In the wake of great loss, we all seek shelter and comfort. Enter Mothe Funeral Homes. Recently, my wife's grandmother passed and while it was a traumatic event for us and the family, Mothe gently steered us through an elegant and tasteful funeral procession that presented the beauty that lived in Grandma's heart. The Mothe staff spoke with sincerity, acted with integrity and used only precise hand-picked vendors to facilitate a service that made our family proud. I strongly recommend Mothe to any and all who may be in search of a glorious funeral ceremony.
In memory of Grandma, I would like to post my eulogy, which I presented in Mothe's charming chapel:
I'd like to begin with a quote by Nigerian poet Ben Okri, who penned that "The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering". I'd like to touch on those trademarks.
Ann was such a beautiful creator, especially in her garden, which she cherished like a prized stallion of the Kentucky Derby. She had an enchanted ability of speaking to her roses as if they were children, beckoning them to open and soak up the glorious rays of the shining sun. A story that both warms my heart but also brings me laughter is a time when my wife and I came to her home to perform a few small jobs. Ann was such an authority; such a leader. As soon as I walked in, she quickly dispatched me to the restroom to replace a broken toilet seat while she took my wife to the front of the house. After about five quick minutes, having completed my task, I returned to the living room, now darkened and empty. "Where did they go?" I asked myself as I checked each room with no success. As I turned and proceeded toward the kitchen, I saw a gleam of light that strewn down the foyer. The front door was open! "Surely, they couldn't be outside working in the garden already!" I thought. I had my answer. Outside on the front step was Ann, gripping the railing like a mariner facing an oncoming storm and calling down to my wife, who was now deep in the bushes pulling up old plant roots. It was such a testament to her determination. She never stopped moving; never stopped persevering, seemingly willing her mind and soul to do so when her body would no longer cooperate.
In my brief time with Grandma, I witnessed her overcome so many things every single day. I witnessed her enduring, loving, transforming and by the Heavens, the Lord's and her own sheer will, she was absolutely greater than her suffering. My wife and I feel so privileged; so incredibly blessed to have been granted the beauty of sharing both our proposal and our wedding with her. We wished to grant her a precious gift and were given an even greater gift in return. It's a magical memory that will live in our hearts for all of our lives.
It is said that during the time of the Ancient Greeks when a person's life was extinguished, a single question was asked. "Did they have passion?" That WAS Grandma. Her heart beat with a fiery passion, love and a relentless majestic motivation that both taught and inspired all of us. Through her, we learned so much about life, love, being a genuinely good person but also not putting up with any crap when it was brought our way. We are the embodiment of all that she was and all that she hoped we would be.
Helen Keller stated that "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart." Through our minds and our hearts, Grandma continues to live on through each of us. Let us not anguish in her passing but instead rejoice for the life that she lived, the influence that she made in each of our lives and for where her spirit now resides. read more