By Ruth Olson
Although the search for Garrett Bardsley''s body is temporarily suspended due to snow, the Bardsley family has scheduled an open memorial service for Garrett this Saturday.
The memorial is scheduled for Saturday Nov. 27. Seating will begin at 10 a.m., with a slide presentation at 10:30 a.m. and the memorial beginning at 11 a.m. Kevin Bardsley, Garrett''s father, said he did not know how many people would attend the service, but said the memorial would be broadcast in an overflow chapel.
Garrett disappeared in the Uintah Mountains in late August. Despite extensive search efforts, his body has not yet been found. The search was called off because of snow in the mountains, but the family plans on resuming efforts to find Garret in the spring.
Heidi Bardsley, Garrett''s mother, said the service was mostly to thank the people who gave their time and prayers to help the family. She said the family decided to hold the service open to the public as an expression of gratitude.
'It''s just amazing to us how many people that didn''t even know us before have come out and helped,' Heidi said. 'This is just kind of our way of saying thank you, to invite everyone to the memorial, because we can never repay them.'
Kevin said although they have not found their son''s body, the family felt the time was right to hold his memorial service.
'We feel we need to do it to find closure to it,' Kevin said. 'We also wanted people to be able to honor Garrett and the young man that he was. It''s not going to bring complete closure, it won''t until we find him, but at least it will help us be able to move forward. That''s what we''re looking for.'
He said the decision to hold the memorial before finding Garrett''s body was not easy, but it was something the family felt they had to do. He said he hoped it would be an opportunity for searchers and volunteers who may not have known Garrett to find out who he was.
'We''re hoping that through this that they''ll be able to memorialize and be able to really see who the young man that they''ve spent time searching and praying for, that they''ll know him the way we know him,' Kevin said.
Nate Trayner, co-president of BYU''s UNICEF club, said the club spent a Saturday searching for Garrett after he read an editorial written by Garrett''s sister.
'I have a 14-year-old brother too, and it''s the least that I would expect if it happened to my family,' Trayner said. 'That''s kind of what was the driving force behind not only why I did it but I think a lot of reason why a lot of people did it. You just couldn''t imagine it happening to your family, so everybody kind of wanted to help that family out.'
Trayner does not plan on attending the memorial service, but he said he was impressed by the family''s strength and could tell they were grateful for the help.
The memorial will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salem Stake Center at Salem, 470 East Salem Canal Road.