Doing some end of year housekeeping so that this website has all of our important links for posterity.
1. Dropbox link with pictures/video from the burial : https://www.dropbox.com/scl/f…
2. Link to eulogy videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch…
https://www.youtube.com/watch…
3. Link to the CaringBridge site:
https://www.caringbridge.org/…
4. Link to the memorial video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch…

Details for the burial service: listed in the below update but as a reminder, everyone needs car transportation from the main office to burial site and those 16 years and older need a photo ID to get on the Arlington National Cemetery grounds.

For the reception: there is limited street parking but there is a parking garage right across the street from the venue. Metered parking is available on Wilson Boulevard, Veitch Street, and the AMC Theater parking lot.

Special thanks to our friend Carl McBurnett who flew with Sean from Seattle to DC via Atlanta (overnight no less) as a special escort. Another special thanks to Eric Patterson and Rich Shupe (fire fighter friends of Sean's) who arranged a special tribute at the airport on arrival of the aircraft to give him honors as he was transferred into the care of the Storke Funeral Home staff in Arlington. Carl is a Delta pilot and US Air Force reserve C17 pilot. Eric is the battalion chief and fire marshall for the two DC area airports and Rich is a captain in an Arlington fire department.

Hello to friends and family of Sean. A few updates to share in advance of the upcoming burial ceremony:
1. DRESS CODE: there is nothing official but the funeral home advises business casual, although sleeveless for ladies is just fine since it will likely be hot and humid. Respectfully dressed for the surroundings and circumstance but accommodate for the weather, is what I would advise. Our boys are not wearing suits.
2. ACCESS TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY: come through the main entrance on Memorial Avenue and tell the guards you are attending a funeral. There is NOT a service at the chapel (they would direct you to another entrance if there was).
Copied from their info page:
100% ID Checks are in place
All visitors 16 years of age and older (pedestrians, drivers and passengers) must present a valid
photo identification upon entering the cemetery. Visitors include all funeral attendees, tourists and
personnel on official business. School group leaders and tour guides must also present the required
identification. Original documentation is required. Paper copies or cell phone photos are not
accepted.
-Visitors 18 years of age and older must present a valid U.S. state or federal government issued photo identification for entry.
-Visitors 16 and 17 years old who do not have a U.S. state or federal government-issued
photo identification may present an official school-issued photo identification for entry.
-Persons who are not U.S. citizens must present a valid passport or U.S. State Department-issued photo identification for entry.
We ask for your patience, as this will create longer than usual delays. Cemetery officials are
reminding all visitors to add a few extra minutes to their travel times.

Prior to the screening process, visitors should inform the screener if they have an internal or
external medical device (i.e. pacemaker, artificial knee, stimulator, port, ostomy, insulin pump,
glucose monitor), medically necessary liquids and/or medications, and/or accessories associated
with liquid medications (such as freezer packs, IV bags, pumps and syringes). To help facilitate
the screening process, medications should be labeled and separated from other belongings. Visitors
may request private screening by pat-down in lieu of screening by technology.

Anyone granted vehicular access to the cemetery—families with permanent family passes, funeral
attendees and employees—will be required to present a valid government identification when
entering the cemetery and will be subject to random inspections.
Prohibited Items
-Explosives
-Firearms
-Knives (blades more than four inches in length)
-Narcotics
-Fireworks
-Alcohol

Visitors with Disabilities
In preparation for your visit, please find the answers to your questions on our website:
https://www.arlingtoncemetery…. Our accessibility map
(https://www.arlingtoncemetery…) locates accessible
entrances, curb cuts, designated parking and other features at and around Arlington National
Cemetery. If you have an accessibility or accommodation concern about Arlington National
Cemetery, please call: 877-907-8585
Physical security is everyone's responsibility. We ask you to stay especially vigilant and remember
to report any suspicious activity to the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Watch Desk: 703-588-
2800 or 703-588-2801. Call 911 for emergency situations.

We have been asked some questions frequently and others are likely curious as well but don't want to ask, as some of the logistics questions can feel awkward, so I am including the information for you:
Q: Why is Sean being buried in a simple pine box?
A: Sean had a particular wish about his casket- most people don't plan out details like their casket so I will share the history behind this. My father passed away in October 2022 and had wished to be buried in his home country of Liechtenstein. There was a country requirement for burial in a soft wood and my sisters found a pine casket that was simple yet elegant at Titan Caskets. When Sean saw that, having at that point already been diagnosed with an incurable cancer, and like my father, being a very unpretentious person, he said that was what he wanted as well.
Q: Given the lag time between time of death and time of burial, what occurs with the deceased?
A: Sean has remained near us in Washington at Edwards Memorial Funeral Home. They have already coordinated with Storke Funeral Home in Arlington to transfer him from WA to VA a few days prior to the burial. Both funeral homes have been very kind and compassionate.
Q: Will there be a viewing and/or open casket?
A: No. We had a Catholic Memorial Mass already in our hometown of Gig Harbor and the boys and I wish to remember Sean as the vibrant father and husband he was in life. His casket will remain closed, and we will lay him to rest in that manner. For the super curious, he is in some of his favorite clothing items- a checkered Oktoberfest shirt, jeans, and the well-worn hiking type shoes in which he walked many a mile.
Q: How are you all doing?
A: The boys and I are doing fine. Given all the moving around the world we have done, our nuclear family of six always was our immediate source of support as we had to be self-reliant, but we are also carried by the wonderful friends and neighbors we have in Gig Harbor and all over the world as well as our family. My entire family as well as members of Sean's family have been a great source of support. All of you who check in periodically and share your favorite stories have brought us comfort as well. Getting over death, or finding closure is not something that occurs with loss of a loved one. Rather, one has to learn how to live with the loss, learn how to integrate the love in a different way, and find how to weave the pain and sorrow that life brings with the joys that it brings.
Q: What is everyone doing these days?
A: I continue to work at the same job I took post-Navy retirement in January 2022. I work for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Network as a general pediatrician in an outpatient clinic and am medical director for our five outpatient general pediatrics practices. I greatly enjoy this mix of patient care and leadership. Matthew works at Nucor Steel in Seattle and recently moved into his own place with his girlfriend. Liam just graduated from high school and will be attending the University of Idaho starting August 2025, studying construction management. He will take a year off to regroup and work before diving back into academics. Colin will be starting his junior year in high school in the fall of 2024 and is weighing his options with future career choices as well as doing part time work as a farm hand locally. Evan will be starting 8th grade in the fall of 2024 and still loves playing baseball.
We also often get questions as to whether we are planning to move out of Washington- we are not. We have our lives, work, school, and friend network established here and have no current plans to relocate.

Details on the burial service and exactly where to go for the burial will be added when we get our instructions from Arlington National Cemetery closer to the event date. What I know thus far is there is a main building where the cars will line up (Sean's name will be posted there) and at the appointed time, we will all be directed to drive to the burial site. An assigned military chaplain will say a few words at the gravesite. The pallbearers are required to be assigned from the cemetery. Following this brief ceremony we will gather at 3 pm Eastern for the reception. Typically August in the DC area is hot and humid so plan to dress to be as comfortable as possible in that type of weather.