Posted By: TexOddball
We buried him where he could watch the deer. - 10/13/16 04:25 AM
My Dad died in August. He was 57.
He died of complications from a minor foot surgery, it was very sudden, and completely unexpected. None of the "end of life" preparations were ready, he didn't have a will, or any funeral arrangements. All the details and untied ends had to be nailed down by my Mom, my two siblings, and I. Among all the dozens of decisions we had to make was picking out a burial plot. We have a family cemetary, that dates back to the 1870s, but Dad had never reserved a plot. So we met with our cousin that was head of the Board, and took a stroll through the cemetary to pick a spot. Mom mentioned she had once heard Dad say he wanted to be buried near the back fenceline, so he could watch the deer. In the back of the cemetary is a grove of liveoaks, and, it being a blistering August day anyway, we kind of gravitated to that spot. Using the map of the plots, we found a cluster of unreserved gravesites. We wanted to be sure there would be room for the rest of the immediate family to be buried back there, when our times came. It seemed like the perfect spot, and then I started looking at the landscape with a hunter's eye.
The back fenceline is a five-strand barbwire fence, with a row of cedar trees growing along the other side, about a four-foot-wide lane is kept trimmed back, and I started looking for the deer trail through the cedars. Sure enough, right next to a live oak inside the fence, I could see a trail, and as I moved closer I found hair snagged on the fence, and the ground was cut up from where they jumped over. The trail and the hoof prints ran right in a line toward the gravesite we had already selected.
We laid Dad to rest in the shade of the liveoaks, where acorns will fall thick, right where the deer move through. He's at the base of a tree exactly where he would have built a bowstand. It's very likely I'll walk back there someday and find a shed dropped right on his grave.
Howdy, ya'll. I found this forum about a year ago, and have been lurking ever since. This is one of the best forums I've found on hunting here in Texas, and I decided to finally join the conversation. I mostly hunt Deer, Doves, pigs, and Turkeys, but I'm up for anything when it comes to hunting. I promise the rest of my posts will be more upbeat, but I knew this was a community uniquely suited to appreciating that story. Hunting is a long-standing family tradition, and it's what Dad and I bonded over the most.
He died of complications from a minor foot surgery, it was very sudden, and completely unexpected. None of the "end of life" preparations were ready, he didn't have a will, or any funeral arrangements. All the details and untied ends had to be nailed down by my Mom, my two siblings, and I. Among all the dozens of decisions we had to make was picking out a burial plot. We have a family cemetary, that dates back to the 1870s, but Dad had never reserved a plot. So we met with our cousin that was head of the Board, and took a stroll through the cemetary to pick a spot. Mom mentioned she had once heard Dad say he wanted to be buried near the back fenceline, so he could watch the deer. In the back of the cemetary is a grove of liveoaks, and, it being a blistering August day anyway, we kind of gravitated to that spot. Using the map of the plots, we found a cluster of unreserved gravesites. We wanted to be sure there would be room for the rest of the immediate family to be buried back there, when our times came. It seemed like the perfect spot, and then I started looking at the landscape with a hunter's eye.
The back fenceline is a five-strand barbwire fence, with a row of cedar trees growing along the other side, about a four-foot-wide lane is kept trimmed back, and I started looking for the deer trail through the cedars. Sure enough, right next to a live oak inside the fence, I could see a trail, and as I moved closer I found hair snagged on the fence, and the ground was cut up from where they jumped over. The trail and the hoof prints ran right in a line toward the gravesite we had already selected.
We laid Dad to rest in the shade of the liveoaks, where acorns will fall thick, right where the deer move through. He's at the base of a tree exactly where he would have built a bowstand. It's very likely I'll walk back there someday and find a shed dropped right on his grave.
Howdy, ya'll. I found this forum about a year ago, and have been lurking ever since. This is one of the best forums I've found on hunting here in Texas, and I decided to finally join the conversation. I mostly hunt Deer, Doves, pigs, and Turkeys, but I'm up for anything when it comes to hunting. I promise the rest of my posts will be more upbeat, but I knew this was a community uniquely suited to appreciating that story. Hunting is a long-standing family tradition, and it's what Dad and I bonded over the most.
to the THF
