Saturday we attended Lincoln Dastrup’s funeral. About ten days ago he was killed in a plane crash, he was the pilot. Three other men were also killed. They were friends in a private plane on a business trip. So sad for all their families. Because it was a closed casket, the family did a graveside burial service a few days after the accident, mostly for family only. Then the funerals were planned, each family planning their own, and attending each others. Quadruple sorrow.
One of the speakers at Lincoln’s funeral was an instructor pilot who taught and flew with Lincoln many times. He said Lincoln was one of the most skilled pilots he’d ever flown with, very careful in every way. We just never know what can go wrong. The report we read said that they suspect that sudden fierce winds pulled them down right after take off.
We know the Dastrup family well. Several years ago we were their home teachers when they lived here in our ward. We love this family, and never lost touch with them after they moved away. His oldest, a son, is 31 and his youngest, a daughter, is 16. Five children in all. They each spoke at the funeral and it was the sweetest thing ever. We were so touched by the love they have for their father, and what a great and loving father he was to them They laughed and cried as they shared their memories. He had filled their young lives with so much fun and yet expected great things from them. He taught them the gospel through his righteous living and his private conversations with them. They will miss him terribly but have a sure faith they will see him again. We scanned these photos from his funeral program.
His wife, Linda, is a gem. We adore her. This is so tragic for her. What a good, and loving wife and mother she has been, and always serving in the Church, too. A couple of years ago she had us come and speak at their young women’s camp they held at their nearby ranch. It was a sweet experience. Linda and their youngest daughter Haley were models for our illustrated poem on adoption, when she was just a baby. Though she’s not adopted, she and Linda were the perfect models.
We never know how long we will be on this earth. All we can do is the best we can do, love our families and serve the Lord. Lincoln left a great legacy of both for his family. Funerals make us think, they put life in perspective, clarifying that the Plan of Salvation the Lord has provided is the greatest comfort and blessing there could ever be. My new motto: Be faithful, we never know when our time will come.
