LaVerne Sheldon McPherson, 1920-2005

[angledge]

My grandfather passed away about three hours ago. He had been ill with cancer & heart problems.

He & my grandmother were married for 65 years. Right now, I'm grieving mostly for Grandma - how must life look without the company of such a longtime companion? I'm also grieving for my mom, & the rest of the family. But as for me, I don't feel the loss that strongly. I've only seen my grandfather twice in the last ten years. We were from completely different worlds, & sometimes I don't think he approved of mine. When I saw him after my freshman year in Cornell engineering, his only comment on my classes was, "What's a girl doing studying that stuff?" Then again, when my cousin Ashley outed me to our grandparents a few years back, he & Grandma called me that very day to tell me that they loved me. I suppose that love is what matters in the end.

I will remember the good things. I will remember helping him feed the hogs when I visited their farm as a kid. I will remember his childish delight in eating ice cream (my God, he ate a lot of ice cream). I will remember standing on the back porch of my parents' house in Medford during a summer thunderstorm, listening to Grandpa tell me how thunder & lightning reminded him of being on the beaches of Okinawa in 1945. I will remember how his voice would nearly break when he would say grace at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Eighty-five years on the planet, & now he's off on the greatest adventure yet. No more chemotherapy, no more pain, no more doctors telling him to restrict his ice cream consumption. If what I recite at church on Sundays is really what I believe, then in the words of the Nicene Creed: "I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, Amen."

Edit: My deep thanks to everyone who has posted comments. Your words & thoughts provide great comfort.

Comments

Wisdom of Solomon, 3:1-9

[angledge.livejournal.com]

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no toment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
4 For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them forever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace ad mercy are upon his holy ones,
and he watches over his elect.

Re: Wisdom of Solomon, 3:1-9

[ataralas.livejournal.com]

Amen and amen. Thanks be to God.