Why I Love a Good Funeral
Yesterday I attended the funeral of one of our residents who passed away at age 94. I did not know her very well but had visited with her and her son on a few occasions. They both are huge Cubs fans and I can talk baseball for hours if you let me.
Mary lived a long fulfilling giving life. I learned that she came to this country with her parents when she was a toddler. I learned that she had lost both of her parents by age 9 and raised her two younger siblings…wow can you imagine? I learned that one of these siblings, her brother was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. I learned that she taught 
her son how to play baseball, and wow did she ever teach him. That son has made his entire living from the game Mary taught him as a boy!
Mary’s daughter-in-law said she never learned to drive but she went…everywhere! She traveled by public transportation, taxi and family rides. Mary was good with directions I guess and was really good at giving them! The family all smiled at the recollection of those car rides.
Most of all, Mary was a very positive force in her church, community and her family! She was a constant cheerleader for family and friends. Although she suffered from dementia in recent years she never failed to ask a visiting family member how so an so was doing…oh and just last week a few days before she passed you could hear the Cubs broadcast coming from her room!
RIP Mary…
This is why I love a Good Funeral!
Hey Mary “Let’s play 2!”
Kevin Kirkpatrick is Director of Community Relations at Elmwood Terrace in the Western Suburbs of Chicago
