On Sunday, January 25th of 2021 Brody Dee Harvey aka Tex passed away. He was in the hospital for extreme stomach pains. Sadly, overnight his heart stopped and no effort could bring him back. He served in the Navy in the 1980s, then he worked in the oil field for over 20 years. Since 2015 he lost nearly everything in terms of money and possessions, and his health started a rapid decline. In 2020 he lost his leg and he lost one of his best friends. He had no insurance or money to leave behind at the end.
We are looking at two options for Dad/Brody.
The first would be an open casket graveside service and a visitation the night before. I like the idea of an open casket service as I know it helps some folks with closure, and nearly nobody got to see him before the end because it was so sudden. The approximate cost on that is $6,300; a good chunk of change but not quite as bad as expected.
Brody said he wouldn't want a big, fancy, stuffy church service. Really he was always a fan of informal over formal, so a service isn't 100% necessary. Our alternative to a service is an immediate burial - they will put him 6 feet under and we will have a memorial at a place and time of our choosing. This is arguably more in line with what Dad would have wanted: a gathering where we all get together and remember the good times. An immediate burial would be about $2800.
We (his children and immediate family) are pretty well broke. We scarcely manage to get by between paychecks, and both the nearly three grand and the just over six grand figures are pretty big chunks of change. If you can donate anything it will help. Funds will be used for the burial up to the amount needed; if we raise more than $2,800 we will put that money towards the memorial. If we can raise the funds needed for the graveside service and visitation then we will go with that option. Any money raised over that will be used towards cleaning and restoring Dad's house and land, which have fallen into disrepair after the money ran out and his health started slipping.
We are looking at two options for Dad/Brody.
The first would be an open casket graveside service and a visitation the night before. I like the idea of an open casket service as I know it helps some folks with closure, and nearly nobody got to see him before the end because it was so sudden. The approximate cost on that is $6,300; a good chunk of change but not quite as bad as expected.
Brody said he wouldn't want a big, fancy, stuffy church service. Really he was always a fan of informal over formal, so a service isn't 100% necessary. Our alternative to a service is an immediate burial - they will put him 6 feet under and we will have a memorial at a place and time of our choosing. This is arguably more in line with what Dad would have wanted: a gathering where we all get together and remember the good times. An immediate burial would be about $2800.
We (his children and immediate family) are pretty well broke. We scarcely manage to get by between paychecks, and both the nearly three grand and the just over six grand figures are pretty big chunks of change. If you can donate anything it will help. Funds will be used for the burial up to the amount needed; if we raise more than $2,800 we will put that money towards the memorial. If we can raise the funds needed for the graveside service and visitation then we will go with that option. Any money raised over that will be used towards cleaning and restoring Dad's house and land, which have fallen into disrepair after the money ran out and his health started slipping.