This morning was the funeral for Liliane Bell, KC5AQP, and the bulk of the crowd was from the ham radio community.\u00a0\u00a0 As I walked down the road toward the site of the grave side services, it looked like an impromptu ham fest, with all the ham radio antennas sprouting from the cars, trucks and mini-vans.\u00a0 Lots of vehicles with ham radio license plates as well.<\/p>\n
During the service, we learned that Liliane Bell was\u00a0 bornin Tonnay Charente, France on March 30, 1937.\u00a0\u00a0 She passed away due to long term illnesses caused by Cancer\u00a0in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, September 6, 2009.\u00a0\u00a0 Her Obit in the Express News can be viewed online here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The rain let up briefly, but it was standing room only, and about half the\u00a0crowd was left standing outside in the uncovered area, using their umbrellas. One ham showed up without his umbrella or raincoat, but fortunately for him, Shane NS5D had been thoughtful enough to bring a really big umbrella, large enough for him and the other guy to stand under.<\/p>\n When service was over, about 20 of us ham radio operators\u00a0drove over to La Posada Del Ray Restaurant on Basse Road for lunch.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was being remodeled\u00a0on the outside, but the banners made it clear that they were still open.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SARO had\u00a0previously visited this establishment for dinner after meetings when they were meeting at the Ruble Center, and the\u00a0restaurant staff still recognized many of us.\u00a0 We disbanded around 12:30pm, with some heading back over to Gordon’s house for\u00a0a reception, and others heading back to work or home.<\/p>\n Here are some photos from this morning’s service, taken before and then after the service, allowing for the privacy of the family and sanctity of the service.<\/p>\n\n\t\t