In December 1988 my Mom passed away after a short illness of cancer aged 53. She was interred at her family's cemetery (Urapa) at Mangatera, Dannevirke. Dad took care of the ceremonies and burial details.
The day before ANZAC (24th April 1998) my Dad had a massive Heart Attack and he did not survive. It was the day before our little sister's wedding here in Palmy. Sadly, us kids hardly saw him leading up to his passing. My brother and I spent about 20 hours going through his papers. He was a meticulous man and we felt he had saved any details regarding his burial. Nothing was found. With nothing to go by, we petitioned his sister and brother, and they knew that there was an empty plot adjacent his father's plot in Masterton, but his sister had arranged (with Dad) for her to be with her father.
Armed with that information we, as a family, decided Dad should be buried with Mum. We well knew things weren't hunky dory with especially Dad but in all their years as parents they gave us all a good start in life. Dad was buried with Mum. Soon after, Mum's baby sister took me aside and asked if I knew they had to dig Mum up to dig the hole to accommodate both caskets. To this day I am haunted by her words. Should I be??
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