Mom’s passing has been one of the most difficult events in my life. Anita and I want to thank everyone for the love, support and prayers during these past few weeks and those who celebrated mom’s life with us on Saturday, October 22 at her memorial service. We definitely experienced God’s presence, love, peace and joy during the celebration of life service! The following video was created by my niece in Arizona and played in both the Arizona and Pennsylvania celebration of life services. Below the video is my memories shared during the celebration here in Allentown.
Our sincere condolences and prayers go out to Nate Fluck and his family, since his mom has also passed away recently.
Thank you all for your love, support and prayers during the last few weeks since mom passed away and for joining us today as we celebrate her life. Mom, you were a devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and servant of Christ. So much of whom I am today is a result of my upbringing by you and dad. I may have stumbled many times throughout my life, but I’m sure you know that the seed you and dad planted in me as a child by taking me to church is bearing much fruit today in my life.
An important part of being a Christian is confessing. As I said before, I stumbled. Two of my life verses are as James 5:16 states, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed,” and 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
So mom, here are the top 10 confessions of your sons- Jeff, Greg and myself:
10. Greg broke the candy dish!
9. I burnt the popcorn in your sauce pan and hid it in the shanty! I guess woman’s intuition is why my lovely wife Anita doesn’t let me too close to the kitchen!
8. You know all of your large cooking pots that have disappeared…no wait…that wasn’t us…dad used them to catch the oil draining from the cars!
7. I think it was Jeff who threw the baseball that smashed through the bay window, when papa thought the television exploded!
6. Jeff and I also broke candy dishes! I don’t believe you ever knew who broke what when it happened. Us boys could stick together most of the time…a vow of silence!
5. It was Greg’s idea to bring the garden hose in the house during a water battle…no wait…he was the one who called you at work! Even a dehumidifier could not have possibly dried the house any better than us kids after that telephone call.
4. I don’t remember if it was Jeff or me who lit the fuse on the firecrackers which were put in the coffee can and placed in Greg’s bedroom, but it definitely was an effective alarm clock! That was probably shortly after he ratted us out about the garden hose!
3. The three of us cleared out the dining room and had many roller derbies on the hardwood floors! I’m sure these were the source of some of Greg’s injuries!
2. Greg learned things way before his time…it was sink or swim in so many ways…he learned to ride a bike by having him hang onto the apple tree….inserting the bike under him…having him let go…..and push! Go…go…go!
1. If it wasn’t broke, we took it apart anyway!
We had a great childhood. You and dad made sure we attended worship and Sunday school to learn about God & Jesus! You served as the children’s choir director in which us boys sang. I’m not quite sure how you were able to handle 20 children all singing in a different key, but I’m sure you loved it! I know us boys didn’t appreciate wearing those dresses...I mean choir gowns! You taught us so much in Cub Scouts, when you were Den Leader Coach and later by taking us to boy scouts at church, and so many trips to Camp Trexler. You took us everywhere in “mom’s taxi.” I remember how we all got excited when we headed to Asbury Park, NJ for the day! We traveled as a family to see Uncle Willard perform in the Broadway Buckaroos! It was so cool when you filled our living room with music!
You and dad always instilled the importance of family in our lives! I remember many times visiting nana and papa in West Catasauqua and then in Florida. It was fun spending time in Maryland with Uncle Ron and Aunt Joan, and Uncle Doug and Aunt Helen. Uncle Ron has been a great mentor to me through the years! He and Aunt Joan opened their home to us boys so many times for extended visits. We had a blast when Uncle Doug took us tobogganing. Of course we managed to lose Greg off the back, half way down the hill, or positioned him just right to catch the snow spray so that he looked like a snowman at the bottom of the hill!
As a grandmother, you spent so much time with your grandkids. You were like a mother to them in so many ways! It was awesome when you watched them on Saturday evenings when we went out bowling with family & friends. You watched Lori and Eric for years when Jeff went to work. You picked up my children to take them to celebration group at church, where you gave so much of yourself! I remember you having a real challenge finding Kyle sometimes! Both your grandkids and great-grandkids enjoyed the family gatherings and swimming at your home. I’m not sure how they felt when the pool wall collapsed and the were almost swimming in the river on Front Street… a bit scared at the time, but laughing about it later!
Anita and I enjoyed our trips with you and dad, especially the vacations in Florida, & trips to Indiana & Arizona. You sure knew how to overstuff a suitcase! We also enjoyed going to Sight & Sound Theater in Lancaster with both of you. Anita tells me that she is grateful to our Lord and always felt blessed to have you in her life as her mom-in-law!
As Jesus said to his disciples in John 13:14, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” Mom, you definitely understood that Jesus did not come to earth to be served, but to serve others.
You shared your musical talents for over 50 years as a pianist, choir director, bell choir director, soloist, and organist at Salem United Church of Christ in Catasauqua. You were a deacon, elder and the first woman president of the consistory board of Salem UCC. You served passionately at Phoebe Home as a volunteer, pianist, and auxiliary president for many years. You volunteered many years at the Thrift Shop in Catty. You and dad worked tirelessly delivering Meals on Wheels to seniors in desperate need of nutritious meals and human contact, including your love and prayers. I’m sure it took you four hours to deliver the meals, when you could have finished in two, because of the time you spent to become their friend, sharing life with them and telling them about your family.
As I said before, I stumbled many times in my life. I’m living proof that “the soul of a man, unwatched, is perverse” as Donald Miller wrote in his book “Blue Like Jazz”. I was so self-addicted. My house wasn’t big enough, my car wasn’t nice enough, and my wife wasn’t good enough. Thankfully, you and dad taught me and planted the necessary seeds. Like the prodigal son, I was able to come out of the darkness and into the light. God broke the chains that bound me! All I needed to do was ask. I am no longer self-absorbed. Like you mom, I now serve passionately and am experiencing love, joy and the peace that surpasses all understanding. Like you mom, I want to be the hands and feet of Christ. You were truly a good and faithful servant!
We did not lose mom! You cannot lose someone if you know where they are at. You are now singing praises to Him in heaven as you did here on earth! You are in a place where there are no more sorrows, no more pain, no more fear and no more storms. I pray that we all meet you again for Jesus says, in John 14:2, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” I will always love you mom; and I will miss you so very much until we meet again one day.
All my love, your son, Brad
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