A Clown, a Funeral and Balloon Animals

Hard to believe I can actually use those three nouns in the same title. But believe it or not, I attended a funeral yesterday in Kennewick and a clown (not in full make-up, but wearing red sneakers) did make balloon animals right before the funeral started. I can now cross that off my list of things to see in my lifetime!

My sister's father-in-law passed away peacefully in his sleep at home, weeks before his 92nd birthday. He was a Shriner's clown for many, many years. And so at his funeral they wanted it to be special and fun. One of the clowns that he had mentored over the years did a couple of balloon animals before the funeral started and told how Lloyd would make the balloon animals while talking to the children. It was very cute.

My husband and I have had the pleasure of knowing Lloyd for the last 3 years as he lived with my sister and her husband. He would join us for our family reunions in the summertime and I think he especially liked me, cause I would always make sure he had dessert and any other sweet treats we had made during the day.

He was a character to be around and loved to tell stories. Well you can imagine being 91 years old you would have a lot of stories to tell. His wife had passed away about 8 years ago and they had been married for over 60 years.

(Photo of Lloyd Berg taken in June 2008 by Becky Shull)