Farewell, Arvid...

Gramps and Grandma Penne came to visit us in Minneapolis this past weekend. It was a sad occasion, because we gathered to say goodbye to Arvid - stalwart, calm, unflappable, warm, gentle, kind, faithful Arvid. He gave all of us so much, in his subtle way, and he will be missed. Bill said it so well, when he mentioned that Arvid's gentle character could be summed up by the Bible verse in Galatians 5:23-24.

Here is Arvid and Lorraine's headstone at the St. Olaf Zion Lutheran Church of Odin, Minnesota. The kids were interested in seeing the prevalent Laingen name all around this little church. Dad gave a beautiful eulogy for Arvid... and reminded all of us what arvid sprayed on his Odin Feed Mill window way back in 1981 when the hostages returned... "Amen." Curt went to the Feed Mill after Arvid's funeral on Saturday and sprayed the same word again, in the same spot!

Here are my cousins on Arvid's side... Steve, Patti, Brad, Karen, Bruce and Curt.

We had a really nice visit with all of the relatives at Arvid and Lorraine's house... It doens't feel right without the two of them there... yet they were all around us.

The kids really enjoyed the farm atmosphere, as always... Curt dragged out the John Deere Gator that he gave to Arvid a couple of years ago, and they had a ball driving that around the farm.

On Sunday night, we went to the historic Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis, where Gramps raised money for a trip to Norway while he was in college... and where a giant yellow ribbon was displayed for the hostages over 3o years ago! The beautiful skyscraper looks like a Washington Monument... and in fact we learned that indeed the architect had built it to honor George Washington... it is now a luxury "W" hotel, and is beautifully restored. There is a small museum on the 30th floor, where a history of the Foshay is displayed - including a small tribute to the yellow ribbon around the building.