 |
       More Photos... |
Updates and Information: I don't know if any of you out there will think to check this page today, but it is Dad's birthday today. Us kids hung out tonight, ate some BBQ, and went to the park to toss a ball around and just have fun in general. Tomorrow Z and I are having lunch with Grandma, Loyal, Gloria and hopefully the rest of the family. I'm sure some of you will really be missing Dad today, as we will. Not that we don't miss him every day - we certainly do - it's just extra difficult knowing that this would be his day, and all he'd want from it would be to spend it with family & friends. I found a really good picture of Dad that I thought I'd share with you. I actually took it with my cell phone at a concert he and Zach played at American River College in Sacramento. Also... that was Zach playing Happy Birthday, as you might have guessed. =) Take care, everyone... and Happy Birthday, Dad. We love you. =)  12/17/2007 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I know it's been a long time since I've updated the site, and I'm sorry for that. To be perfectly honest, I needed a break from all things "Dad-related" after we got back from Minnesota. After cleaning out his house and going through his life in painstaking detail, I just needed a little time to reconnect with my life again, or I was going to go nuts. I hope you'll understand and forgive me for that. Dad's committal service was beautiful. I don't know any other way to say it. Our great uncle Keith presided over the service - and did so wonderfully (Thank you!!). Loyal video taped the service, and I hope to get a copy of it from him over the holidays to post here. There were friends, family, laughter and tears... very fitting for Dad. =) So many of you have sent donations to the memorial fund, helping Zach get through school. On behalf of Zach and the family, I'd just like to thank you for your generosity. It really is a wonderful tribute to Dad's memory, and the fund has already covered Zach for this entire Fall semester of school. I've built a separate website for Zach, intended to keep everyone up-to-date on his progress in school and with his music. I do my best to post info on his upcoming gigs in advance, as well as put up video and audio clips of his performances (the ones I can make it to!). It's basically the home for all things "Zach". Click Here to visit Zach's website. I will be archiving this particular page over the next few weeks. You'll still be able to access it through this address, and I will still be posting updates to it, but it'll be a link off of my homepage rather than being my homepage. Take care, and stay tuned for more updates! - Jaim
Hi all! Just wanted to let everyone know we landed safely in Minnesota, and are looking forward to the service, and to meeting up with everyone. Take care!! - Jaim
Greetings! It's almost time for us to head back! Have a quick update for you regarding the reception after the Committal service on Saturday. It will be at thet Assemblies of God church in Albert Lea (Google Map). If you'd like to bring a snack or a dessert, please feel free. =) Myself, Brittany, Zach and my girlfriend Peggy will be there, as will Loyal and Gloria (they're are already there). We fly in on Thursday afternoon and leave early Monday morning. That doesn't leave us much time for visiting with everyone outside of the service and reception, but we'll be coming back again more often in the future. See you soon! - Jaim
Hello! The ceremony at the cemetery will be on Saturday, October 27th at 1:30 PM at Graceland Cemetery in Albert Lea (map). I do hope that's enough time for everyone to get there without having to get up too early. I know some of you have to drive a long way. I'm working on a small reception for afterwards and will post more details shortly. Please spread the word as best you can! Britt and I will be calling as many folks as we can over the next few days, but we don't have contact info for everyone, so your help is appreciated! That's all for now! - Jaim
I've added videos of the Memorial service. Some of them are fairly large files, so be patient. You'll want to use the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser to view these. They'll each open in a new window. =) I'm working on getting the opening prayer and the full tape of the Lord's Prayer. HUGE thanks to J.D. (my cousin) for taping the service so we could share it with everyone. - Jaim
I realized that I've been accidentally hogging all the emails from folks, so I added links to email all of us kids. - Jaim
Hello! We held the memorial service in Fairfield yesterday. It was an emotional time for everyone, but I think it went pretty well. It was a nice service, and we tried to inject as much of Dad's personality as possible. It was so wonderful to meet and talk to so many of Dad's friends and family. I had so much fun doing that, I completely forgot to eat anything at the reception, Thank you to everyone who attended, and took time to talk with us. I was asked by several people for a copy of the Biography we kids read at the service, so I've posted it here on the website. For those who were wondering who wrote it... that was me. With a lot of help from family and friends. =) I'll also be posting video (in segments) of the full service here on the site, for those of you want to see it but couldn't attend. Give me a few days for that, please. ;) We'll begin planning in earnest now for the Committal Service in Minnesota. I don't like to wait this long, but there just hasn't been the time what with cleaning out the house and planning the memorial service here. The date is still solid (Saturday, October 27th) and I'll do everything I can to hold the service sometime between 10AM and 1PM. I'll post details early this week. Thank you all for your patience. I'd like to ask for a little help, here, if I may. You see, it's very difficult to contact everyone directly, and I know we have many friends and relatives who aren't online. If you know of family or friends of Randy, please let them know about the service in Minnesota, the date and if you have my contact info, please don't hesitate to share it. In the scramble of preparing the service and cleaning out the house, we missed a few people and they found out last minute about the service here. I felt terrible, and I need help from everyone to prevent that from happening again for the service in Minnesota. Thank you very much. =) - Jaim
Hi! I'm sorry for taking so long to let everyone know where to send flowers for the Memorial Service. Please send them to the church in Fairfield:
There will be a reception at the church after the service. Sandwiches and such will be served. We'll have a time for sharing memories about Dad there. We look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday! - Jaim
Hello! The Fund for Zach's college education has been set up! You can find out more here. I'd just like to say that there are many ways to help - many ways in which you've all helped already - and this is just one of them. Please don't feel as though this is the only way to help or honor Dad's memory. We don't feel that way. Many people have expressed a desire to help with Zach's education, and we wanted to provide a credible way to do that. I'd like to thank Dee Samuels and Robert Rothman - trusted family friends - for getting this set up and helping me administrate it. I couldn't have done it without their help. - Jaim
Hi, Everyone. Well, everything's out of the house, thanks to an amazing amount of help and support. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help us. We still have a ton (and I do mean a ton) of pictures, papers, notebooks and mementos to go through. We know a lot of you would like keepsakes or items to remember Dad by. We've done our best to hang on to anything that might have a connection to friends & family, and we'll try like crazy to share whatever we can once we've had time to sort through it all. Us kids are doing as well as can be expected, so is Grandma (Jean) and Loyal and Gloria. We can't wait to see you all at the Memorial Services. It'll be great to celebrate Dad and get a chance to share memories and laughs with you. I'll have details later this week on where to send flowers as well as the educational fund for Zach. Please check back again. - Jaim
Greetings! The memorial service dates are now confirmed. 11:00 AM October 13th in Fairfield, CA, and October 27th in Albert Lea, MN (time TBD). If you plan to attend either or both services, please let me know so we can plan accordingly. Thanks again for your patience. If you're wondering how to help, please hang in there for a little while longer. I'll be posting information on a way to contribute to an education fund for Zach, as well as a place to send flowers for the memorial service if you'd like to do that. - Jaim
Hello, Family and Friends of Randy Friesen. It is my sad and humble duty to share the news that Randy - my Dad - passed away the morning of Thursday September 6th. He went home to be with the Lord, and with our Mother, who got almost a 2 year head start. Obviously, this was very unexpected, and extremely sad for all of us who know and love him. I have to say, the outpouring of support, help and prayers we've received has been overwhelming. On behalf of the entire family and close friends I'd like to thank everyone who has prayed, hugged, worked, fed or helped us in any shape or form. Your prayers and thoughts are felt, and your help is needed and appreciated. We are humbled and truly grateful to all of you who have gone out of your way to help us. We know a lot of you are wondering when the services will be so you can make plans to attend. This is our top priority, but everyone's patience is appreciated while we find our bearings and get things planned. We're doing our best to make sure we honor Dad's wishes as much as possible, and that means giving as many people as possible a chance to attend and say goodbye. This is largely why we're planning the services so far out (October) rather than doing them right away. I'll post updates here as often as I can. - Jaim Memorial Services: Back to top
Randy Friesen Educational Fund: Back to top
More Information Back to top
|
||||||||||||
