My brothers
asked that I say a few words today about my father, I think my family was
concerned that I would take too much time….but this shouldn’t take long – ( I
released sheets of paper that had been taped together so they hit the floor and
it appeared that I had PAGES of things to say)
Laughter (my
heart was very pleased, I know my father would have wanted laughter at his
funeral)
………………… Let
me start with a little story that he told me once……..
my Dad told me once about a man he was golfing
with. They were at the green putting into a hole that was near a road. A
funeral procession went by and his friend had taken off his hat and put it over
his heart until the procession had completely went by. My dad said to him,
“wow, that was really nice of you to do” and his friend said…..”well, I was
married to her for 35 years, it was the least I could do”.
Laugher
My dad would
want us to laugh today……………
These are
the words my brother Gary asked me to share with you:
Gary
My dad was truly a great man. He taught me a lot in his
lifetime. Like if you have a big enough hammer you can make it fit.
Also make sure you have plenty of caulk so you can fix any
cracks or small holes you may have made by using that big hammer.
But one of the most important things he taught me was to
never take any wooden nickels.
When I would go visit the 2 things I looked forward to the
most was to hear his newest jokes and to get that Wayne Green hug.
If you never had a Wayne Green hug you missed out on one of life’s
true treasures.
He tried to explain to
me once how much he loved me. He told me to think of the love that I had for my
dogs (and I love my dogs like they are my children) he said to take that love
that I thought about and multiply it by 100 and then I might be close to how
much he loves me.
Dad we are going to miss you so much. We love you. We will
see you again.
Thank you Gary for opening your heart to share those words
with us today.
These are the words my brother Brian asked me to share with
you.
Brian
Having a Dad like my Dad was so awesome. Growing up
knowing he loved us meant everything.
He would tell me he
loved me more then anybody in the world. He told me I would never know
how much he loved me. So when I had my children I understood the
love he had talked about.
Being so loved and also having the humor and
laughter in our life, what a combination that was.
Dad was one of the best storytellers around. I
remember when my friends would say: your
Dad is so cool or so funny. Some would even say I wish I had a
dad like yours.
I'm so thankful for my father, he helped me in so many
ways. To watch him love his grandchildren and give them that special love
he had. We all knew he loved us and we
were always happy to see
him.
My Dad was so awesome I'm going to miss him and his hugs
and kisses.
Thank you Dad for being the greatest Dad a child could ever
have. I love you always.
Thank you Brian for opening your heart and sharing your
words with all of us today.
As for me: I
wish I could call my dad right now……he would answer the phone with “Hi Slick”! Then
I would ask him how he is doing and his answer would always be “not too bad for
an old, bald, fat guy”. As his Grand daughter Jennifer Riopel shared last week…..that
is not how any of us saw him, not even close.
I learned so
much from my father. My father wasn’t
perfect…but it isn’t about being perfect.
For him,
life was about loving and laughing. He loved to tell stories and jokes and it
really didn’t matter if you laughed at them or not, because he could laugh at
his own jokes and that alone would make you laugh.
He loved
greatly each and every one of you. For many of you his death came as a
surprise. In reality his body had been ready for a long time, however his
spirit and his love for us and for life was so large and so bright that it
overshadowed just how sick he really was, his spirit is what gave him the fight
to live. And oh did he fight.
He was not
afraid to die and he was comfortable and at peace. His final breaths were
labored, but he had no expressions of pain or discomfort. In fact he had just
the opposite.
My brothers and I were in awe how his brow
would rise in a rather surprised look and then a smile would cross his face.
This happened more than once and we imagined he must have been seeing those who
have gone before him, we don’t know, but what he was seeing sure did please
him.
I want to
thank all those who came to visit to make his last days special and filled with
love and laughter, which is just how he would have wanted it.
My brothers
and I were also able to share a sacred honored moment together with him after
he passed. Those moments will be a part of our heart forever more.
He is not
sad right now…….we….selfishly are sad…..for ourselves because we don’t get
those Wayne Green hugs anymore, or get to hear his funny stories.
It is ok to
grieve that loss, but I do think that my dad would want us to continue to share
what he taught us in how to love and how to laugh with the rest of the world
and let his legacy live on.
Dad, you
taught so many how to love like God loves, a true and unconditional love, free
of judgment and accepting of imperfections. Your laughter filled the room, our
hearts…..and our world……and you will never be forgotten, you will live on.
Just as you tried to explain to Gary how much
you loved him……you take the love you felt for us and multiple that by 100….then
you will get a bit closer to how much we are going to miss you being here on
this earth with us.
We invite
you all today to help him live on by sharing your stories with each other
during lunch and be sure to laugh and enjoy the stories, that is exactly what
my dad would want you to do.
Here is the Slide show set to music that I created in memory of my father. It was playing during the luncheon.
Wayne Green Slide Show
Wayne Green Slide Show
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