This is MY dad. This video makes me miss him so bad! It includes our two favorite death songs, if you will. "All that we let in" by the Indigo Girls. I listened to this song as I drove down when Aimee died. It says, "And all that guards us is A SINGLE CENTER LINE, and the brutal crossing over when it's time." That line to me is so profound. It is such a beautiful song. The second song is "Homeward Bound" sung by the Motab. Lauren and Kate sang this song to Aimee as she died, it was on Jessica's life video, and it brings me comfort every time I hear it. I'd like to think that all I need to do to connect myself to my family on the other side is start singing this song. I don't know how, but I know they know when I'm thinking of them as I sing or listen to this song.
Watch this video and know, that my Dad was so cool. And I really, really miss him.
I love you Daddy!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
(Renamed) Incoherent Ramblings
I've been enjoying some dreams with my dad in them lately. I didn't have one until last weekend. I love dreams about dead people, because you never remember they are dead in your dream. Actually, I sometimes do remember towards the end of the dream and then they kind of fade away, it's sad. Oddly enough, I have spent way more time hanging out with Aimee in my dreams this week. I don't know why. But I have dreamed with Aimee every night this week. Why not Jessica? I don't know. I almost never dream about Jessica. There is just something about Aimee. I can't explain it. But I still have a connection with her that I don't have with my dad or Jess. I don't know what that connection is, but I just know it exists. I wish I had it with my dad right now, but I just don't.
I'm an emotional rollercoaster. I can barely stand myself. I feel every emotion on a daily basis. Yet I still don't understand that he is gone. I have far fetched stories including the government kidnapping him and making a fake body for us. And I also just have basic denial. When I have to close my eyes tight and think it through to really comprehend that he's not coming back.
My dad was going to come help me finish my low voltage wiring. It sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it IS a big deal to me. Looking at those empty boxes in my walls with a cable or internet wire hanging out is unbelievably painful to me. I was so excited to have him come up, praise me for all my work in the basement, and spend a day with me teaching me how to do it. I feel like I should be able to tell him at least, when I'm done, that I did it without him. That I grabbed his low voltage tool bag from his truck and brought it up here. That Josh came and showed me how to do it. That we figured out what that funny little clicky tool does. And that while we were doing it, and I was already feeling dizzy over the fact that it wasn't you, my husband peaked over my shoulder and said, "Oh yeah, I did this with George upstairs." and I almost fell over. Such a silly, silly thing to be so emotional over, but it is almost too much. I almost want to hire someone to do it. I want to tell him this. I feel like at bare minimum it should only be a few years before I can tell him. And then someone I know says, "Oh you're so young, it's going to be a LONG time until you see him again." Thank you. That helps.
Oh dear. If you're scared to talk to me now, I understand. I'm scared to talk to me. But I do have this wild and crazy rollercoaster going on inside me on a daily basis. Feelings of anger, or sadness, of injustice, thoughts that I know aren't true. I want to feel normal. But most of all, I want to go back in time. I want to click Ctrl-Z and undo it. It seems like everything in life can be undone. There are ways to get out of everything, even crimes can sometimes be wiped off your record. Why, oh why can't we undo death?
And on that lovely and profound thought (note the sarcasm), I'm going to go make my children breakfast.
I'm an emotional rollercoaster. I can barely stand myself. I feel every emotion on a daily basis. Yet I still don't understand that he is gone. I have far fetched stories including the government kidnapping him and making a fake body for us. And I also just have basic denial. When I have to close my eyes tight and think it through to really comprehend that he's not coming back.
My dad was going to come help me finish my low voltage wiring. It sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it IS a big deal to me. Looking at those empty boxes in my walls with a cable or internet wire hanging out is unbelievably painful to me. I was so excited to have him come up, praise me for all my work in the basement, and spend a day with me teaching me how to do it. I feel like I should be able to tell him at least, when I'm done, that I did it without him. That I grabbed his low voltage tool bag from his truck and brought it up here. That Josh came and showed me how to do it. That we figured out what that funny little clicky tool does. And that while we were doing it, and I was already feeling dizzy over the fact that it wasn't you, my husband peaked over my shoulder and said, "Oh yeah, I did this with George upstairs." and I almost fell over. Such a silly, silly thing to be so emotional over, but it is almost too much. I almost want to hire someone to do it. I want to tell him this. I feel like at bare minimum it should only be a few years before I can tell him. And then someone I know says, "Oh you're so young, it's going to be a LONG time until you see him again." Thank you. That helps.
Oh dear. If you're scared to talk to me now, I understand. I'm scared to talk to me. But I do have this wild and crazy rollercoaster going on inside me on a daily basis. Feelings of anger, or sadness, of injustice, thoughts that I know aren't true. I want to feel normal. But most of all, I want to go back in time. I want to click Ctrl-Z and undo it. It seems like everything in life can be undone. There are ways to get out of everything, even crimes can sometimes be wiped off your record. Why, oh why can't we undo death?
And on that lovely and profound thought (note the sarcasm), I'm going to go make my children breakfast.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
West Bountiful councilman dies, is remembered by city
West Bountiful councilman dies, is remembered by city
Community » George Biada began his term this year.
Updated: 05/26/2010 02:28:49 PM MDT
Click photo to enlarge
Lauren Biada (Courtesy West Bountiful City)
Winning the "Youth Citizen of the Year" award from West Bountiful City last week was a bittersweet moment for Lauren Biada.
"It's hard to be receiving this award without my dad smiling his big ... smile at me," she said in front of the city council, where her father's seat sat vacant.
George Biada, 66, died late last month. The self-employed man was on a computer-consulting trip in Wyoming, and died of natural causes, city officials said.
Lauren Biada, the Youth City Council mayor and a Youth Court judge, said her father valued being a part of the community and city government.
"We would always talk about how important it is to get involved," she said.
She was herself praised by city officials for her professionalism and organization in leading the youth groups.
George Biada was elected last year and began his term on the city council in January. Before that, he was a member of the planning commission for about two years.
"George is one of a kind; he is very driven," said city administrator Craig Howe, adding Biada could get to the root of problems quickly and didn't like to waste a lot of time.
"Interestingly enough, with all that drive, he was quite a unifier and quite a peacemaker," Howe said.
Mayor Kenneth Romney said Biada was motivated to help the city solve its challenges, whether in dealing with the budget or improvements to the streets.
"He was ready to take on hard issues ... but also very understanding and had a big heart," Romney said.
Romney and Biada were neighbors since Biada and his family moved to West Bountiful about seven years ago.
"I hold him to blame for me running for mayor," Romney said, laughing about a time more than two years ago after Romney was elected to the city council. Biada was already pushing him to run for mayor.
"He will certainly be missed on the council," Romney said.
He said the family has already dealt with the difficulty of losing two of Biada's older daughters to congenital heart failure and cancer in 2007. Biada is survived by his wife and five children.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Baby Weight
I finally got down to my prepregnancy weight, only 14.5 months after my baby was born. It took Salmonella poisoning, followed by my dad dying, followed by an exceptionally nasty case of strep throat, and apparently there was enough starvation during those 3.5 weeks that I finally lost those last few pounds that have been plaguing me. I guess I can be grateful for the good things that came from three fairly unpleasant experiences.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Recipe for Ruth- love you Ruth!
Thankfully my dad taught me all his great recipes before he died. He even taught me his sauerkraut recipe and I won second place at the Sauerkraut days cookoff. (Can't believe I didn't get first place). The thing about an Italian recipe is that it is rarely ever measured, it is almost always a little bit different from batch to batch, and it is ALWAYS evolving. So I enjoyed eating my dad's sauce because it was a little bit different than mine. So here is the recipe as I tried to measure it and write it down. I literally had to pour my handfuls into measuring cups to see how much they were.
This is a huge recipe. 6 quarts of sauce. It freezes really well. It also feeds others really well. We almost always take some to friends. Please don't be afraid to make it. It can't be messed up. You can cook it all night or for 3 hours and it's still good! Just remember that fresh tomatoes will take a LONG time to cook down, so I stew them in a pot first, and then plan on leaving it in the crockpot overnight on low and then turn it up to high in the morning if necessary. Just plain tomato sauce could be done in 3 hours on high. (This was my dad's most recent way of making it) I usually mix mine with tomato sauce and canned tomatoes and cook it between 6 and 10 hours.
If you are confused about me saying plain tomato sauce. I mean at Costco or Sam's Club, you can buy a gigantic can of tomato sauce for about $3.00. It's not Ragu or anything, it's just plain, unseasoned sauce. It's the same stuff you can buy in the tiny cans for $.025. Also, don't confuse ground Italian sausage with breakfast sausage (will ruin the flavor of your sauce) or with links. It looks like Hamburger meat, and will be labled "Mild Italian Sausage." Then you brown it just like taco meat and throw it into the sauce.
I threw my mom's meatball recipe on here too. I think my grandma taught her how to make meatballs. We love her meatballs, we pop them in our mouths as they are coming off the pan. We all drool a little bit at the thought of her meatballs.
Here are the recipes.
Two quick recipes to be served together or have two meals from one night of preparation.
Biada Sauce (An Italian Tradition)
Quantities for a 6 qt crock pot
1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
1 onion chopped and sauteed or a handful dried onions
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ T. Italian Seasoning
½ cup Chopped Garlic or about half if using Garlic Powder
About 9 lbs of Tomatoes or sauce= 1.5 #10 cans= 10 regular sized cans
Brown the sausage and the onions in a pan. If using tomatoes, blend or chop to desired consistency. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook overnight on low. If adding meatballs, do so a few hours before serving. Freezes well, and makes a huge recipe so you can share with others.
Meatballs
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
7 oz. of Italian bread crumbs
Garlic to taste (In my opinion that means a lot!)
Mix ingredients together, roll into balls, and cook on medium in a pan until all sides are brown and the inside is cooked.
This is a huge recipe. 6 quarts of sauce. It freezes really well. It also feeds others really well. We almost always take some to friends. Please don't be afraid to make it. It can't be messed up. You can cook it all night or for 3 hours and it's still good! Just remember that fresh tomatoes will take a LONG time to cook down, so I stew them in a pot first, and then plan on leaving it in the crockpot overnight on low and then turn it up to high in the morning if necessary. Just plain tomato sauce could be done in 3 hours on high. (This was my dad's most recent way of making it) I usually mix mine with tomato sauce and canned tomatoes and cook it between 6 and 10 hours.
If you are confused about me saying plain tomato sauce. I mean at Costco or Sam's Club, you can buy a gigantic can of tomato sauce for about $3.00. It's not Ragu or anything, it's just plain, unseasoned sauce. It's the same stuff you can buy in the tiny cans for $.025. Also, don't confuse ground Italian sausage with breakfast sausage (will ruin the flavor of your sauce) or with links. It looks like Hamburger meat, and will be labled "Mild Italian Sausage." Then you brown it just like taco meat and throw it into the sauce.
I threw my mom's meatball recipe on here too. I think my grandma taught her how to make meatballs. We love her meatballs, we pop them in our mouths as they are coming off the pan. We all drool a little bit at the thought of her meatballs.
Here are the recipes.
Two quick recipes to be served together or have two meals from one night of preparation.
Biada Sauce (An Italian Tradition)
Quantities for a 6 qt crock pot
1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
1 onion chopped and sauteed or a handful dried onions
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ T. Italian Seasoning
½ cup Chopped Garlic or about half if using Garlic Powder
About 9 lbs of Tomatoes or sauce= 1.5 #10 cans= 10 regular sized cans
Brown the sausage and the onions in a pan. If using tomatoes, blend or chop to desired consistency. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook overnight on low. If adding meatballs, do so a few hours before serving. Freezes well, and makes a huge recipe so you can share with others.
Meatballs
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
7 oz. of Italian bread crumbs
Garlic to taste (In my opinion that means a lot!)
Mix ingredients together, roll into balls, and cook on medium in a pan until all sides are brown and the inside is cooked.
Monday, May 17, 2010
60th Birthday Party
I've been super duper mad that I didn't post this before my dad died. It really was the highlight of the last month of his life. He had such a great time, he was so happy to surprise my mom, and he was happy to be together with so many people he loved. He really never stopped talking about it, I'm sure he told his employer in Wyoming about it the night before he died. He would have liked to see this blog post, but I guess if anyone can find internet access in Heaven it would definitely be George Biada, maybe he'll see it? I hope so.
My mom's birthday always sneaks up on me right after mine. Mine is March 25th and hers is April 5th. So a few years ago I put into my calendar, on my birthday this year, that I should plan a 60th birthday party for my mom. On March 25th, my dad called me to wish me a happy birthday. He was being very sweet trying to make it sound really cool that it was my birthday and that I was 28, and I finally interrupted him and told him that was old news. The exciting new thing was to plan mom's birthday party. He was game, and excited.
Now I must admit that I was extremely exhausted. This was right in the middle of all our basement stuff. Really, I didn't have time for all this. But I felt really strongly that we needed to do it. For our mom most of all, who has never been given a real birthday party by her children. But now I see it was for all of us, so we could enjoy this party together.
We were actually going to be in St. George for her birthday, so I decided that we would do it on March 31st. Realize that was only 6 days to plan. But we knew we could do it. I started passing out assignments to Lauren and Dad, and working on a gift as well. Dad started mobilizing his troops to clean the house. Which meant he mostly did it. Mom too. But everyone else helped a little bit I guess. He even organized carpet cleaners to come in that morning so the carpets would be perfect. Lauren ordered a cake, and scanned in pictures for the video. I designed an invitation and Lauren printed them and delivered them. Dad and I called the people that weren't close by to invite them. I had a 3'x6' color glossy banner printed out which was amazing. The theme of the party was "60...you actually made it." My mom has been through a lot in these 60 years, and she was so excited to actually make it to 60. Lauren ordered 25 balloons which we dispersed around the house and looked beautiful (only after I tangled all 25 balloons in the ceiling fan :). I provided all the additional food and drinks which covered the kitchen table, and were delish, if I do say so myself.
I must insert a funny story in here. My dad doesn't like Little Caesar's Pizza. I love the ease of picking it up without ordering and the cost too. He insisted that we get Costco pizza for the party. I was picturing us popping pizzas in and out of the oven for the entire party and just thinking he was crazy. I tried fighting him on that, but he wouldn't budge. So Lauren called and we were going through our checklist and I said, "About the pizza." Following that statement I went off on a long soliloquy about how she needed to change dad's mind, how it would be such a pain. Please plead my case Lauren! Maybe he'll listen to you. It's such a pain! When I was finally finished my dad said, "Are you done?" To which I replied, "Uh-oh." It was so funny. Apparently right after I said, "About the pizza." Lauren said, "Let me let you talk to Dad." but I didn't hear it because I was talking. It was pretty funny, but it did fix our problem in communication because I found out my dad was ordering hot pizza from Costco, not take and bake. It was all fine, and the pizza was great.
The plan was for my mom to go to the range at 3:30 with my dad. You see, my mom and dad got their concealed weapons permit, and would occasionally go to the range to practice shooting together. So my dad told her the plan at the beginning of the week, and at 3:30 I was approaching the Biada house. My dad calls. "Where are you?" I answer, "Oh you know Dad, I'm just at Lowe's buying stuff for my shelves." "What?" "I'm telling you a story Dad." "Well Mom isn't here, she's inside and I'm parking, so how about you tell me where you are!" "Oh, I'm approaching your house." "Phew, okay, keep in touch. We'll be home around 6:15."
So we took our little magic wands and turned the house into a birthday party, it really did look beautiful. And it was so fun. The guests started showing up at 6:00 and the scattered their cars around the road so it didn't look like they were all at the Biada house. At 6:05 ish my dad called (from the bathroom at Walmart) and asked what time they should be there. I told him 6:20 as Lauren wasn't there yet with the cake and pizza, but she showed up within a few minutes. So I texted him and told him 6:15. At that point my mom had gotten in her grocery shopping groove, and saw no hurry to leave. My dad had to shew her out of that store, and get her home.
We all were in their great room, which you cannot see when you walk right into the house. But unfortunately, a little boy, who must not be named, opened the door and peaked out. My mom was thrilled, "My grandson's are here." She walked in the house carrying the groceries, walked halfway back and we shouted surprise! She looked around with a happy surprised look for a few minutes, and as she saw the faces of all these people she loved, she lost it! She went straight for my dad and started crying. I started getting a little bit nervous that this wasn't the good kind of surprise. I asked her if we scared her, but she said no.
She had a fantastic time at the party, and didn't even eat a single thing. She was so pumped with adrenaline she had no appetite. She mingled with her friends, many of which she doesn't see very often, and after everyone left we opened her gifts which were lovely.
It was a great time. Great party. Great friends. I just wish we had a time capsule so we could go back and enjoy it again. I'm going to post more on that later.
Here are the videos. Not that great, taken with my phone. But still very fun. You have to watch the second one, that is when she walks in and we yell surprise.
And the video we made for mom.
My mom's birthday always sneaks up on me right after mine. Mine is March 25th and hers is April 5th. So a few years ago I put into my calendar, on my birthday this year, that I should plan a 60th birthday party for my mom. On March 25th, my dad called me to wish me a happy birthday. He was being very sweet trying to make it sound really cool that it was my birthday and that I was 28, and I finally interrupted him and told him that was old news. The exciting new thing was to plan mom's birthday party. He was game, and excited.
Now I must admit that I was extremely exhausted. This was right in the middle of all our basement stuff. Really, I didn't have time for all this. But I felt really strongly that we needed to do it. For our mom most of all, who has never been given a real birthday party by her children. But now I see it was for all of us, so we could enjoy this party together.
We were actually going to be in St. George for her birthday, so I decided that we would do it on March 31st. Realize that was only 6 days to plan. But we knew we could do it. I started passing out assignments to Lauren and Dad, and working on a gift as well. Dad started mobilizing his troops to clean the house. Which meant he mostly did it. Mom too. But everyone else helped a little bit I guess. He even organized carpet cleaners to come in that morning so the carpets would be perfect. Lauren ordered a cake, and scanned in pictures for the video. I designed an invitation and Lauren printed them and delivered them. Dad and I called the people that weren't close by to invite them. I had a 3'x6' color glossy banner printed out which was amazing. The theme of the party was "60...you actually made it." My mom has been through a lot in these 60 years, and she was so excited to actually make it to 60. Lauren ordered 25 balloons which we dispersed around the house and looked beautiful (only after I tangled all 25 balloons in the ceiling fan :). I provided all the additional food and drinks which covered the kitchen table, and were delish, if I do say so myself.
I must insert a funny story in here. My dad doesn't like Little Caesar's Pizza. I love the ease of picking it up without ordering and the cost too. He insisted that we get Costco pizza for the party. I was picturing us popping pizzas in and out of the oven for the entire party and just thinking he was crazy. I tried fighting him on that, but he wouldn't budge. So Lauren called and we were going through our checklist and I said, "About the pizza." Following that statement I went off on a long soliloquy about how she needed to change dad's mind, how it would be such a pain. Please plead my case Lauren! Maybe he'll listen to you. It's such a pain! When I was finally finished my dad said, "Are you done?" To which I replied, "Uh-oh." It was so funny. Apparently right after I said, "About the pizza." Lauren said, "Let me let you talk to Dad." but I didn't hear it because I was talking. It was pretty funny, but it did fix our problem in communication because I found out my dad was ordering hot pizza from Costco, not take and bake. It was all fine, and the pizza was great.
The plan was for my mom to go to the range at 3:30 with my dad. You see, my mom and dad got their concealed weapons permit, and would occasionally go to the range to practice shooting together. So my dad told her the plan at the beginning of the week, and at 3:30 I was approaching the Biada house. My dad calls. "Where are you?" I answer, "Oh you know Dad, I'm just at Lowe's buying stuff for my shelves." "What?" "I'm telling you a story Dad." "Well Mom isn't here, she's inside and I'm parking, so how about you tell me where you are!" "Oh, I'm approaching your house." "Phew, okay, keep in touch. We'll be home around 6:15."
So we took our little magic wands and turned the house into a birthday party, it really did look beautiful. And it was so fun. The guests started showing up at 6:00 and the scattered their cars around the road so it didn't look like they were all at the Biada house. At 6:05 ish my dad called (from the bathroom at Walmart) and asked what time they should be there. I told him 6:20 as Lauren wasn't there yet with the cake and pizza, but she showed up within a few minutes. So I texted him and told him 6:15. At that point my mom had gotten in her grocery shopping groove, and saw no hurry to leave. My dad had to shew her out of that store, and get her home.
We all were in their great room, which you cannot see when you walk right into the house. But unfortunately, a little boy, who must not be named, opened the door and peaked out. My mom was thrilled, "My grandson's are here." She walked in the house carrying the groceries, walked halfway back and we shouted surprise! She looked around with a happy surprised look for a few minutes, and as she saw the faces of all these people she loved, she lost it! She went straight for my dad and started crying. I started getting a little bit nervous that this wasn't the good kind of surprise. I asked her if we scared her, but she said no.
She had a fantastic time at the party, and didn't even eat a single thing. She was so pumped with adrenaline she had no appetite. She mingled with her friends, many of which she doesn't see very often, and after everyone left we opened her gifts which were lovely.
It was a great time. Great party. Great friends. I just wish we had a time capsule so we could go back and enjoy it again. I'm going to post more on that later.
Here are the videos. Not that great, taken with my phone. But still very fun. You have to watch the second one, that is when she walks in and we yell surprise.
And the video we made for mom.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Standard Examiner Article
West Bountiful City Councilman Biada dies at age 66
Last Edit: May 4 2010 - 11:31pm
WEST BOUNTIFUL -- On April 29, two days after his 66th birthday, West Bountiful City Councilman George Biada Jr. died of an apparent heart attack.
The former member of the city's planning commission believed in accountable and responsible government, according to campaign information he shared with the Standard-Examiner in 2009.
He was elected to the council in November and took office in January.
A viewing for Biada was held Tuesday. The funeral is set for 11 a.m. today at the LDS West Bountiful 8th Ward church building, 311 N. 800 West, West Bountiful.
Out of respect to Biada, the city council canceled its regularly scheduled May 4 meeting.
"It was pretty unexpected," West Bountiful City Administrator Craig Howe said of the death.
He said Biada will be missed.
Being from New York, Biada had a straightforward approach when it came to getting things done, Howe said.
"(Biada) was our unifier and peacemaker," he said. "He had a talent for bringing people together and solving difficult issues."
The council will fill Biada's seat by appointment after taking applications for the position over a period of time, Howe said.
"We're in no hurry to do that now. I expect that process will take place in June."
West Bountiful Mayor Ken Romney said Biada was a hard-driven man who was instrumental in working through some major issues involving some local businesses.
Being a man of character who was both dynamic and headstrong were just a few of Biada's qualities, Romney said.
Biada had a big heart and realized the importance of city leaders being unified with the other entities and businesses that make up the community, Romney said.
"(Biada) had plans. It is a loss for the city."
Romney said he anticipates it will be some time before a replacement for Biada is named to the council.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
"There are not two Georges in this world, there never will be."
My dad is the coolest. He just is. You might think your dad is the coolest, and you might be wrong. I mentioned that we had traffic stopped with 7 police cars placed around the two cities for his funeral procession. I mentioned the military honors. But I didn't even know that he had a newspaper article written about him. I can see his smug little nodding head now. He would be so pleased. I also want to mention that they had the flag at half-mast at the city office for him as well as the city marquise saying, "Condolences to the Biada family." AND, my uncle said in his remarks at the funeral that in Italy they rang the bell in his honor. Hmm, I need better details on that. Maybe my aunt will email me the details of that. Anyway, he deserves it all. Because he is awesome, that's why.
WEST BOUNTIFUL — The city of West Bountiful is mourning the death of Councilman George Biada, who served on the planning commission for two years before being elected to the council in November.
Biada was on a business trip to Riverton, Wyo., and died of an apparent heart attack in his hotel room, said West Bountiful city administrator Craig Howe.
He had turned 66 on April 27.
The city is still waiting for an official cause of death from the Fremont County, Wyo., coroner.
Biada retired after working for IBM for 30 years and started his own computer networking consulting business in 1997. While campaigning for office in 2009, Biada wrote on his website that being a consultant is like being a doctor.
"My job is to work with a client, find out what part of their business 'hurts,' and bring in the best people, products and processes to enable success," he said.
He once worked for Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, reporting on the likely international impacts of the Y2K problem.
He wrote that he ran for office to be involved. "Our involvement starts in our community and it is the basis for many other possibilities," he wrote.
Howe praised Biada as a great gift to the city.
"In his short time on the council, he was a unifying influence and a peacemaker," Howe said. "He was a strong personality. He loved to get things done."
Howe said the Biada family has already dealt with the tragedy of losing two adult daughters to cancer. Biada is survived by his wife and five children.
"There are not two Georges in this world," Howe said. "There never will be."
Biada's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 am at the LDS meetinghouse at 311 N. 800 West in West Bountiful, where a visitation will be held prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. A visitation will also be held on Tuesday, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 N. Main, in Bountiful. In lieu of flowers a fund has been set up at Chase Bank under the name of George Biada for the surviving Biada children and donations are welcome.
Eventually, the city will need to fill Biada's seat on the council, and Howe said the city isn't in a rush to do that just yet.
"We will be accepting, at some point, applications and go through the process," he said. "I would anticipate that would happen in June."
Monday, May 10, 2010
How nice of him...
How nice of him to die in the spring time so that we could enjoy a sunny day at the cemetery without jackets or umbrellas.
How nice of him to wait until after my mother's 60th birthday party so he could help us give her the surprise of a lifetime. So we could enjoy a party together with family and friends. So many people could feel like they had been in touch with him before he died. So he could praise me for my work on the party every time he talked to me, even when I called him to wish him a happy birthday. So he could be really and truly happy with my mom for at least one evening without the stresses of life.
How nice of him to wait until we could see how much Baby G. adored his Grandpa so we could always remind him that he shared a special relationship with Grandpa George even if he doesn't remember him.
How nice of him to have had such a great name so that we could name our little Henry George after him and think of him when we call our son by name.
How nice of him to have spent so much time cleaning the house for the birthday party so it would look nice when people came by after he died.
How nice of him to have stayed faithful until the end so we would feel peace when he died instead of anguish. So we could truly feel that he had been protected until he finished his work on the Earth.
How nice of him to have passed on so many personality traits to me, although sometimes I might curse them, so I can help the family out in those ways he would have if he had been here.
How nice of him to have spent the last 3 years teaching me his Italian recipes so I could continue cooking Biada food and so we don't go into polenta withdrawals.
How nice of him to wait 2 years after the girls deaths so that we could have some time to heal those wounds.
How nice of him to have not died in the car as we may have never known that it wasn't an accident.
How nice of him to have died away from my mom so that she didn't have to go through the trauma of unsuccessful CPR.
How nice of him to have told us that he loved us ALL the time, and to have given us so many hugs and kisses in our time with him.
I say "How nice of him," but I also say "How nice of Him," as I believe that all good things come from Him. He who came to this Earth to save all men. He who is the Savior of our world. He who we put our trust in to know that all things will be made right in the end. I believe that He knows us and had mercy on us.
In 1st Nephi,Chapter 1(A chapter we've read more than any other chapter)Nephi says, "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
I think we are all so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives. Especially at this time when we feel loss, it is wonderful to see how very blessed we are as well. There are a few "How not nice's" but I won't include those. And there will definitely be more "How nice of him's" that I will add as I think of them.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Funeral
Phew, I must admit, I'm glad it's over. That funeral was a lot of work to plan, and yet I doubt anyone has ever had more help with it than we did, funerals are just a lot of work and my dad always did them for us. I barely got any sleep because I was up late doing things, and then up early doing more things. But it all worked out and it was a wonderful day.
Let me just start with a little bit of information for those who are still wondering. My father died in an apparently very short manner, most likely without much pain. He had a peaceful look on his face. CPR was administered, but it just wasn't to be. An autopsy was performed, and official results won't be available for approximately four weeks. But the preliminary autopsy results showed a completely healthy person except for some very minor red flags in his heart. We were told apparent heart attack. My dad had been in to the doctor just 6 months ago and had majorly comprehensive testing. He appeared perfectly healthy for a man that age. They even did a plaque test on some of his arteries, and found them to be as large as a man 10 years younger than him. So there was no indication that he would have any problems, thus it is very clear to us that his work on this Earth was finished, and his time came.
We went in on Tuesday morning to dress the body. That is an extremely sacred experience, we enjoyed it with Aimee as well. When you walk into that room there is an amazing feeling of the Spirit. Our dear family friends, the Myers, own a mortuary. They were kind enough to provide my dad with brand new white temple clothing, which was absolutely beautiful. Death is something that used to be scary, or gross to us. Those feelings have been washed away for us, and we enjoy the sacred responsibility of taking care of the body until it is in it's final resting place. In this room, my dad looked SO good. I was almost waiting for him to jump up and say surprise. He looked exactly like himself. I have never seen a body look that good. It was a really neat feeling to be with him and get him all ready. I actually took pictures, I asked the funeral director first and he said people do take pictures. Don't worry, I won't post them. My mom spent a lot of time holding his hand. That was one thing that she could still do, and they still looked and felt the same.
It pays to be friends with the funeral director, he made our lives so much easier through the planning process, and really went above and beyond. We are grateful.
I posted already about the viewing, but I'll just say a little bit more. First of all, that day was very stressful for me as I had to get a video ready. I woke up early to work on it, and it popped out of the dvd burner 2 minutes before we left for the viewing. That was way too close for me. I don't like procrastinating, it's too stressful. I also had to get pictures in to be printed and the program emailed to the mortuary for them to arrange and print. Of course, I was at the Biada house, so I was moving in a triangle from three different computers to accomplish what I wanted to. And of course, as it always seems to go when things are important, the computers weren't always acting very nice. But luckily we got it all done, and an amazing friend, Ruth, picked up the pictures and bought frames for them all, so they showed up framed and ready to put out.
The viewing was tremendous. The line was ridiculously long, and I felt bad for those standing in it. But it was amazing to see the support and love of all these people. So many people came that didn't even know us, but told us stories of how George had blessed their life. He was a man who cared about others, and took time for them even though he didn't have it. He always answered my phone calls, even when he was working, there is no one else I have ever met who will more consistently answer there phone. And he generally answered the phone, "Hey baby." Anyway, this has nothing to do with the viewing. I was extremely touched when my high school friends all came together to see me, and hugging them was just the best. I can't believe how blessed I am to have them. Then my Young Women came. All of them. They drove an hour down to support me. I still can barely fathom that. I really and truly love those girls. It was so good to see them. Directly following them, there was a group of women from the Relief Society of my ward. I shed a lot of tears during those visits, but they were mostly tears of happiness for the incredible people I associate with.
The viewing went late, and I still had to pick up my children from my incredible, not to be named, friend. I can't say enough about how generous she was to take my kids for all this time. What a great example to me.
Then I came back and I still had to write a eulogy. I stayed up until 1:30 writing a eulogy that wasn't good. About 3/4 of the way through writing I realized it wasn't good, but I still felt like I needed to finish it. I woke up at 6:30 and wrote a new one. I didn't have time to even proof read it, or read through it so I could really know what I was saying. We had to go practice our musical number, which was fairly unprepared as well. It was a crazy morning, but I got myself ready, and Dave got the boys ready, and we left. The funeral was lovely, it all worked out. The two speakers were Ken Romney and Brian Taylor. Ken Romney is the mayor of West Bountiful and a very dear friend. He was the one who told my mom about the death. He did a great job. Brian Taylor is only one of the most amazing men alive. Seriously, we adore the Taylor family, and they had four boys followed by girl, boy, girl, I love families like that. He is married to Jill Featherstone, daughter of Vaughn J. Featherstone, who is my idol. She was the one who arranged for her dad to seal Dave and I when he was President of the Logan Temple. Brian's talk was beautiful, and so tender, he spoke to my mom. The funeral was great. We left in the family limo and I felt badly that I couldn't stick around and talk to people.
The amazing thing to me was during the funeral procession. We were told we wouldn't have a police escort. But, in fact, there were 7 police cars. They actually blocked off all intersections for us. Even 500 South, the main street in Bountiful where everything was. They had it blocked off with police cars so we could go straight through. That to me is the most amazing thing. We drove straight through to the cemetery and when we arrived there were military honors. We, as kids, never gave my dad much credit for his military experience. He was probably so happy to have this. It was really neat, and they let us keep the bullet casings to remember it. It was pretty good weather, which was nice, and then the weather turned bad for the rest of the day. Bishop Barton, the man who baptized my dad, dedicated the grave, and then we sang, "God be with you till we meet again."
We did have a photographer there, and I can't wait to post some.
The ward provided a most spectacular luncheon for us that included spaghetti and meatballs in honor of my dad, and even had strawberry shortcake (My dad's traditional birthday food). I was blessed to have all my local in-laws come to the viewing or funeral and a few of them came to the luncheon too. I'm grateful for them.
I learned that my parents live in the most incredible ward of all time. The day after my dad died we had a crew of probably 8 people cleaning the house for hours. On Monday night we had "Extreme Yard Makeover 2010" that got my parents yard looking better than it ever has! Every night meals were dropped off. Dozens of cookies and treats were delivered. People brought smart things like tissues and milk. Large bags of paper goods so we didn't have to do dishes. And so many people offered to take care of my kids. My boys felt like they were on vacation, they did so many fun things.
Meanwhile, at home, I got the same kind of treatment. A crew came in and cleaned my much neglected house thoroughly. It looks and feels great now. I asked if they cleaned my carpets, but they informed me that was just "vacuuming" apparently something I've never heard of. At least not for the last few months. And a crew of about 10 men came over to work on our basement, while the best cook in the neighborhood brought them food. My ward is full of incredible people as well, and I am so blessed to know them all. In fact, my bishop's wife came down for the funeral. I'm grateful for it all!
I heard from a few people that rumors were flying that my dad didn't have life insurance. It's true. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, and I could be wrong, he had life insurance when he was working full time, and when he retired he had type II Diabetes and wasn't able to get life insurance. But none of us would have been worried about that because we were pretty sure he would never die. Really and truly, I 100% believed that he would live to be 110. Both of his parents lived a long time with bad health. I assumed with his good health he would live forever. It was quite a shock to everyone to hear that he died as he was still going strong in every direction. Anyway, many generous people have donated already, and we set up an account at Chase Bank for donations. My mom will be okay, it's just tough having three kids at home still without a husband.
Again, thank you to everyone for all the kind things you have done, and especially for your prayers. We can feel the prayers. And we are immeasurably grateful for them.
Here is the eulogy. Again, I didn't proofread it, but here it is.
While working in Riverton, Wyoming, my father worked with a man named, Dave Parker. My father spent a lot of time with Mr. Parker doing consulting for his business. The day after he passed away we received an email from him which included the following phrase.
“When I first recruited George to work with me I had no Idea of how special he was.”
How a young man raised on the streets of New York City by his Italian emigrant parents became the man Mr. Parker was speaking of is something I will not be able to share with you today. It is the journey of 66 years and 2 days. For some, telling their life story in 10 minutes may not be all that hard. For my father, each day was so extremely full, it would take me months to tell his life story. I will only be able to give you a small taste of my father’s 66 years, and as his daughter, well, his favorite daughter, it is my absolute pleasure to stand here today and do so.
George Henry Biada Jr. was born on April 27th, 1944 in New York City, New York. Born to two Italian emigrants, as their first son, George Henry Biada Sr. and Lena Parolari Biada, held “Georgie” as an absolute treasure for right from the start. As I was growing up, I only ever heard good stories about him from his mom, he could do no wrong in her eyes. If I asked his older sister, Mary Anne, I sometimes got a little different perspective on him. But nonetheless, these young proud emigrants had no idea just how refined this treasure would become in his 66 years of life, and how many people he would bless along the way.
George grew up with an older sister MaryAnne and a younger sister, June. George graduated from Curtis High School in 1962. He began attending college at Seton Hall, but much to his parents disappointment, decided that formal education wasn’t for him. As the Vietnam War was approaching, George joined the Navy. In his two years serving in the Navy, he learned many valuable things, but probably the most important thing, which was a blessing through the rest of his life, was a certain technology on the boat operating with Sonar. When George returned from the Navy this knowledge enabled him to be hired with IBM working with these new futuristic machines called computers. From there forth George’s knowledge and understanding of computers grew right along with the technology, and I recall seeing a certificate from the early 80’s stating that we were the first people in the state of New Jersey to own a PC Junior for our home. He had a very successful career with IBM that won him many awards throughout the years, as well as many promotions. This career also brought him many transfers which brought his family to: Rochester, MN, Santa Fe, NM, Newtown, CT, Randolph, NJ, and finally to Bountiful, UT. After a few extremely successful years for him at IBM, George retired in 1997. Well, he retired from IBM anyway, not from work, that’s for sure. After retirement, he began doing independent computer consulting, and was doing that right up until the day he died.
George Biada had many hobbies and talents. He loved to play golf. He always wished he were playing more golf. In his earlier years he was a talented bowler. He was on many bowling leagues and scored very high. He of course had a talent with computers, and a talent I was always amazed by was his ability to fix things over the phone. He could tell you the exact sequence of commands over the phone to do exactly what you needed to do. He could do just about anything on a computer, and if he didn’t know how, he would figure it out. George loved to cook, and was always impressing us with good food. He kept his Italian heritage present with his meals, and taught us to always, always use garlic.
In 1969 George visited his parents in Ogunquit, Maine. They had a beautiful young woman renting out one of their spare rooms for the summer there and George offered her his phone number if she was ever in the New York area. If there was one good decision I could tell you about from his life, this would probably be it. George Henry Biada Jr. and Ann Bromley Carmichael soon fell madly in love and were married on June 5th, 1971 in a beautiful Episcopalian chapel in York, Maine by a Methodist minister. Thus began this love affair that would last for all of eternity. Few women on this Earth have ever been loved for and taken care of like Ann. His love for her was beyond measure. His love for her would take a tough Italian man from New York City, and make the sides of his mustache droop as he choked up talking about how special she was. His goal in life was to make her happy, he would do whatever it took, and he did a pretty good job of it. Together George and Ann had 5 daughters: Aimee Danielle, Jessica Lee, Erica Ann, Lauren Eleanor, and Katelyn Marie. They adopted three more: Joshua Barton, Jacob Konstantine, and Mari Corinne.
George Biada was a loving an affectionate man. He loved his children so much. He had a special way with babies, they always loved him. There was never, and I mean never, a shortage of hugs, kisses, and snuggles for the Biada children. At the age of 28, he still beckoned me to come sit by him, so he could wrap his giant arms around me for a little snuggle. With this love for his children, you can imagine how sad he was when his oldest two daughters, Aimee and Jessica passed away in 2007. George did so much for his children. More than they ever recognized in his lifetime. But there was never a question of whether the Biada children loved their father. Frequently a rolling of the eyes with him, but never a question of our love for him. George very much loved his sisters, parents, and extended relatives as well. He was continually trying to keep those relationships through phone calls and visits. His love was always extended to all his family.
As a married adult, I liked to think that I was very independent from my parents. If you had asked me a week ago today, that’s what I would have told you. But now without him, I see what a huge part of my life he still was. If there was ever a question of “Should we buy it?” we called George. If there was ever a question of “Is it safe?” we called George. If there was ever a question with my computer, we called George. I now look around me and see all these aspects of my life that are so directly influenced by him and realize how ungrateful I was for all the things he did in my life for me. But I did recognize how much time he was willing to spend on me when I needed it. I wrote in the obituary that George was a man who always did his job and everyone else’s. That is so true. I was always amazed that in the midst of working, frequently into the late hours of the night, he had time to do things for me, even insignificant things, that many people would brush off or forget. Checking on a price for this, making a phone call to take care of that. Flying to another state to help you drive my new car back. Taking a day and a half to fix my computer, even though really I could have done it. I knew he didn’t have time for these things. I knew it meant he wouldn’t get much sleep that night. But I knew he loved me and was willing to help me with anything. In fact, I heard last night that he spent the night of his birthday going up to a friend’s house to fix their computer. That was not out of the ordinary for him. Actually, last night I heard story, after story of things he had gone out of his way to do for others, things that most of us just don’t take the time to do. He is a great example to me of service.
In 1982 Ann Biada was converted and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When she told George of her new found religion he told her he was leaving her if she joined. Well he never left, and after 6 years of her and her entire ward working on him, a man was inspired to take on the job of getting George Biada baptized. That man in here today with us, his name is Don Barton. This friend, bishop, and home teacher never gave up on George. The first week of December, in 1988 Bishop Barton, and the Ledgewood Ward in New Jersey, joined together in a fast, followed by a meeting in the Bishop’s office. During this meeting, the Holy Ghost penetrated the heart of this tough, Italian, NYC man, and my father said it was like being “Spiritually nailed to the wall.” He knew the church was true, and he would never be able to deny it again. On January 1st, 1989, George Biada was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an event that certainly changed him for the rest of his life. This man transformed, softened, and held throughout his life a tender testimony that almost certainly brought him to tears. There have been so many tender mercies throughout the last week, since his death, and our knowledge and realization, that he died faithfully, holding his testimony as the highest priority, has brought us much peace at this time. On February 17, 1990 George and Ann Biada were sealed together for time and all eternity in the Washington DC temple. They were also sealed to their three daughters. And the very next month George was able to perform his first baptism and confirmation. He baptized and confirmed his third, and favorite, daughter Erica. This was such a special experience, and the Biada family enjoyed watching this man magnify his priesthood throughout the years.
As George didn’t take his testimony for granted, he felt the need to share it with others. He could frequently be found getting a little bit pushy with friends, neighbors, and even people he had never met before just trying to get them to listen to the gospel or come back to church. He was a very hard man to say no to. And he was a good missionary. I have no doubt he will be doing missionary work with his Italian ancestors on the other side of the veil, even if he has to get a little bit pushy.
I can only imagine the beautiful reunion on the other side of the veil as my father was blessed with the opportunity of being with those two daughters who he had missed so much for the last two years. We are all a little bit jealous.
In the 40th chapter of Alma, in the Book of Mormon, Alma addresses the destiny of souls during the space of time between death and the resurrection.
11 Now, concerning the astate of the soul between bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are ctaken dhome to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of ahappiness, which is called bparadise, a state of rest, a state of cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
Brothers and Sisters, the majority of you who are here knew my father, George Biada. But I would ask how many of you here knew him to be in a state of peace or rest? And from talking to him, how many of you thought he was free from care and sorrow? I want to share with you how grateful my family is for our knowledge of the gospel and knowing that if he can’t be here with us, where we want him, that he can be in a state of peace and rest with his parents, and his two daughters who passed before him.
I now return to the quote from Mr. Dave Parker “When I first recruited George to work with me I had no Idea of how special he was.” He was indeed a special man. A man full of love. A man full of talents. A man willing to serve all. And most importantly a man who had finished the course and kept the faith. He is a man that I love. And now, a man that brings me greater hope for the resurrection.
Let me just start with a little bit of information for those who are still wondering. My father died in an apparently very short manner, most likely without much pain. He had a peaceful look on his face. CPR was administered, but it just wasn't to be. An autopsy was performed, and official results won't be available for approximately four weeks. But the preliminary autopsy results showed a completely healthy person except for some very minor red flags in his heart. We were told apparent heart attack. My dad had been in to the doctor just 6 months ago and had majorly comprehensive testing. He appeared perfectly healthy for a man that age. They even did a plaque test on some of his arteries, and found them to be as large as a man 10 years younger than him. So there was no indication that he would have any problems, thus it is very clear to us that his work on this Earth was finished, and his time came.
We went in on Tuesday morning to dress the body. That is an extremely sacred experience, we enjoyed it with Aimee as well. When you walk into that room there is an amazing feeling of the Spirit. Our dear family friends, the Myers, own a mortuary. They were kind enough to provide my dad with brand new white temple clothing, which was absolutely beautiful. Death is something that used to be scary, or gross to us. Those feelings have been washed away for us, and we enjoy the sacred responsibility of taking care of the body until it is in it's final resting place. In this room, my dad looked SO good. I was almost waiting for him to jump up and say surprise. He looked exactly like himself. I have never seen a body look that good. It was a really neat feeling to be with him and get him all ready. I actually took pictures, I asked the funeral director first and he said people do take pictures. Don't worry, I won't post them. My mom spent a lot of time holding his hand. That was one thing that she could still do, and they still looked and felt the same.
It pays to be friends with the funeral director, he made our lives so much easier through the planning process, and really went above and beyond. We are grateful.
I posted already about the viewing, but I'll just say a little bit more. First of all, that day was very stressful for me as I had to get a video ready. I woke up early to work on it, and it popped out of the dvd burner 2 minutes before we left for the viewing. That was way too close for me. I don't like procrastinating, it's too stressful. I also had to get pictures in to be printed and the program emailed to the mortuary for them to arrange and print. Of course, I was at the Biada house, so I was moving in a triangle from three different computers to accomplish what I wanted to. And of course, as it always seems to go when things are important, the computers weren't always acting very nice. But luckily we got it all done, and an amazing friend, Ruth, picked up the pictures and bought frames for them all, so they showed up framed and ready to put out.
The viewing was tremendous. The line was ridiculously long, and I felt bad for those standing in it. But it was amazing to see the support and love of all these people. So many people came that didn't even know us, but told us stories of how George had blessed their life. He was a man who cared about others, and took time for them even though he didn't have it. He always answered my phone calls, even when he was working, there is no one else I have ever met who will more consistently answer there phone. And he generally answered the phone, "Hey baby." Anyway, this has nothing to do with the viewing. I was extremely touched when my high school friends all came together to see me, and hugging them was just the best. I can't believe how blessed I am to have them. Then my Young Women came. All of them. They drove an hour down to support me. I still can barely fathom that. I really and truly love those girls. It was so good to see them. Directly following them, there was a group of women from the Relief Society of my ward. I shed a lot of tears during those visits, but they were mostly tears of happiness for the incredible people I associate with.
The viewing went late, and I still had to pick up my children from my incredible, not to be named, friend. I can't say enough about how generous she was to take my kids for all this time. What a great example to me.
Then I came back and I still had to write a eulogy. I stayed up until 1:30 writing a eulogy that wasn't good. About 3/4 of the way through writing I realized it wasn't good, but I still felt like I needed to finish it. I woke up at 6:30 and wrote a new one. I didn't have time to even proof read it, or read through it so I could really know what I was saying. We had to go practice our musical number, which was fairly unprepared as well. It was a crazy morning, but I got myself ready, and Dave got the boys ready, and we left. The funeral was lovely, it all worked out. The two speakers were Ken Romney and Brian Taylor. Ken Romney is the mayor of West Bountiful and a very dear friend. He was the one who told my mom about the death. He did a great job. Brian Taylor is only one of the most amazing men alive. Seriously, we adore the Taylor family, and they had four boys followed by girl, boy, girl, I love families like that. He is married to Jill Featherstone, daughter of Vaughn J. Featherstone, who is my idol. She was the one who arranged for her dad to seal Dave and I when he was President of the Logan Temple. Brian's talk was beautiful, and so tender, he spoke to my mom. The funeral was great. We left in the family limo and I felt badly that I couldn't stick around and talk to people.
The amazing thing to me was during the funeral procession. We were told we wouldn't have a police escort. But, in fact, there were 7 police cars. They actually blocked off all intersections for us. Even 500 South, the main street in Bountiful where everything was. They had it blocked off with police cars so we could go straight through. That to me is the most amazing thing. We drove straight through to the cemetery and when we arrived there were military honors. We, as kids, never gave my dad much credit for his military experience. He was probably so happy to have this. It was really neat, and they let us keep the bullet casings to remember it. It was pretty good weather, which was nice, and then the weather turned bad for the rest of the day. Bishop Barton, the man who baptized my dad, dedicated the grave, and then we sang, "God be with you till we meet again."
We did have a photographer there, and I can't wait to post some.
The ward provided a most spectacular luncheon for us that included spaghetti and meatballs in honor of my dad, and even had strawberry shortcake (My dad's traditional birthday food). I was blessed to have all my local in-laws come to the viewing or funeral and a few of them came to the luncheon too. I'm grateful for them.
I learned that my parents live in the most incredible ward of all time. The day after my dad died we had a crew of probably 8 people cleaning the house for hours. On Monday night we had "Extreme Yard Makeover 2010" that got my parents yard looking better than it ever has! Every night meals were dropped off. Dozens of cookies and treats were delivered. People brought smart things like tissues and milk. Large bags of paper goods so we didn't have to do dishes. And so many people offered to take care of my kids. My boys felt like they were on vacation, they did so many fun things.
Meanwhile, at home, I got the same kind of treatment. A crew came in and cleaned my much neglected house thoroughly. It looks and feels great now. I asked if they cleaned my carpets, but they informed me that was just "vacuuming" apparently something I've never heard of. At least not for the last few months. And a crew of about 10 men came over to work on our basement, while the best cook in the neighborhood brought them food. My ward is full of incredible people as well, and I am so blessed to know them all. In fact, my bishop's wife came down for the funeral. I'm grateful for it all!
I heard from a few people that rumors were flying that my dad didn't have life insurance. It's true. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, and I could be wrong, he had life insurance when he was working full time, and when he retired he had type II Diabetes and wasn't able to get life insurance. But none of us would have been worried about that because we were pretty sure he would never die. Really and truly, I 100% believed that he would live to be 110. Both of his parents lived a long time with bad health. I assumed with his good health he would live forever. It was quite a shock to everyone to hear that he died as he was still going strong in every direction. Anyway, many generous people have donated already, and we set up an account at Chase Bank for donations. My mom will be okay, it's just tough having three kids at home still without a husband.
Again, thank you to everyone for all the kind things you have done, and especially for your prayers. We can feel the prayers. And we are immeasurably grateful for them.
Here is the eulogy. Again, I didn't proofread it, but here it is.
While working in Riverton, Wyoming, my father worked with a man named, Dave Parker. My father spent a lot of time with Mr. Parker doing consulting for his business. The day after he passed away we received an email from him which included the following phrase.
“When I first recruited George to work with me I had no Idea of how special he was.”
How a young man raised on the streets of New York City by his Italian emigrant parents became the man Mr. Parker was speaking of is something I will not be able to share with you today. It is the journey of 66 years and 2 days. For some, telling their life story in 10 minutes may not be all that hard. For my father, each day was so extremely full, it would take me months to tell his life story. I will only be able to give you a small taste of my father’s 66 years, and as his daughter, well, his favorite daughter, it is my absolute pleasure to stand here today and do so.
George Henry Biada Jr. was born on April 27th, 1944 in New York City, New York. Born to two Italian emigrants, as their first son, George Henry Biada Sr. and Lena Parolari Biada, held “Georgie” as an absolute treasure for right from the start. As I was growing up, I only ever heard good stories about him from his mom, he could do no wrong in her eyes. If I asked his older sister, Mary Anne, I sometimes got a little different perspective on him. But nonetheless, these young proud emigrants had no idea just how refined this treasure would become in his 66 years of life, and how many people he would bless along the way.
George grew up with an older sister MaryAnne and a younger sister, June. George graduated from Curtis High School in 1962. He began attending college at Seton Hall, but much to his parents disappointment, decided that formal education wasn’t for him. As the Vietnam War was approaching, George joined the Navy. In his two years serving in the Navy, he learned many valuable things, but probably the most important thing, which was a blessing through the rest of his life, was a certain technology on the boat operating with Sonar. When George returned from the Navy this knowledge enabled him to be hired with IBM working with these new futuristic machines called computers. From there forth George’s knowledge and understanding of computers grew right along with the technology, and I recall seeing a certificate from the early 80’s stating that we were the first people in the state of New Jersey to own a PC Junior for our home. He had a very successful career with IBM that won him many awards throughout the years, as well as many promotions. This career also brought him many transfers which brought his family to: Rochester, MN, Santa Fe, NM, Newtown, CT, Randolph, NJ, and finally to Bountiful, UT. After a few extremely successful years for him at IBM, George retired in 1997. Well, he retired from IBM anyway, not from work, that’s for sure. After retirement, he began doing independent computer consulting, and was doing that right up until the day he died.
George Biada had many hobbies and talents. He loved to play golf. He always wished he were playing more golf. In his earlier years he was a talented bowler. He was on many bowling leagues and scored very high. He of course had a talent with computers, and a talent I was always amazed by was his ability to fix things over the phone. He could tell you the exact sequence of commands over the phone to do exactly what you needed to do. He could do just about anything on a computer, and if he didn’t know how, he would figure it out. George loved to cook, and was always impressing us with good food. He kept his Italian heritage present with his meals, and taught us to always, always use garlic.
In 1969 George visited his parents in Ogunquit, Maine. They had a beautiful young woman renting out one of their spare rooms for the summer there and George offered her his phone number if she was ever in the New York area. If there was one good decision I could tell you about from his life, this would probably be it. George Henry Biada Jr. and Ann Bromley Carmichael soon fell madly in love and were married on June 5th, 1971 in a beautiful Episcopalian chapel in York, Maine by a Methodist minister. Thus began this love affair that would last for all of eternity. Few women on this Earth have ever been loved for and taken care of like Ann. His love for her was beyond measure. His love for her would take a tough Italian man from New York City, and make the sides of his mustache droop as he choked up talking about how special she was. His goal in life was to make her happy, he would do whatever it took, and he did a pretty good job of it. Together George and Ann had 5 daughters: Aimee Danielle, Jessica Lee, Erica Ann, Lauren Eleanor, and Katelyn Marie. They adopted three more: Joshua Barton, Jacob Konstantine, and Mari Corinne.
George Biada was a loving an affectionate man. He loved his children so much. He had a special way with babies, they always loved him. There was never, and I mean never, a shortage of hugs, kisses, and snuggles for the Biada children. At the age of 28, he still beckoned me to come sit by him, so he could wrap his giant arms around me for a little snuggle. With this love for his children, you can imagine how sad he was when his oldest two daughters, Aimee and Jessica passed away in 2007. George did so much for his children. More than they ever recognized in his lifetime. But there was never a question of whether the Biada children loved their father. Frequently a rolling of the eyes with him, but never a question of our love for him. George very much loved his sisters, parents, and extended relatives as well. He was continually trying to keep those relationships through phone calls and visits. His love was always extended to all his family.
As a married adult, I liked to think that I was very independent from my parents. If you had asked me a week ago today, that’s what I would have told you. But now without him, I see what a huge part of my life he still was. If there was ever a question of “Should we buy it?” we called George. If there was ever a question of “Is it safe?” we called George. If there was ever a question with my computer, we called George. I now look around me and see all these aspects of my life that are so directly influenced by him and realize how ungrateful I was for all the things he did in my life for me. But I did recognize how much time he was willing to spend on me when I needed it. I wrote in the obituary that George was a man who always did his job and everyone else’s. That is so true. I was always amazed that in the midst of working, frequently into the late hours of the night, he had time to do things for me, even insignificant things, that many people would brush off or forget. Checking on a price for this, making a phone call to take care of that. Flying to another state to help you drive my new car back. Taking a day and a half to fix my computer, even though really I could have done it. I knew he didn’t have time for these things. I knew it meant he wouldn’t get much sleep that night. But I knew he loved me and was willing to help me with anything. In fact, I heard last night that he spent the night of his birthday going up to a friend’s house to fix their computer. That was not out of the ordinary for him. Actually, last night I heard story, after story of things he had gone out of his way to do for others, things that most of us just don’t take the time to do. He is a great example to me of service.
In 1982 Ann Biada was converted and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When she told George of her new found religion he told her he was leaving her if she joined. Well he never left, and after 6 years of her and her entire ward working on him, a man was inspired to take on the job of getting George Biada baptized. That man in here today with us, his name is Don Barton. This friend, bishop, and home teacher never gave up on George. The first week of December, in 1988 Bishop Barton, and the Ledgewood Ward in New Jersey, joined together in a fast, followed by a meeting in the Bishop’s office. During this meeting, the Holy Ghost penetrated the heart of this tough, Italian, NYC man, and my father said it was like being “Spiritually nailed to the wall.” He knew the church was true, and he would never be able to deny it again. On January 1st, 1989, George Biada was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an event that certainly changed him for the rest of his life. This man transformed, softened, and held throughout his life a tender testimony that almost certainly brought him to tears. There have been so many tender mercies throughout the last week, since his death, and our knowledge and realization, that he died faithfully, holding his testimony as the highest priority, has brought us much peace at this time. On February 17, 1990 George and Ann Biada were sealed together for time and all eternity in the Washington DC temple. They were also sealed to their three daughters. And the very next month George was able to perform his first baptism and confirmation. He baptized and confirmed his third, and favorite, daughter Erica. This was such a special experience, and the Biada family enjoyed watching this man magnify his priesthood throughout the years.
As George didn’t take his testimony for granted, he felt the need to share it with others. He could frequently be found getting a little bit pushy with friends, neighbors, and even people he had never met before just trying to get them to listen to the gospel or come back to church. He was a very hard man to say no to. And he was a good missionary. I have no doubt he will be doing missionary work with his Italian ancestors on the other side of the veil, even if he has to get a little bit pushy.
I can only imagine the beautiful reunion on the other side of the veil as my father was blessed with the opportunity of being with those two daughters who he had missed so much for the last two years. We are all a little bit jealous.
In the 40th chapter of Alma, in the Book of Mormon, Alma addresses the destiny of souls during the space of time between death and the resurrection.
11 Now, concerning the astate of the soul between bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are ctaken dhome to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of ahappiness, which is called bparadise, a state of rest, a state of cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
Brothers and Sisters, the majority of you who are here knew my father, George Biada. But I would ask how many of you here knew him to be in a state of peace or rest? And from talking to him, how many of you thought he was free from care and sorrow? I want to share with you how grateful my family is for our knowledge of the gospel and knowing that if he can’t be here with us, where we want him, that he can be in a state of peace and rest with his parents, and his two daughters who passed before him.
I now return to the quote from Mr. Dave Parker “When I first recruited George to work with me I had no Idea of how special he was.” He was indeed a special man. A man full of love. A man full of talents. A man willing to serve all. And most importantly a man who had finished the course and kept the faith. He is a man that I love. And now, a man that brings me greater hope for the resurrection.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Love
I must admit. I am surrounded by more love than I knew was possible. Tonight was the viewing and it was amazing. I had a ridiculously stressful day getting ready for everything, but was amazed by the outpouring of love and support from family and friends. I am loving every second of my fantastic and favorite aunts being here. My dear friend, who wishes to be anonymous, selflessly watched all four boys at her parents house through the entire viewing, and even gave G. baby pajamas and Henry cowboy boots. This is a girl who hasn't seen me in a long time, but made a huge sacrifice. All my high school friends came together and surprised me, which amazed me. My ENTIRE Young Women's drove down an hour to the viewing, yes every one of them. I nearly passed out. Many of the sisters in the ward came down together, which again, floored me. So many people who we love came and we were so grateful to see them. And last of all, many people who I didn't know, and some of which had never met any of the other family members came and shared of their love for my dad. I truly felt LOVE. Thank you, thank you, thank you to you all. I love you all!
I will write more about the viewing and even my day later, right now I have to write a eulogy. That's my job.
I will write more about the viewing and even my day later, right now I have to write a eulogy. That's my job.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Obituary
Click here for the link
GEORGE BIADA JR.
George Henry Biada, Jr. 1944 ~ 2010 West Bountiful - Our family Patriarch, George Henry Biada, passed away of an apparent heart attack on Thursday, April 29, 2010. He was born to George and Lena Biada on April 27, 1944 in New York City, New York and was married to Ann Carmichael Biada. We know that he was thrilled to be reunited with his two daughters Aimee and Jessica who preceded him in death. George is survived by his sweetheart Ann Carmichael Biada, West Bountiful; children, Erica (David) Low, Lauren, Mari, Katelyn and Joshua of West Bountiful; four special grandsons: Isaac, Dawson, Henry and Gordon Jesse; and his sisters MaryAnne (Donald) Kammann and June (Robert) Gilpatric. As a faithful, converted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George served in many callings. He was a member of the West Bountiful 8th Ward. He held a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout his life and loved to share it with others. George was a man who did his job and everyone else's. He owned and operated a computer consulting business where he networked with many dear friends and business associates. George was active in his community and was currently serving on the West Bountiful City Council. He had previously retired after a very successful career with IBM. George spent two years serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. George fought a good fight. He has finished the course. He has kept the faith. Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in the church building at 311 North 800 West, where a visitation will be held prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. A visitation will also be held on Tuesday, May 4th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful. Arrangements under the direction of Myers Mortuary of Ogden. In lieu of flowers a fund has been set up at Chase Bank under the name of George Biada for the surviving Biada children and donations are welcome. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.myers-mortuary.com
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