Mark's funeral was attended by many family members, friends and co-workers. The turn-out was amazing. We had the memorial service at St. John's Lutheran Church in El Cajon, California with the graveside service at El Cajon Cemetery.
A few years later, I had a memorial marker made for my Andrew and placed it on Mark's grave. The cemetery is in a beautiful area with a farm behind it and lots of large old trees. I no longer live in the San Diego area so I don't get to the cemetery very often.
Click here to go to the first page in our album.
On Mark Adam's website:
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Mark's casket was baby boy blue. It's hard to tell in this photo but it was a beautiful color. It seems like such a tiny blue box to hold such a larger-than-life person.
We agonized over what to say on the marker. How do you summarize a baby's life in a few words? Finally, I found the perfect quote in an Empty Cradle support group newsletter we received from the hospital. "We will forever feel your presence and love you always." I knew as soon as I read it that I had found the perfect verse. It said exactly what we felt and will always feel.After the funeral, my very dear friend gave me a Flavia card. The verse says, "If I could sit across the porch from God, I'd thank Him for lending me you." She knew this was how I felt about Mark, and now, 21 years later, it's still how I feel.
This picture was taken on Mark's 7th birthday. His half-brothers Eric (30 months) and Chad (11 months) enjoyed going to the cemetery and seeing the horses in the farm behind the "babyland" area. We grew our own roses and each of my boys had their own rose. Eric knew when I got the pruners and bucket that we were taking a trip to see his brothers. He'd say, "Mok's woz" when I'd snip the blooms from Mark's rose, or "And's woz" for Andy's rose. I'd put the flowers in the bucket and Eric would hold them all the way to the cemetery. He's really working that squirt bottle to help me clean the markers. I knew we were moving to another state in a few months so these last few visits were precious.
This is a pastel portrait done by an artist. I sent her baby pictures of Mark's daddy and myself, several of Mark's photos, and pictures of Eric and Chad. She came up with this portrait which is so beautiful. I just can't get a good picture of it for the web so I'm afraid you can't see its actual beauty. I also have a pencil sketch of him and an artist's conception pencil sketch of my first baby, Andrew, who was stillborn. We didn't get any pictures of him so the sketch is priceless.
