Saturday, December 26, 2020

RIP dad

I would like to say thanks to all the very nice and comforting comments on my last blog post. 
Normally I try to answer all comments, but as you can probably understand, my mind was a bit occupied.

Monday the 14th of December we had a meeting with the doctors from the hospital, and they told us that there was nothing more that they could do. 
So later on Monday my dad was transferred from the intensive care department back to the neurological department where they would keep him covered with morphine so he didn't have any pains.

Since he was now officially dying, it was possible for all our families to come and see him, so I called home with the sad news and told Mette and the kids that they should prepare themselves and that they should drive to Aarhus so we could all say good bye to my dad.

We gathered around my dads bed one family at the time, and we sang a few songs for him. He looked just like he was sleeping, and he was breathing calmly.

We then said good bye, and Mette and the kids drove home. 

I stayed in Aarhus at my brothers place, and we went back to the hospital from eleven to one o'clock in the evening before going back to his place to sleep.

The next morning we went back, and we could hear on my fathers breath that it was not getting better at all. So we sat and comforted each other and held my fathers hand till he passed away.

The next days I used to complete the coffin, and I brought it with me home to my parents house where we would plan the funeral with the priest and the undertaker.

Building the coffin brought a lot of tears to my eyes, but it was still a very good experience, and I thought a lot of my dad while building it. Most of the hand tools I used for the build were given to me by him, and I even made the pins first as he liked. When I had to drive a screw into the wood for holding the handles, I only used 1st gear on the Makita. My dad didn't like it when people used 2nd gear for driving screws, as he believed they would loose the feel and drive the screw too long into the wood. So to honor him, I did it the way I knew that he would like.

I spread a 4" thick layer of the shavings from the thickness planer over the bottom of the coffin, and then covered these shavings with a linen sheet.
I filled a pillowcase with shavings too, and put that on top of the mattress.

The lifts for the handles were turned from my parents old sycamore tree, and Gustav turned some small plugs that would be used to secure the lid. These were made of sycamore, apple and hornbeam. 
On the end of each of the small plugs I burned either JJJ or 3xJ as my fathers name was Jens Jørgen Jensen, and he often joked that some kids he knew when he was a teacher had called him "triple J"

On the lid of the coffin I had made a cross that was inlaid with ebony. After sanding it and turning the rest of the lid grey, I reasoned that it was probably better to plane and scrape it all once more which I did.

Finally I gave the coffin a couple of layers of shellac, and I had to accept the fact that the build was over.

We held the funeral service Tuesday the 22nd, and though the pandemic made it somewhat different compared to what we would have liked, it was a good funeral and it gave us all peace.

Jens Jørgen Jensen
26-05-1943
15-12-2020

Ebony inlay

Shellac finish

Triple J

Complete with handles

RIP dad

Decorated with Scandinavian flags 




16 comments:

  1. I had a father and you had a Dad. Keep the memories alive.

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  2. A kind, good man who clearly lives on in his children and grandchildren.

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  3. I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my mom 2 years ago and we still miss her. We will pray for your dad and your family.
    Take Care,
    Chris

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  4. Very sorry for your loss. My wife of 45 years is currently in home hospice care and we are just waiting for her to pass. We will all go through it and all who have gone before have already made the journey. One thing all people of all faiths agree on, this isn't the end. Take heart.

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  5. Sorry for your family loss of your Dad..

    Be Safe

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  6. Though I never met your father, I feel like I was able to get to know him a little just by reading your blog for all of these years. You were a good and faithful son to the very end, and that is all a father can ever ask for.
    One of our most beloved Presidents said many years ago: "I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave only the cherished memories of the loved and lost." Since I cannot say it any better, I will leave it at that.
    God Bless you and your family, Jonas.
    Your Friend,
    Bill

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  7. Don't know what to say, Jonas, but my thoughts are with you.

    Matt

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  8. My condolences.
    It seems it was a good Dad.

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  9. Our sincere condolences to you and family. He is now resting in peace and has rejoined past beloved.

    I dont know how you found the strength for making his casket, but I do know it was a labour of love. And well done at that

    Cherish the memories and make some more with your children.

    Our very best regard's
    Bob, Jean, Rudy and Diva

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  10. Jonas,

    Thanks for the posts. Through my tears I sent it to MsBubba so she can read it as well.

    ken

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  11. I'm so sorry to hear that your father passed away. I will say a prayer for your family and I hope you are all doing ok. That is a beautiful coffin.

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  12. Your dad would have been proud of that coffin. Well done.

    I have so many fond memories of him, but I will always remember him in your shop telling the story of how he acquired the milkman's workbench.

    My condolences to you, Mette and the kids.

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  13. Jonas, I really don’t know what I have to add that might provide comfort, but my thoughts are with you and your family. I can’t think of a more fitting tribute than this final project that you completed for him.

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  14. Det må have været det sværeste projekt at bygge, tænkte på dig undervejs

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