July: A Fargo Visit! (Part I)

A celebration of life: that is truly what I experienced at the funeral and burial of Ed Beauclair, Aaron's grandfather and Blaise's great-grandfather.

Aaron, Blaise, and I made the 13 hour overnight trek to Fargo on July 8th. We arrived in Fargo on the 9th around 8:00 in the morning. (Kinda brutal for Aaron who drove almost the whole time and for me who worried the whole time. Blaise was up and in a chipper mood, though, having slept the whole time. Lucky guy.) We spent the day catching naps and catching up with family.

That evening was Grandpa Ed's prayer service and funeral at Sts. Anne and Joachim in Fargo. Ed was the oldest parishioner at Sts. Anne and Joachim - not too hard to be when you're 100 years old. :) The prayer service and funeral Mass were lead by Ed's son, Father Stephen Beauclair.

The next morning the Beauclair clan (not just Aaron's immediate family, mind you, the WHOLE clan, or at least as many as would fit) loaded up in a charter bus set for New Rockford, ND (population approximately 1300). For those, like me, who are unfamiliar with North Dakota geography - point A is New Rockford, point B is Fargo:

Google maps shows the most direct route from Fargo to New Rockford. I don't think this is the one we took, though, because our first stop was not New Rockford itself. We were headed to the homestead that Ed grew up on - the one his father stepped off himself and claimed as home for his family. I love history, so I ate this up!

The homestead.

The house used to be among the trees that are to the left.

Note the charter bus hanging out...

Beautiful.

Blaise (the 5th generation) on the homestead

Wake up, son, this is history!

Getting to see the homestead wasn't the only dose of history for the trip. The entire way there family members told stories about Ed over the bus's microphone. Each story was an example of Ed's sacrifice and dedication to his faith, family, and community. He was truly respected and loved by so many people. To be surrounded by the actual places where these events took place so many years ago made them come alive. It was the most unique and beautiful way I've ever seen to celebrate a life lived.

After the homestead, we drove into New Rockford to the cemetery to bury Ed next to his wife, Florence, who died in 1991. One of my favorite stories that was told at the prayer service on Friday night showed Ed's love for Florence. A week or so before his death, the care givers at Villa Maria heard him singing, "I'm going to see my wife! I'm going to see my wife!" It's unknown whether this was an actual song or foreshadowing of things to come. Either way, it melted my heart.

Aaron blessing his grandfather's grave

Is it morbid to take your son's picture in a cemetery? :)

Nope. We want him to know who came before him:

Blaise's Great-Great Grandfather Stephen Beauclair. The man who started it all in New Rockford, ND.

The whole crew, minus a couple of people who were taking the picture

Blaise and Uncle Gregory hanging out

After the burial, we drove around town for a guided tour by (Blaise's) Grandpa John Beauclair himself. We saw the house he grew up in, the places he worked, the stores he went to, the "hills" he sled down (remember, this is North Dakota). Then, it was off to St. John's parish hall for ham and scalloped potatoes. Yum!

The whole John Beauclair family (minus Naomi who was taking the picture) in front of, as you can see, the "Central Dakota Veterinary Clinic." Who came up with that clever name? John Beauclair, of course! There was a competition to name the business and his entry won. Working there while he was growing up inspired John to go into medicine.

The home John and his siblings grew up in.

I've heard stories from Aaron about his grandparent's house, so it was really fun to put a picture to the place and imagine Aaron and his siblings running around it as little kids.

John and his siblings

The charter bus took us back to Fargo where we rested up for the next adventure!

(to be continued...)