Dale lost one of his best friends, who happens to have been a cousin as well. It was a very tough loss for him, but anyone who knows Dale knows he’s a very spiritual person.

Although his heart aches and his mind was full of disbelief, he understood better than most that he was at peace.

We attended his celebration of life which was celebrated in the Buddhist tradition. I had talks with Dale prior about how things may be done differently than we are accustomed to but at the end, we are still honoring our loved one.

Of course, anyone who knows Dale knows if an opportunity came for him to speak, he would and would tell a story tear worthy of the toughest person in the room.

For a second, I was a little nervous, I prayed he remembered our conversation about the differences in our beliefs and hoped he’d be respectful of that. Looking back, don’t even know what I was worried about. He shared his story of all the wonderful times they shared, we even chuckled a little when he shared how his cousin use to tell him to “give me the light Dale today, take it easy on me man.” If you know Dale, you know he loves hard and he doesn’t bite his tongue when he feels you need a little tough love that he will back up with scripture….LOL!!

Well, to wrap this up, Dale did visit a little scripture, just a touch, but he ended by saying “no matter what God you serve, or what your beliefs are, what we all know is that he is at Peace and that I Love You Forever Man.”

Was the most touching thing I’d heard. It even moved the man that was officiating the service. He actually hugged Dale and told him “young man, you certainly have a gift, well done.”