Monday, May 23, 2016
My eulogy to my beloved step mother Heather given at her memorial service:
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those that are crushed in spirit.
I have heard people say they dread giving eulogies and now I understand. How can you summarize a persons life in just a few moments?
When I started writing this, I was sitting in a chair next to her bed at Clarview Nursing Home.
As I watched her sleep, I took comfort in knowing she was lost in a dream world instead of plagued by the darkness of Alzheimer's-because that is when we really lost Heather.
The agonizing decline of the disease forces even the most optimistic and hopeful to think about and plan for this day.
So you start thinking about what you might say during a time such as this, and I realized there are really no words, just feelings. Feelings that make my heart burst.
She was the epiphany of love and kindness. Since I met Heather and to this date, she was the most caring person I have ever met and maybe most of you in the room feel the same way.
Heather lived life in the most positive way as she was genuinely kind, caring, and giving. She loved to bake and cook, read, and do puzzles. Most of all, she loved all of us.
I was fortunate to spend several years living with Dad and Heather, which developed a bond that was defined by love...unending love filled with wisdom, strength, knowledge...and cookies, as Heather loved to bake and bake and bake!
Heather was the most generous, loving, supportive, and unselfish person that always put others before herself. If only her incredible example of life could be emulated by all of us.
I have modules my own life around this and I know that I am the person I am today because of her influence. She will live on forever in my heart.
Your loving daughter, Pam
