Monthly Archives: April 2012

by | April 17, 2012 · 10:43 pm

“Photographs and Memories”

Lucy’s obituary ran today in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Mesabi Daily News newspapers.

The funeral home will put together a DVD that will play during the visitation. I will be supplying 30 photographs tomorrow morning so the production gets done before the service on Saturday.

Steve and Liz invited me over for dinner tonight. I really appreciated getting out and spending time with them. I brought along a CD with about 90 scanned photos of Lucy. I knew this would help me select the 30 I need. While going through the pictures, I ran across some I had forgotten about. The memories were so soothing. I’ll miss Lucy for the remainder of my time here, but the wonderful memories of our time together ease most of the pain.

I was thinking about having a tribute board displayed during the visitation. The funeral service will be short and simple per Lucy’s request so there is no time for people speaking during the service. By having the written tributes, people can honor Lucy. I will make the tributes available on the blog as quickly as I can afterwards since I know there are a number of people who cannot attend. If you would like to leave a tribute, please email it to tealowljourney@gmail.com. I’ll mask your email address. Any tributes brought the day of the service will get transcribed and posted later.

The post title is a Jim Croce song from 1972.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Filed under music, rebuilding

by | April 16, 2012 · 10:29 am

Lucy’s Obituary

Lucy’s cancer battle ended Friday, April 13, 2012. She was 54 years old.

Lucille Marie (Honkanen) Hopperstad was born February 5, 1958 in Virginia, MN to Robert and Betty (Rooning) Honkanen. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Virginia and attended Iron Range Technical College. Lucy married Ken Hopperstad June 4, 1988 in Bloomington, MN. She enjoyed Twins games, gardening, biking, and spending time with her family.

She is survived by her husband, Ken; father Robert, brother Steve (Liz) Honkanen and daughter Micaela; sisters Suzy Galles, son Derek and daughter Kristin, Julie Greenbush and son Brady; parents-in-law, Ken and Hazel Hopperstad; brothers-in-law, Jim Hopperstad and son Mark, and John Hopperstad and son Jacob; and her best friend Diane Benner.

Lucy was preceded in death by her mother Betty Honkanen and brother-in-law, Robert Hopperstad.

Visitation is from 2:30 – 3:30 Saturday April 21 at Washburn-McReavy Funeral Home, 2100 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, with the funeral service at 3:30. Inurnment will be at a future date.

Thank you to Minnesota Oncology and Fairview Hospice for helping Lucy with her battle, her co-workers at A. J. Gallagher for their encouragement, and to all the friends and family who supported her.

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by | April 15, 2012 · 9:15 pm

Funeral arrangements

If you think planning a wedding is stressful, try planning a funeral. Thankfully, the funeral home has been very compassionate and professional.

Lucy’s funeral will be held Saturday, April 21st at Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapel, 2300 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431. It is on the corner of Old Shakopee Road and Penn Avenue South.

Lucy absolutely did NOT like being the center of attention so per her wishes, there is no viewing. Her inurnment will be at a later date. Visitation is from 2:30 – 3:30. The service will be from 3:30 – 4:00 and we will be having light refreshments afterwards.

Lucy’s obituary did not make the Sunday Star Tribune or Mesabi Daily News because I could not get to meet with a funeral director until after publication deadlines (1:00 pm Saturday for Sunday’s paper). I’ll let you know when the obituary is published. The funeral home web site will also publish her obituary. If anything changes, I will post another update on the blog.

Thank you for your patience.

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by | April 14, 2012 · 12:17 am

Lucy’s battle has ended

Lucy passed away at 10:45 PM CDT tonight (Friday). Her passing was peaceful. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Please keep Lucy in your thoughts and prayers.

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Filed under cancer battle, hospice, rebuilding

by | April 13, 2012 · 3:26 pm

Two weeks at home

Lucy is still with us. She has been home now for two weeks. I can honestly say that she is comfortable and relaxed. She does have some periods of tension, but I am learning how to better manage those.

The hospice volunteers have been so amazing so far. I have been administering Lucy’s comfort meds round the clock for the past four days with some dosage and timing adjustments to help keep Lucy as comfortable as possible. Having the volunteers here helps relax Lucy, and I can get some power naps or complete some errands. Checking items off a “to do” list is very satisfying. Something as simple as having lunch with my parents away from the house helps keep me refreshed.

Two Janes have been here today. Volunteer Jane did a phenomenal job at getting Lucy to relax. Her background included being a psychotherapist for a number of years in addition to working within the healthcare profession. Lucy really enjoyed the hand massages and the soothing voice. Nurse Jane checked on Lucy’s condition, reviewed the meds log, and observed how peaceful Lucy was. The meds do not need adjusting which is a relief.

I haven’t been doing daily updates because Lucy’s condition has not changed much. Our gardens, however, are surprising me with how early some of her flowers are blooming. Our miniature irises are already blooming about three weeks early. The daffodils are already done for the season, and the early tulips and lilac bushes will bloom in the next couple of days.

We are so thankful for all the love and support everyone so generously gives us. It helps gives us comfort and strength and we are so grateful to you all!

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Filed under cancer battle, gardening, hospice