1979

Death of a Brother

In late September Uncle Adrian, my Dad’s older brother died.  Grandma Mixson took it pretty hard, having outlived two husbands and now her eldest son.   As typical with Dad, he didn’t say much about it but he seemed a little more somber when I came went up to Gainesville for the funeral.  Adrian was laid to rest at the Flemington Baptist Church Cemetery where there was a grave side service.  I had been to several funerals by this time, including Grandpa Mixson’s in the same cemetery, but Adrian’s was unusual in that it was a Mason funeral.  I had read about Mason’s, some secret organization that goes back to ancient times, even George Washington was one, but I had no idea that the organization reached to such a remote place as Flemington.   There was a canopy setup with a podium underneath.  Several men dressed up in strange costumes complete with hats and carrying different flags walked in in formation to the canopy and read passages from a book which was then followed by a statement and prayer by the minister.   Grandma Mixson was in tears most all the time.  Dad and his younger brother, Arnold, stood by her side and when the funeral was over, Dad and Mom drove grandma back to her house where many of the family gathered.  Word had gone out and people in the surrounding old country came by and left all sorts of food and so we had a pot luck dinner that evening.  I spent the night at Mom and Dad’s and then returned to Melbourne the next day.

The Flemington Baptist Cemetery I always found to be a special place, out in the country, a small lake can be seen beyond the cemetery through the huge magnificent oak trees draped in Spanish moss.  There is a peace and quiet about the place in a way that can only be found in the country.   I made the following sketch of the funeral thinking one day I might do a painting of it.

Funeral for a Mason