We sang, we prayed, we rejoiced, we remembered... Aunt Dorothy Gapp's funeral was not just a ceremony but a recollection of God's grace and a life well lived. The family and friends then proceeded from Sturgis to Elk Vale Cemetery, a historic graveyard in Elk Creek Valley where the Ft. Pierre to Deadwood Trail once lay. Members of Aunt Dorothy's family have already been interred here along many others from the 1800's. Grave markers include a soldier from the US 7th Cavalry to those of a family that had once been buried in nearly unmarked graves that is now overlain with concrete and is part of the runway at Ellsworth AFB. There is something special about a country cemetery on the plains. So many surnames one recognizes as neighbors and yet so many stories that have been lost in time. I couldn't help but contemplate the eternal well being of many that had been laid to rest there. I am grateful that hope may be had when one trusts in Christ rather than depend upon our ability where we fall short. Aunt Dorothy knew her human shortcomings and was confident only in her salvation in Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Photos by Robin Lee Reinhold