Statement of Cheryl R. Campbell at the Funeral of Stanley Victor Campbell
How does one begin to speak to the life of such a man. I will start with sentiment on his behalf:
When tomorrow starts without me, & I’m not there to see. Your eyes full of tears, showing your love for me. I wish you wouldn't cry so much, the way you did that day. Thinking of the many things we didn't get to say. I know how much you love me, as much as I love you. And each time you think of me, I'm thinking of you too. So when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand. An angel came & called my name, & took me by my hand. It was time for me to take my place, in heaven far above. Leaving everyone behind, especially the ones I love. As I turned & walked away, a tear fell from my eye. Remembering the life I lived & why I had to die. I do not want to go, with having so much to do. And it seemed almost impossible, that I was leaving you. So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think that we're apart. For everytime you think of me, just look within your heart.
My father-in-law was a Giant among men. Mr. Campbell was a man of substance, refinement and good nature. You always knew where you stood with him. He was a complex yet basic man. He was a man of principle and honor. He lived his life to the fullest and he did it on his own terms. He was not a man short on opinion. Whether it was sports, politics, family, economics, religion and life. He discussed these topics with knowledge and passion. He was a self taught man. He never, as his generation would say “mixed words”, he was always direct and to the point. He was a thinker. Each time I called him he would say I was just thinking about……and proceed to tell me what was on his mind. In the later part of his life after Ms Yvonne passed away he was living alone, we spoke on the phone almost every evening as I drove home from work. He called it Table Talk, I visualized sitting at the kitchen table catching up on the days events. We never knew where the conversation would go but I was always left with words of wisdom, encouragement and something funny. And ended the call with I love you.
I was blessed to have him in my life for 28 years.
Because he was so complex I don’t think any of us will truly know his level of faith in our lord Jesus Christ. What I can tell you is when I was in the hospital after emergency surgery he call me on the phone and said young lady I’m not a man of strong faith but I have prayed for your full recovery and will do so until you are safely home. This defines many of us as we call on the lord in our time of need.
He was handsome, witty, charming, funny and loved to say “Mother Nature did me justice” which meant mother nature blessed him with good looks. I guess you could say he wasn’t short on vanity. He had a smile that could light up a room.
I think he wrote his own version of “When a Man loves a woman”. 61 years of marriage and every time he looked at Yvonne, it was if it was for the very first time. He never left the house without giving her a kiss. It is reassuring knowing he is back in the arms of the woman he loved.
He had a special bond with his daughters-in-law, he treated us like the daughters he never had. On the day of my wedding, he said to me you are the one for my son, welcome to the family. I suspect he may have said the same to each of his daughters in law. He recited poetry and loved to sing the refrain of My Funny Valentine by Frank Sinatra ”Don’t change a hair for me, not if you care for me, stay little valentine stay, you are my funny valentine”. He knew how to make you feel special. He accepted you as you were and did not waste time trying to change people. He enjoyed family, he relished the time with his sons, grandchildren, great grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
For me, he was my father-in-law, and my second Dad.
When I take a 360 degree view of our time together….. As I look to my right I see us laughing and spending hours on the phone talking, I look to my left and see the shoulder I leaned on. As I look forward I see the guidance and love he gave me & as I look behind me I feel his kicks in my butt encouraging me to believe in myself and pushing me forward & as I look down I see him lifting me up and quietly listening, & now as I look up I see him in heaven knowing he fought a good fight, he kept the faith, he never walked away from his responsibilities, he lived his life to the fullest and he is now at rest. I will miss him forever.
It is so rare to meet such a complete person, with a soul, a heart and an imagination; he was a gentleman.
I leave you all with one final memory of my father in law on his 90th birthday, He was in hospital but had visits from sons, daughters in law, his name sake Stanley the third and his grandson’s girlfriend, his AA friends brought him a cake and balloons. He was surrounded by love and laughter.
May we each take a lesson from his play book and ask ourselves what will be our legacy and live by action and not words.
Good Bye Stanley Campbell
From This time till next time.