So long Mr. Kerlik

On Wednesday the 30th, I loaded up the car, took the dogs to the kennel and headed down to Atlanta. I stayed with Dustin, Erin and Rylan (my brother, sister-in-law and nephew) for 2 nights before coming home! Unfortunately the circumstances for the visit wasn't what I wanted, but at least we were able to hang for a little while. I came down to pay my last respects to a great man. As you may have read in my previous postings, we lost a great and brilliant man last week, so I came to go to his funeral on Thursday.
As I got in to town on Wednesday, I stopped and got dinner with Patrick and Courtney Allen. Unfortunately I didn't make it down in time to go to the viewing, but they had went to the funeral home and we were going to pass each other on the highway so we decided to meet up. We stopped at Joe's Crab Shack (1 of my favorite places!!!) and we shared stories about Mr. Kerlik. After dinner I think we all shed a tear in the parking lot still telling stories and looking at some pictures I brought with me. Then I finished the drive and got to Dustin's house and went right to sleep.
I got up early on Thursday and began getting ready and kind of dreading the day ahead. No one of us was looking forward to saying good-bye to Mr. Kerlik. I got to the funeral home and saw everyone there. All the executives from HH Gregg were there, all the RM's and a few GM's. I didn't go see Mr. Kerlik in the viewing room before the funeral, I think I decided to let the last thing we remember of him was that big smile he always had on his face!
The ceremony was nice. Larry Keller got up and spoke, which got to us all deeply. Everything he said was spot on and described such a wonderful man. A man that took time to get to know the people working for him. A man that took time to get to know the spouses of the people who worked for him. A man that truly figured out how to have a great career and have a family life. Mr. Kerlik always told the guys they needed to do 2 things - get real close with a florist and get real close with a jeweler. Mr. Kerlik had both! His wife and daughters constantly got flowers and jewelry. He used to tell us how he had a stash of jewelry hidden away for gifts!
Then Tom Wescott got up and spoke. He asked different people to pick a word to describe Mr. Kerlik - husband, father, brother, son, cheerleader is one I always used, champion, leader and the list went on...but the one I liked most was FRIEND. Mr. Wescott shared that Mr. Kerlik played the accordion and had started a Polka band when he was younger! They even had payed gigs! He even talked about Kerlikism's! (which are sayings/motto's that Mr. Kerlik was known for) Like Kerlikism #14 - Never let them see you sweat! Mr. Kerlik had a list of isms that he used and was known for reciting from time to time. Each Kerlikism is something he believed, lived and showed in his day to day.
He was truly a genuine person that you are lucky to have come across in a lifetime. We are honored to have known Mr. Kerlik and we will remember him always.
After the funeral ceremony, we lined up our cars and went to the burial site. The processional was long and the last vehicle was an HH Gregg van! I thought that was fitting. The burial site was another tough thing to watch. I just stood there and cried. I walked up, put my hands on the casket and told a wonderful man good-bye and that I'd see him again one day.
After we all left there, we went to the church and had a lunch. We were able to sit and chat with other friends who were there too. It was an emotional and tiring trip.