The Idiot and family members celebrated the 103rd birthday of his mother — who was born on October 24, 1919, and died last January 15 at 102.2-years-old — by gently placing the sand urn containing her ashes, and other reminders of her life, in the Pacific Ocean beneath the family house in Trinidad, California.
The joyful and festive ceremony, which included the reading of 100 individual words written on individual slips of paper about Helen Jane Oppegard Stratte on her 100th birthday, was held in accordance with her wishes on a sunny and refreshing autumn day. And, yes Mom, we had a permit.
Here are a few shots of the perhaps-not-final celebration (there’s an event scheduled in Norway, home of the Oppegard clan, next January 15) of a remarkable woman.
An array of documents on the dining room table noted important moments in the life of Helen Jane Oppegard Stratte.
A sand urn and a glass bowl containing 100 individual words written about Helen Jane Oppegard Stratte adorned an outdoor table above the Pacific Ocean in Trinidad, CA.
A family luncheon in honor of Helen Jane Oppegard Stratte before her urn and ashes were taken to the Pacific Ocean beach (yes, Mom, we had a permit) beneath the family house in Trinidad, CA. (Photo: Haakon Stratte)
The Idiot and a niece take the urn containing the remains of his mother into the Pacific Ocean and remained in the water until it dissolved and dispersed. Yes, we had a permit. (Photo: Kip Stratte-McClure)
The Idiot and a niece take the urn containing the remains of his mother into the Pacific Ocean and remained in the water until it dissolved and dispersed. Yes, we had a permit. (Photo: Kip Stratte-McClure)
The Idiot’s mother’s name joined her son Lars, who was killed fighting a wildfire in 2001, and four other family members on the memorial wall in Trinidad, CA.
The Idiot’s mother joined her parents, Helen and Melvin Oppegard, and her husband, Dr. Paul B. Stratte, on the memorial wall in Trinidad, California.
The Idiot and family members paid tribute to six relatives listed on the memorial wall in Trinidad, CA. (Photo: Annie Curfman Smith)
The hillside memorial wall memorial lighthouse in Trinidad, CA, will, due to erosion, be relocated near the harbor in the future as indicated in this design.
The Idiot’s mother was saluted at a final dinner at the family house in Trinidad, CA, after her sand urn and ashes became part of the Pacific Ocean.
FIP (Float In Peace), Mom.
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