The Funeral

August 16, 2006
We went to Doug's funeral today in Park City. It was nice to see so many old friends and the place was packed. It looked like the family was hit pretty hard, but I think the funeral was therapeutic. Both Logan and Brennan spoke and did a nice job talking about things their dad had taught them. Scott Thornton also, and Doug's friend Bob Whitman, the CEO of Franklin Covey.

I like funerals, much more than weddings. Weddings have this naive sense of optimism, like now that I've found my spouse everything is going to be great. The fact is, the problems usually start the next day. A wedding should be a more sober affair, when you make commitments and think long and hard about the hard work it will be to make the marriage successful. Of course, maybe no one would ever do it then.

Funerals are different. They are just filled with love and compassion. There is no pretense. We all care deeply for those that mourn, and we comfort those that stand in need of comfort. And in LDS funerals, there is generally this matter-of-fact faith that while we have suffered a loss on earth, we will meet again in the eternities. I'm not planning on going Harold and Maude or anything, but I've never met a funeral I didn't like.

Two great lines there, and I think Doug would have appreciated them both:

Afterwards we were talking to Polly about burying Doug in Kaysville. She said: "I know. Doug's going to be so mad at me!" Which somehow struck me as beautifully faithful and completely hilarious.

Immediately after the funeral, Dan Portwood says to Lee Benson and I: "What an amazing guy. How do you get to be so amazing?" And after he walks away, Lee says: "You die." Not to take a whit away from Doug, but so true.