Funeral

I went to Prudden and Kandt this morning at 9:15 for "prayers" .   Kevin and Rita and their son were there.  Paula, Bonnie Burnett and Liz were also there.  Prayers were brief and then we followed the hearse to All Saints Church for Mary Anne's funeral.  I think there were between fifteen and twenty people there for the funeral.  I gave the eulogy and I got a lot of positive feedback from people about it.

"I want to tell you about my friend, Mary Anne.  She and I graduated

 in the same class at LSHS in 1967, but we barely knew each other

then. We became friends in 2014. Mary Anne was easy going and 

adventurous and I enjoyed spending time with her. I feel as if I am

standing in for her two longtime best friends, Alice and Bianca, who

live in different states and could not be here today.  

I never heard her say a negative word about anyone else. She never 

gossiped and she never used a cuss or curse word in my presence.  Even 

when someone was deliberately cruel to her, she did not have a negative

word to say about that person.     

She was a world traveler, having been to every state in the USA

before she turned 47.  She loved the NATIONAL PARKS and went to as 

many as she could. She visited Israel, Australia, Iceland, France and

Italy and many other foreign countries.  She had an incredibly good

memory and could recall details of trips and people she met. 

She loved dogs and had several over the years, including Maggie, who

she found a good home for several months ago.   

She wasn't blessed with a sibling, a spouse or a child of her own BUT she

was always interested in other peoples families, often asking how

they were doing and showing real interest and concern. When she was

working at the Niagara County Health Department, she would sometimes go to 

performances of children of her co-workers.

Music was very important to her.  As a teen, she persuaded her parents to

take her to Toronto to see THE BEATLES. She figured out how to get tickets

and purchased them herself.  She said they had "nosebleed seats" and that

it was a great experience.  When she was older, she saw Elvis perform live.

In recent years she saw performances and concerts at the Lancaster Opera

House and the Riviera Theatre.  

Her life centered on her job (before she retired), her strong faith, travel,

and friends. For many years she met every Wednesday with friends from high school

for lunch and she got a lot of joy out these lunches (on a side note, she was almost

always late!) She supported MANY charities.   

During a short trips to Watkins Glen (she loved the Finger Lakes)

we spoke about Jesus Christ.  She spoke about "What HE did for us".

The day before she passed, I told her that she was getting ready to

take her last trip, to a wonderful place.  She said "I have had a long

life, a good life and I have no regrets".  We spoke again about Jesus 

dying for our sins and I told her that if she had been the only person

on earth, Jesus would have died for her. She knew Jesus

as her Lord and Saviour.

I had planned to read her a specific Bible verse this past Sunday:

 Psalm 116:15 which is"PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD is the DEATH OF HIS SAINTS". 

She took that trip before I arrived at her home. She had wanted to pass away

in her own bed in her home and God gave her that gift.  I know where she is now."

Then we followed the hearse to St. Mary's cemetery.  The priest said some words and prayers.   I took this picture to send to Bianca and Alice.

Bonnie wanted me to join the rest of the lunch group for lunch at Day Road Park, but it was SO hot and I felt really worn down so I did not go.  I came home and prepared lunch.   I also called Mary Anne's lawyer and asked her to call Kevin Layer, since he asked me last night why the lawyer had not called him yet.  She said she would call him right away. I set a time to meet with her next Tuesday afternoon at one p.m.

I private messaged the above photo to both Alice and Bianca and told them I would send a copy of the "program" for the Mass of Christian Burial to them.  

I went through some of the items in the bag of papers I picked up at MA's house yesterday.    I found her dogs license and new tag, which I will give to Kevin and Rita.  

I called the engraver to ask if he would engrave 2008 on Mary Anne's mothers grave when he engraves 2020 on MA's grave.  Mary Anne was a bit of a procrastinator and did not have that taken care of.  

Marlene called and we agreed to stick with our plans for tomorrow night, to meet at Parkside Diner (perhaps not the right name) at five p.m. with Jenny and maybe Betty.  I need to try to get cupcakes tomorrow.  

Peg came over and did some cleaning and sorting in the garage.  I took her out an icy cup of water and a cold wet washcloth for her face.  

I decided to use the gift certificate for WAGNERS that I won at the Presbyterian Home a while ago, during one of their game nights.  I found the menu online and called and ordered a salad with steak in it.  I picked it up.  I ate less than half of it, and it is pretty good.