Water is pure after flowing over 21 stones.
-proverb
(My talk for my mothers funeral)
Our dearest mom, wife, grandmother, great-grandmother
is no longer pounding her forehead wishing for a brain transplant. She is new, she is reborn. She is sharp, smart, alert and better than
ever now. We are so grateful for this
knowledge that all is not lost…just added upon.
Those of you in this room knew my mom well…for you
are here..to pay honor to her and to my dear dad. You loved her…and undoubtedly you admired
her. You have probably wished, as I have, that you could be
more like her. Not many people we know
were as truly selfless as she. She did
not care one wit for the things of this world.
She had beautiful homes and they were filled with beautiful things that
over a liftetime had been gathered from all around the world…but those “things”
weren’t important to her. She loved the
history behind them..the stories they held….but her joy in them came souly from
sharing the stories about them with anyone interested. Mom was a most humble
servant of God. Serving God and her
fellow man was where she found her peace and contentment.
All of us learned what true religion is by her quiet example. For true religion is
nothing more than love. …unconditional love…utterly selfless love; a love that
seeks no reciprocation, and no thought
of reward. Her love impelled her to
action…all of her life. That is the love
God expects us to hone and develop.
Pres. Eyring said it perfectly-
“God loves his children. They
have great needs. Everything belongs to
God, so there is not much you can give HIM, after you have given him a
repentant heart. But you can give
kindness to His children. If you were my
earthly friend, you would win my heart by being kind to my children. God loves His children more than any earthly
parent, so think what your kindness to His children means to God.”
In the obit I mentioned that her middle name should
have been “volunteer” and that her
mantra in life was…”how can I help.”
Whether it was across the fence with a neighbor or across the world in
Russia…she took EVERY opportunity to help someone- somehow. Im not exaggerating when I estimate that she knitted or crocheted literally 1000’s of
hats and scarfs, blankets and sweaters for
the needy. Her needles were always clicking away…and Joe and I were duty
bound to find homes for the bags and bags of beautiful warm results. She was resourceful and persistent in
finding places for them to go. Mexico, Africa, Russia and who knows where
else these little hats can now be found.
And of course there are a dozens to be found on our own shelves and on the heads
of grands and great grands too. And we
mustn’t forget our beloved pumpkin hats. There is no possible way to calculate
the countless hours of volunteering she has done throughout the world and in
the communities she lived in. From the red cross to emergency preparedness with
emphasis on Earthquake preparedness to using her nursing skills, standing on
sidelines cheering folks on and I could go on and on and on…she just wanted to
help.
Mom LOVEd to learn!
Nursing was a love and she graduated
with honors from the UofU…and she was filled with awe as she watched the
practice of nursing change thruout the years. Watching the world change filled
her with wonder, especially the
technology aspect. Education was important
to her and to my dad…and I think we’ll
never really know how many young people my folks have helped along the way to a
better education. I have found Letters
of gratitude tucked away all over the
house.
Mom was always learning. My earliest recollections
of this was, when we were little and living in DC , mom volunteered to be a
docent at the National Zoo. She came
home with THICK note books…not one, but many notebooks full of amazing
information about the animals at the zoo…and she was to learn it…for Im sure
she wanted to be the best docent she could be.
Later in life she took classes in
sign language and became dang good at it…and helped people that needed the translating. Who does that in their 40’s…learn something
completely new!?
Mom LOVEd the great out doors and all things that
God and Nature provided. Im surprised
sometimes that she didn’t turn out to be a bigger hippie than myself. She was a conservationist without the rebel hair,
and peacesigns or the attitude. She taught us quietly and by example to LOVE
this glorious world in which we live.
All of our kids remember and loved the hikes we’d go on with her. There were also the personal trips that each of the grands were
privileged to go with her to places of interest that were personal to each
grand.. Those trips were learning experiences and filled with
good times. When growing up it
wasn’t junk tv we were allowed to
watch….at night we sat down.. sometimes.. and watched shows like Mutual Of
Omaha Wild Kingdom and National Geo and
the likes. Or it was the Olympics. Oh
how we all loved to watch the Olympics together… the appreciation of the spirit
of man and wonder of what the human body can do was instilled
in us early.
Mom loved anything that came in miniature. Her home
is full of all things miniature. And no one could make cuter things from an ity
bity pine cone. But as we all know, her
heart was Huge. I can confidently wager
all I have that none of you in this room have ever heard an unkind word pass
her lips. Im betting that no unkind
thought was ever formulated in her mind either. And I may have stumbled on more proof of this
fact as dad and I have discovered some journals this week, of hers…that neither
of us even knew existed. You’re gonna love these Joe. I don’t know what your
journals look like…but mine are disjointed and a mess…AND sometimes full of
angst…and some venting…But NOT MOMS!!
Her journals are full of peace and
calm and extremely reflective.
Just as mom was. The pages are full of the quiet ways she tried to help
people and of her struggles of inadequacy as she tried to serve in the church…3
times as YW president and 3 times as RS president. She was a wonder and a pile of anxiety about
whether she was doing enough and doing
it well enough.
Oh mom…you’re “not enough” puts the rest of us
plebes to shame.
She may have been loosing the present…but she
certainly was clear and joyful about her past…she loved remembering her
childhood and could recall things from her past that most of us with healthy
brains couldn’t pull from our own brains even now. She loved remembering the
time she had with her good, adoring brother. She loved remembering her
‘orchard’ in California, that produced the most amazing, delicious peaches. Oh
how she loved canning and eating those peaches…and all the gallons of
applesause she made from the apples they grew.
She loved to entertain…she loved a good dinner party and having people
in their home. She loved living so close
to the temple here in st geroge…and loved serving there…in any way she
could. She loved watching Wheel of
Fortune and Jepordy with dad every night…and was very skilled in coming up with
the answers. Dad was always impressed.
But moms greatest joy was her family. Family dinners happened every night as we
grew up…dinners often shared with fascinating people. Family dinners were her pride and joy. Her greatest joy was a table full of
family…grands with their beautiful wives and husband, and greats on down. Her
grandchildren brought her such joy and pride…the good kind of pride. Her great
grands filled her with wonder…mostly that she could be so blessed to have so
many.
The blessings of Moms life and her passing are disguised in our sadness today,
this week, and for a while…but there is no doubt that moms wishes have been
fulfilled…by a loving God and her adoring family. This is our gift and blessing this day. The plan of Salvation is real. Thank
God for that.
