ForeverMissed
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December 29, 2015

Farewell brunch with Uncle LeRoy, cousin David & Phyllis, and cousin Beth & Ken in January, 2015

December 29, 2015

An Aden family mini-reunion in Iowa with Uncle LeRoy & Aunt Ruth, Aunt Mardella and her daughters, Sandy, Joyce, Donna, and Connie, and family members in 2001

December 29, 2015

A fun time on the farm in PA with Uncle LeRoy, Aunt Ruth, cousin Beth and her children in 1991:)

My Dad - Beth's talk at the Memorial Service

December 22, 2015

My dad was a person who lived his life squeezing every bit of life out of it, until his lists of accomplishments and talents ranged from taking a car engine apart to writing books to being the best husband, father or grandfather he could possibly be. His day was long and packed full, and many times he was the last man standing, still working while we all sat around tired and warn out. It was like he ran off batteries that were super charged, or he had unlimited reserves. He never seemed sore or tired or lazy. I myself, ran a little on the high energy side as a kid, so spending time with him doing what ever he was doing was great fun. It meant learning how to think fast or back up my beliefs. How to be strong and kind, loving and fair. It meant being able to weld a hammer without hitting your fingers or even worse his. It meant memorizing poetry and the Gettysburg address. It meant taking time to enjoy the beauty of the world around us - beautiful sunsets, small insects, the smell of newly cut grass. From the time I was a little girl I knew my dad was the smartest and strongest man in the world, but I learned from my Dad that life was a gift from God and enjoying it fully by showing kindness to others and using all of your talents to make the world a better place, was our job. 

I was one of those lucky people in life that was always close to my parents. There is not a time in my adult life that they were not there sharing our moments and raising our kids. For much of the time it was his job to bail us all out of trouble, to teach us life’s important lessons and to add laughter and love to our time together. But for the last 4 1/2 years our roles changed and I began to take care of my mom and dad. I know he liked it better when he was the one in charge, but he could not have been more appreciative of everything anyone ever did for him. So without any questions, I know this would be the first thing he would want me to say to all of you, thank you. Thank you to a church that opened their arms to my dad and made him feel special and cared for. For discussing his book in Sunday school class, that meant so much to him. Thank you to Mary and Pam for their friendship and for getting him here. To Dot for Wednesdays and friendship. For Jeff and the ice-cream cones. For his dinner table mates Mary, Ann and Helen. For John and Sarah who came to see him and all their phone calls. Thank you for the friendships of Martha, Dave, Wendy, Vern, Ginny and Wanda and all his other friendships. To my Aunt Joanie who sent cards almost every week, and John, Janet, Larry, and Steve. To our loving family that held him in their hearts and loved him endlessly.  To my amazing kids who took care of Nana and always were there for him. To my husband who loved my dad like his own and understood why I had to be gone so much. I can not name everyone who has touched his life, especially this last year when life was hard at times, but know that he appreciated and felt blessed to have your kindness showered on him, it did not go unnoticed. So he would say to all of us, keeping showering people with kindness and love… it means more then you will know, it changes people’s lives and in turn changes your own life.

If my dad was here, he would also want me to tell you to be happy and live your life. He said these words to Ken and I shortly before he died, but more importantly he lived these words. He would not want us to stay in the sadness of his death. He wants us all to live our life, like he lived his. He had a great life. But having a great life isn’t something that just happens, its something that you have to work at. My dad, like everyone here had his own heartaches. He had his disappointments and his own losses. He had his illnesses and his self-doubt. But whenever possible he embraced and loved life. He was always working on something, looking ahead. He still traveled and kept active. If I called him and asked him if he wanted do something, he would answer immediately “Yes! I’d love to.” His love for life did not take away his grief or loss for what life had been, but its an important message - “Stay in the present, life is a gift meant to be lived.” 

Today is truly a celebration of my dad’s life, but I would not do my dad justice if I did not talk about the grief. He spent his life helping people through their darkest moments, and he would not want us to deny the enormity of our pain at his loss. There is a huge hole in our life that only he could fill. It is his place marker in our family. He would want me to mention Ruth, Jack and Bobbie that have all gone before him this year. These are tough times. We are all grieving as a family. We are not alone in our grief, there are many other families out there that are feeling their own significant losses or pain. We are not alone in that journey. But it is here, in our darkest moments that my dad truly believed in the power of God, the God that sits with us as we grieve, comforts us as we cry, gives us hope when we have none, and shines a light to guide our way. 

My dad grew up on a farm in Iowa. He went to college, seminary and then got his PhD from University of Chicago. He was a professor for 30 years at The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He married my mom and they had a wonderful marriage for 63 years until she died in January. He had two kids, 5 grandchildren, 6 great grand children. He wrote numerous books and articles. But what all of us that loved him will remember is that during times of great sorrow, he was always there. And when you needed someone to believe in you, he believed. And during all the important milestones of life, he was present showering us with hope and love. And even in his death, he walked with us making it ok to say good-bye. We thank God for the gift of his life and the blessings of love that will shine in our hearts forever.

Gramps Aubrey's talk at the Memorial Service

December 22, 2015

I’ve spent my whole life looking up to my grandfather. 

My earliest memories of my gramps are working on the farm. He would wear coveralls, so I had to have a pair just like them. His hands were always dirty. And after hours of work he would sit on the deck and eat an apple. 

 My gramps was a man of routine and favorites. There were constant games of checkers and hearts. Peanut butter sandwiches. Apple pie.  

Gramps loved to play jokes. He loved my nana’s pies, but his favorite thing to do was try to make us look the other direction and then sneak the pie away from us. So my brother and sister and I learned to eat dessert with one hand holding onto our plate at all times. 

When I was a kid my grandparents used to drink prune juice and I thought it was the most horrible thing in this world. So Gramps, being gramps, gave me prune juice for my birthday every year from the time I was about seven years old until I was in college. And he disguised it in masterful ways. I got a fancy box of chocolates once that turned out to be chocolate covered prunes. One year he actually snuck prunes into a restaurant and convinced the servers to bring me a hot fudge prune sundae.

The funny thing is, that I actually started to look forward to it every year. 

Gramps loved a bargain, but he was also the most generous person I’ve ever known.

When he talked, everyone listened. Not because he spoke the loudest, but because you wanted to hear what he had to say. He was brilliant, but incredibly understanding.

One of my best friends passed away when I was in high school and I never would have gotten through it without my gramps. He’d sit and talk with me about faith and life and death. He had such a calming presence and always knew what to say to somehow make me feel better. 

I lived with my nana and gramps after college, and that time is filled with some of the best memories of my life. 

We would share things we had written, and he let me read the manuscript to one of his books before he sent it to his editor. He was always so appreciative of everything and interested in what I wanted to do in my life. 

I’ve spent my life looking up to my grandfather. To his unmatched work ethic. To his ability to be a strong leader, while also caring deeply about people. He was the most successful person I knew-- a published author, a beloved professor— and yet he was always playing jokes, always finding a way to make people laugh, and always comforting those in need. 

I know he meant a lot to so many people, but to me, he was a role model and an absolutely amazing grandfather in ways that words just don’t do justice.

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