Last week was a week spent honoring the passing of our beloved Kari.  On Tuesday, her funeral was held at Holy Family Parish with a beautiful service and mass.  Mother Nature (probably at Kari’s bidding, haha) spiced things up with a tornado warning that emptied the sanctuary into the basement during the rosary, but it passed quickly and the service was followed by a nice meal at the church.  On Thursday, the burial of Kari’s ashes took place in her home town of West Point, Nebraska.  Her service included the presentation of the flag to Jerry and a 21 gun salute, both a nod to her time of service in the U.S. Army.  After the burial, a dinner was held at Nielsen Center in West Point.  A heartfelt thank you to Kim and Jeremy Vice and Kim’s brother Randy Preuss, as well as all the family and friends who made and brought food.  Kim and Jeremy coordinated the dinner and Randy smoked all the meat.  It was a good time of visiting and reminiscing about Kari’s life. 

On Saturday night, a Celebration of Life was held in Kansas City, as Kari had requested.  The week she passed, in one of my conversations with her, she told me she wanted her family and friends to be happy and throw a party, so that’s what we did.  People came from all over - Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma - and probably more I don’t know about, to honor Kari and her memory.

Overall, I know that Jerry and the family have been very moved by the number of people from so many different phases of Jerry’s and Kari’s life who have shown their love and support.  All week, there were so many memories shared and so many stories of how Kari impacted the lives of those who knew her.  Whether it was because she was mentoring and teaching someone who aspired to be the best hair stylist or because she was helping someone going through some type of pain or loss, Kari always provided the most love and support. The words I heard over and over were what a beautiful and classy woman she was, inside and out. How much she was loved was so evident by the number of people who reached out, showed up, sent cards and flowers, and lifted her family up during this time of greatest loss.  She will live on in our hearts. Please keep Jerry and her family in your prayers as they navigate life without Kari’s beloved boisterous spirit and laugh.  

Many thanks to all of you. ❤️