In this photo from left to right: Galen’s son, Isaac, Ike’s girlfriend Tiffany, me, Kathy, Galen’s wife Laura, Galen’s grandson Parker, Galen’s daughter Liz, Galen’s daughter Adrianne with Galen’s grandson Eli, and Galen’s son-in-law, Justin, at Galen and Laura’s home on Saturday after the funeral service. We praise God for the grace he gave this earth through his servant and his friend Galen.
Kathy and I have arrived back home from our weekend in Indiana for Galen Dolby’s funeral services. Thank you to all of you who were praying and especially to the Lemke’s for loving our kids while we were away.
We arrived in Indianapolis late Thursday night after a crazy 2.5 hour delay in Chicago. Apparently one of the windows on our plane needed to be replaced or something. Anyways, we made it without being sucked out into the upper layers of the atmosphere. We got to Adrianne and Justin’s (Galen’s daughter and son-in-law) house near midnight.
I could never communicate what an honor it was for Kathy and I to spend time with the Dolby’s this weekend. Friday morning we went to Galen and Laura’s house. The family was preparing for the long day ahead, fielding phone calls, remembering their dad. Kathy was hanging in there until Laura came out into the family room. Kathy rushed over to her and cried in an embrace. Laura was amazing… she always has been- telling Kathy she loved her and was so glad we could make it for the weekend. After trying to eat some food (no one wanted to eat), we all headed off to the funeral home. A viewing was set for the family at 2pm- it was a hard but very special time for Laura and the kids, with their closest friends and relatives.
Laura looked at Galen’s body in the casket and reminded us, "He’s not
there, he’s with Jesus now. It’s time to celebrate that he’s home with Jesus." Through tears and joy, the family set in for a 6.5 hour stand as hundreds of guests came by to share their love, admiration and sorrow. Kathy and I couldn’t have been more
honored to be there with the Dolby’s during this time.
We were blessed to spend time with people that were so important to the Dolby’s: Men like Frank Beard and Irv Pope, who knew Galen as a kid and were a part of Galen’s growth as a follower of Jesus; People like Brad Pontius, Galen’s best friend since college and Bill Shewan, Galen’s regional coworker for the last 11 years; and Galen’s family- including his mom and dad. Galen’s viewing and funeral together must have been attended by around 1,000 people. Don Wolgemuth, the President of Youth For Christ USA spoke. Blessings were given from AJ Moyer, a former Indiana University men’s basketball player now playing in Germany, who is dedicating this season to Galen. Among the pallbearers were IU men’s basketball players who had been impacted by Galen while he was a chaplain for the team.
Well, we’re tired… I could go on and on about how rich of a weekend this was for us. We can’t wait to see Galen again in glory. For now though, we are praying for his family… and also for his friends in Bloomington and with Youth for Christ. Thank you, God, for sharing Galen with us.
An interview Galen did for RBC ministries. An mp3 or podcast are available.
Face2Face, a radio program focusing on Christian athletes that Galen was involved in.
Don Wolgemuth’s (President of YFC/USA) blog entry from July re: Galen’s condition.