What better testimony to the entire Wells family's strength of character than the beautiful memorial held Sunday, August 19. I saw nothing less than Jimmy's exact wishes carried out here. The family had chartered a boat, and then once it reached a point in the water parallel with Crissy Field, it stopped and we had a service consisting entirely of speeches from family members and myself as well.
All told, the ceremony was non-religious although nearly everyone who gave a speech spoke of Jimmy's ascent to heaven.
The speeches everyone made really reflect what a sweet guy Jimmy was. I was especially impressed by what Jimmy's dad, Bob, said and wish I'd brought a tape recorder.
His dad talked about how he'd more closely bonded with his son during the past six months than ever in life. And now Jimmy has risen above us all, to a place where he is happy.
When everyone finished making speeches we all gathered on the front deck of the boat. The family then passed around a large urn of Jimmy's ashes for all of us to touch.
Then, Brittany's boyfriend queued up the tune that the Navy always plays for heroes. That provided an apt background to dropping an urn of ashes into the sea. Each of his parents also retained a miniature urn of their own.
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