Saturday marked the day my family and I would venture up north to spread my brother Chris’ ashes. It was a dying wish of his to have his ashes strewn at his “ranch” in Baudette, MN.

My brother died at the age of 59 on June 14 of liver disease.

Three of my remaining brothers and two sisters (and some spouses) took the four-and-one-half hour trek to the Canadian border to honor Chris’s wishes. We caravaned to the border and stopped for lunch with some of Chris’s ashes held in a small receptacle.

My other older brother, Tim, is a musician and he wrote a song and sang it for us at the site of Chris’s ranch. It is entitled, “Your Turn To Fly”, which takes into consideration Chris’ service in the Air Force years before.

“Outside my window, I saw a small bird; Music was playing, nothing else was stirred; Sat perched for a while, ‘til the last notes played; And when I looked up, it was on its way.”

Chris loved to be outdoors and the ranch was a place he and nine other friends would deer hunt on 40 acres. With lakes nearby, Chris also used the ranch as a base for summer and winter fishing for family and friends.

Chris was a “doer”  — always active and seeking the social life. This behavior contrasted dramatically with his final few months where he was isolated and too sick to leave his home. So the words my brother Tim chose for his song was apropos.

“No long goodbyes, no real surprise; Just spread its wings to fly.”

As the ashes flew through the dense, grey skies last weekend, we prayed and broadcasted our best wishes for Chris and his final resting spot here on earth. We knew he cherished his ranch and were certain his reunion with  his favorite gathering place was now complete.

“And to you my friend, on earth a short while; You left us to grieve, you left us to smile; The Saint of travel waits on the runway; Beams when he sees you, this glorious day.”

My mother named Chris after St. Christopher,  the patron saint of travelers and Tim’s lyrics of the saint waiting for Chris on the runway, beaming in delight is an image created in my mind that won’t go away for a very long time. My brother-in-law Rick (who was unable to attend), told us family members that after Chris had passed away, he had a dream in which Chris visited him on a bench. Rick said he didn’t say much, but what he said really affected him deeply.

“Rick, guess what?” Chris said in the dream. “It’s all true. It’s all true.”

“All is right, when you see the light; Nothing to fight, so take flight.”

 Chris soared through his 59 years of life and even though it was a short life, he lived his life to the fullest. He is now with my parents, my older sister (died after childbirth), my grandparents and all his friends who he saw pass away in their younger years. We buried our brother in the ground at Fort Snelling in June and this weekend we released him to the wind at his ranch.

Chris is still soaring. Tim’s tribute in song gave us a new perspective of his travels beyond this world.

“Fly bird fly:

Soar so high:

Fly brother fly;

It’s your turn to fly.”