get through, but I did it.

Yesterday it was gloomy all day and it didn't start to rain until we went to the cemetery. Yesterday was such a hard day. I am not sure if I mentioned that Randy was a Casket Bearer along with Jeremy, Cody, Jesse, Josh, and Wes (my Grandpa's nephew who his parents were killed in a car accident when he was 17 or 15 or something. My Grandma and Grandpa were kind of his replacement parents. He lives in Yakima, WA and I would visit when I lived in Seattle he is 50 now). Anyway, the church was packed. It was the same church Randy and I got married. It was such a big funeral and all the things people had to say about my Grandpa were so wonderful and we will forever cherish. I want to scan in the back of my Grandpa's program and post the music that was played at his funeral. As it was a song played for his Daughters, Grand Children and Great-Grandchildren on behalf of my Grandpa. Which If I get an extra minute I will.