June 8, 2021
June 8, 2021
Thank you all again, for being here today to say your goodbyes to Shirley and show support for her family. No matter how old you are, it’s always difficult to say goodbye to your mother.
Growing up in a single bread-winner family of 6 children with an ailing mother, auntie and grandmother during the Depression of the 1930s and pre-war era of the 1940s, Mom learned resiliency, resourcefulness, persistence and pragmatism that she kept with her for her entire life. As the oldest of 6, Mom was always aware of the challenges that a German immigrant family faced during those years prior to WWII. She remembers a sense of fear that people would find out that they were German when her parents and grandma never spoke German outside of the home and forbade their children to do so as well. Sometimes we forget the challenges our immigrant ancestors faced not so many years ago.
The source of strength that Mom turned to from her early days and throughout her entire life was her Faith in God. This carried her through the early loss of her mom shortly after I was born, as well as raising her children away from extended family, which was the model that she grew up with. As you have already heard, she impacted not only the lives of her immediate family, but her grandchildren, extended family, her church family, neighbors and those children and teachers at Chelsea where she worked for many years.
Throughout the struggles of her life, she leaned heavily on her Christian faith for guidance and reassurance and a positive attitude. This carried her through raising 3 daughters, Dad’s change of employers, all of her family one-by one move out of town, and then through dad’s health struggles. With that undercurrent of self-doubt (that many of us can identify with) of not being good enough, wondering what people will think, feeling alone and protective of family she leaned on the Lord for wisdom and direction. She faithfully saw Dad through nine years of rehab and support with a cheerful spirit.
Then, after leading a very healthy lifestyle, she developed her own serious health struggle and had to make decisions about her treatment. During Dad’s funeral she chose scripture from Psalms, and symbols that referred to him as her rock. However, truth be told, Dad usually looked to her for her careful planning, thinking (and overthinking) and decisiveness. When she needed to make her own healthcare decisions, again, she sought guidance from God, but through her faith family here at Central. Few people these days retain friendships for 60+ years, and that is a testament to the strength of this faith community.
During my early years as a mother, living in many different places, I often thought back to Mom as a model of homemaking. This was during a time when many young women were foregoing home and family in favor of starting their own careers and preserving their independence and self-fulfillment. From her resourceful upbringing, she had dutifully taught me all about gardening, canning, freezing, cooking, using coupons, being frugal, sewing, crochet which I found extremely helpful when I needed to be resourceful and raise my family away from extended family. I discovered a book In Praise of Homemaking by Connie Zimney which echoed all that mom had taught me, and put it in its God-centered context. That was, in fact, how she lived her life.
Mom continued to model servant leadership and generosity of spirit through her various roles here at Central, her volunteering to sew quilts through Dorcas and recently, sewing garments for a clowning ministry many of you are familiar with. She also never missed an opportunity to be supportive of her grandchildren, despite them living so far away. I know she missed seeing everyone during this last year and especially during her final days, but I was so thankful that restrictions had lifted enough so that at least Beth, David and I could spend that time with her. She asked that I read to her from the book of Psalms and I think I read nearly the entire book, but I did skip over some of the “my enemies are trying to destroy me” parts. We (I) sang many hymns from the old church hymnal – she really liked the old gospel hymns like we sang at Sunday evening services and at the Singspiration at Como Pavilion years ago. Thank you for playing them for us today, Jean.
I will always miss her, and will continue to look to her as a model in many ways.
Growing up in a single bread-winner family of 6 children with an ailing mother, auntie and grandmother during the Depression of the 1930s and pre-war era of the 1940s, Mom learned resiliency, resourcefulness, persistence and pragmatism that she kept with her for her entire life. As the oldest of 6, Mom was always aware of the challenges that a German immigrant family faced during those years prior to WWII. She remembers a sense of fear that people would find out that they were German when her parents and grandma never spoke German outside of the home and forbade their children to do so as well. Sometimes we forget the challenges our immigrant ancestors faced not so many years ago.
The source of strength that Mom turned to from her early days and throughout her entire life was her Faith in God. This carried her through the early loss of her mom shortly after I was born, as well as raising her children away from extended family, which was the model that she grew up with. As you have already heard, she impacted not only the lives of her immediate family, but her grandchildren, extended family, her church family, neighbors and those children and teachers at Chelsea where she worked for many years.
Throughout the struggles of her life, she leaned heavily on her Christian faith for guidance and reassurance and a positive attitude. This carried her through raising 3 daughters, Dad’s change of employers, all of her family one-by one move out of town, and then through dad’s health struggles. With that undercurrent of self-doubt (that many of us can identify with) of not being good enough, wondering what people will think, feeling alone and protective of family she leaned on the Lord for wisdom and direction. She faithfully saw Dad through nine years of rehab and support with a cheerful spirit.
Then, after leading a very healthy lifestyle, she developed her own serious health struggle and had to make decisions about her treatment. During Dad’s funeral she chose scripture from Psalms, and symbols that referred to him as her rock. However, truth be told, Dad usually looked to her for her careful planning, thinking (and overthinking) and decisiveness. When she needed to make her own healthcare decisions, again, she sought guidance from God, but through her faith family here at Central. Few people these days retain friendships for 60+ years, and that is a testament to the strength of this faith community.
During my early years as a mother, living in many different places, I often thought back to Mom as a model of homemaking. This was during a time when many young women were foregoing home and family in favor of starting their own careers and preserving their independence and self-fulfillment. From her resourceful upbringing, she had dutifully taught me all about gardening, canning, freezing, cooking, using coupons, being frugal, sewing, crochet which I found extremely helpful when I needed to be resourceful and raise my family away from extended family. I discovered a book In Praise of Homemaking by Connie Zimney which echoed all that mom had taught me, and put it in its God-centered context. That was, in fact, how she lived her life.
Mom continued to model servant leadership and generosity of spirit through her various roles here at Central, her volunteering to sew quilts through Dorcas and recently, sewing garments for a clowning ministry many of you are familiar with. She also never missed an opportunity to be supportive of her grandchildren, despite them living so far away. I know she missed seeing everyone during this last year and especially during her final days, but I was so thankful that restrictions had lifted enough so that at least Beth, David and I could spend that time with her. She asked that I read to her from the book of Psalms and I think I read nearly the entire book, but I did skip over some of the “my enemies are trying to destroy me” parts. We (I) sang many hymns from the old church hymnal – she really liked the old gospel hymns like we sang at Sunday evening services and at the Singspiration at Como Pavilion years ago. Thank you for playing them for us today, Jean.
I will always miss her, and will continue to look to her as a model in many ways.
