I am Bill, I am one really lucky guy to have shared Helen’s life as her husband, father of our children, and dear companion for these past three score years. Your many cards and messages of sympathy are most supportive at this time. Our family joins in thanking you very much.

Thank you all for joining us today to bid farewell to our dear Helen and to celebrate her life. Welcome. Many of you have known Helen for only these past three years here at Carleton- Willard. Some of you have known Helen during the previous wonderful 45 years that we enjoyed in Lexington, some of you shared our good times and love of the New England mountains in our many Appalachian Mountain Club adventures, and some of you are friends of our local kids. So let’s go back even further and share together the goodness of Helen’s life from childhood on.

First, let me introduce our family. Would you guys and gals please stand as I introduce you. Here today are our Boston area family: son Roger and his wife Nancy and daughter Shannon. And our daughter Sally. And our California family: son John and his wife Susan and their sons Andrew and David. And our daughter Laura and her dear friend Mark Clifford. And with us today are my nephew Jeffrey Stern from Canada and my niece Julie Stern from Cleveland.

I started this talk saying that I am one lucky guy. I came home from the North Pacific after World War II, went to Texas to start a new business and to get warm. There my business associate introduced me to his cousin Helen. We met and instantly the angels began singing, they sang the sweetest music I ever heard. And they never stopped. They have kept on singing these past 61 years that we have been together. And whenever I think of her the angels still sing. They’ve left their music ringing in my heart. I think you know what I mean.

80 years, or four score years, come to mind for this talk today. Helen and most of her family all lived their four score years. Helen grew up in a large family, with four brothers and two sisters. Two brothers and two sisters are still alive, in Texas. Her older sister, Virginia Lee Stratton will be five score (100) years old this May 25th, and the family hopes she will be remembered by Willard Scott on TV that day. Helen’s mother and father grew up in large families, each with 13 children, in Crawford Texas, near the property that is the Bush ranch today.

Helen’s family all acclaimed Helen’s mother the best cook in Texas (how lucky could I get?). Helen was a very good cook. When Helen was a child, her grandfather and grandmother lived with them, she loved them dearly. It is remarkable that her grandfather was a Confederate veteran of the war between the states. Indeed, I can attest that Helen grew up in a loving family, and she carried this love to all of us. She looked for the best in all of us, and we were better for it.

We enjoyed traveling abroad and vacationing in many parts of our great country and Canada, and especially enjoyed our wonderful National Parks. We visited Texas ‘most every year since we moved north. Once in the 50’s there were over 400 at her father’s family reunion. And at a smaller reunion in 2004 there were over 140 attending. Wow!

I find it difficult to say goodbye to Helen. I’ll try not to cry. I’ll just say Aloha sweetheart.

To all who knew her, my mother Helen was a kind, sweet, smart, and beautiful woman. We feel so blessed that she was able to live and enjoy such a healthy, active, and wonderful life, in beautiful surroundings and filled with loving people all around her. In Dad, she had an extremely devoted and loving husband, who took such good care of her. They had a strong, wonderful marriage of 61 years. I know she was very proud of her children and grandchildren, and she was always happiest when we were all together. Mom used to say that she couldn’t wait to be a grandmother, as she had been especially close to her grandmother, and I was named after her. In recent weeks, as the family rediscovered old photographs and slides, it reminded us of how well cared for, happy, and loved we were. It has brought us much comfort to remember all these good times together.

To me, Mom was the perfect blend of Southern graciousness and Northern hardiness. She always conducted herself in a very ladylike manner, expecting and bringing out the best in others. Mom was known for her kind words and quiet, calm manner. She seemed to bring serenity to those around her. Keeping a good home was important to her, and I treasure the memories of the many cooking lessons and sewing lessons she gave me. She loved the outdoors and enjoyed the changing seasons of New England, hiking in the White Mountains in the summer, fall foliage and spring walks in Concord, and skiing in the winter. My happy memories from childhood include winter picnics at Walden Pond with the family, followed by a hike around the Pond.

Mom and Dad introduced many family members and friends to the joys of the White Mountains, and in particular, to a summer camp run by the Appalachian Mountain Club called Cold River Camp. Mom and Dad spent a week there every summer for roughly 35 years, and to all of us, it came to feel like our second home. We held many family reunions there.

Not only was Mom a wonderful mother to us, but also a strong source of support for our dear Lexington neighbors, the Maher family. In the comforting words of one of the Maher daughters, Maureen Vaccaro, “Your mom’s legacy is one of love and compassion, and she invested herself in the lives of her family and friends...Your mom was a loving, patient, and kind woman whom God used to reach out in motherly love to a young family whose mom’s life was taken away by cancer... Your mom’s sweet soft voice was soothing to me... Her generous spirit was given to us in the form of homemade dinners and desserts. Her support was ever there for us.”

When it came to birthdays and holidays, Mom was always a hard person to buy gifts for. She never wanted anything for herself, and she preferred gifts to charity above all else.

I know we will all miss her greatly, but she gave us a firm foundation of strength and love, and a wonderful example to follow. She brought up her children to put others first and to try to make the world a better place. I hope we have succeeded, and will continue, in doing that. Mom was proud of her family’s and extended family’s contributions and accomplishments in the fields of science, technology, health, music, and education. Mom and Dad have always supported us in these pursuits, enabling us to have the finest of educational opportunities. They have given us great encouragement in our respective lives and careers.

I feel so honored and blessed to have known this sweet, remarkable woman for these many years, and to be able to proudly call her my mother.

(Shannon)

This is what I will remember best

Strolling on the Conant Path

Sitting in the tea house

Flashing a pocket mirror at noon

At the Baldfaces

Swimming at “Old Res”

And the Lexington pool

Sailboat sandwiches

Loving eyes

A knowing glance

Your smiling face

Your style, your grace

(Nancy)

This is what I will remember best

Loving your family – far and near

Pictures on the refrigerator

(Shannon)

Delicious food within

Butter beans...grits

(Nancy)

Salsa and chips

Legendary chocolate cake

A beautifully set table

Martha Stewart?

A quiet chuckle

And then

Tears rolling down your cheeks

Laughter

(Together)

This is what we will remember best

Loving eyes

A knowing glance

Your smiling face

Your style, your grace

“Love releases life.

Love harmonizes life.

Love illuminates life.

Love never fails.”

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I think Mom and Dad are perfect examples of the power of love, a love that never failed. Together they created a beautiful life, filled with happiness and harmony. They spread that joy to their family, friends, and others they met. It was always apparent how much they adored and respected each other. They strove to stay healthy and fit for each other and for their family, giving us the ultimate gift of their long life, guidance, and wisdom over so many years. What a gift that was! 

They loved being out in nature, from summers spent by majestic mountains, lakes, and oceans, to winter days spent with ski trips, winter hikes, and outdoor picnics. They reveled in the grand vistas of the New England mountains and coastline, the U.S. national parks, the Swiss Alps, and the tropical breezes, beaches, and beauty of Hawaii. 

Exercise and fitness were great passions for them. Dad set a marvelous example for fitness well into his 90’s, always hoping to inspire others. I remember wonderful times together hiking woodland paths and mountain trails, and comforting talks with Mom as we walked together, by mountain streams or around the block from home. (Mom also certainly knew how to rock the look of a sun hat, blue jeans, bandanna, and hiking boots!) The words, “She walks in beauty”, always came to mind. 

Mom and Dad showed such great love for all of us and for our extended family. They were themselves loving and caring to their siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, and neighbors. They provided us with idyllic childhoods filled with some of the finest educational opportunities available. We had lovely homes to grow up in, both in Cleveland and in Lexington, surrounded by cherished neighbors. We were able to spend summers at camps in spectacular outdoor settings. Mom and Dad discovered the wonderful A.M.C. camps of Cold River Camp and Echo Lake Camp, which brought all of us together to enjoy for so many years. 

Mom was an amazing cook and homemaker, spending decades providing us with delicious meals. I recall fondly the memories of cozy family dinners and discussions around the kitchen table! Other favorite memories are of sitting in our kitchen in Lexington watching her bake pies and cakes, making for great conversations as well as invaluable cooking lessons. 

Dad worked hard and was very successful in his field and in providing for his family. He always had time for family dinners, and evenings were free to help us with homework. Weekends were spent with active family activities. As we got older, some of us had the opportunity (and I say the honor) of working with him at one of his companies. When I was young, the souvenirs he would bring me from his business trips inspired me in later years to travel abroad to visit those places! (That miniature Eiffel Tower, that sweet Swiss Chalet music box..) I fondly recall times fishing together, and Dad taking my teenage friends and me skiing and to the movies. Patience indeed! 

Both Mom and Dad showed the highest regard for education. Their curious minds made them life-long learners. Dad was certainly grateful for the knowledge he received at MIT, and he always wanted to “pay it forward” for his good fortune to have attended college there. 

Music was another great passion for both of them. We all know how much Dad loved Beethoven. He especially inspired us and encouraged us in our own musical pursuits and interests. 

Every day Dad exhibited his great love for America when he would put out his flag, salute it, and say “Thank God I live in America.” He was proud to have served this country in WWII, and took an active interest the rest of his life in veteran affairs. 

Recently, Dad reminded me of how both he and Mom raised us with the adage, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”. By that he meant that they had both tried hard to not criticize us or ever hurt our feelings, but instead to guide us lovingly with great patience and show us a better alternative. Another example of such strong parental love. 

“Love releases life. Love harmonizes life. Love illuminates life. Love never fails.” 

So today as we celebrate the love and lives of Bill and Helen, we will not say goodbye to them, we will just say, “Aloha”. 

“Aloha!”