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WENDY'S EULOGY:
FIRST OF ALL I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING TODAY. I KNOW MUM DID NOT WANT A FUNERAL BUT I HOPE SHE IS OK WITH US SAYING GOODBYE HERE TODAY. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY I KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH UNCLE KEITH AND HIS FAMILY ARE NOT HERE WITH US THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT US TODAY. MUM LOOKED UP TO HER BIG BROTHER AND HAS MISSED HIM GREATLY OVER THE YEARS THEY HAVE BEEN APART. OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS THEY WOULD TALK REGULARLY ON THE PHONE. OUR THOUGHTS OF CONDOLENSES GO OUT TO HIM, AS HE HAS LOST HIS LITTLE SISTER. LAST NIGHT THIS BEAUTFUL BASKET OF FLOWERS ARRIVED FROM UNCLE KEITH AND FAMILY AND THEY ASKED ME TO BRING THEM TO MUM. AS I LOOK BACK I REALIZE THAT 39 YEARS AGO TODAY I LEFT HOME. DAD DROVE CAROL AND I UP HIGHWAY 27 TO ALBION ROAD AND WE TURNED RIGHT TO GO TO THE CHURCH WERE MUM AND EVERYONE WERE WAITING FOR US SO I COULD START THE NEXT STAGE OF MY LIFE AS A WIFE AND LATER A MOTHER THEN GRANDMOTHER. TODAY, HOWEVER, WHEN WE GOT TO ALBION ROAD WE TURNED LEFT TO COME HERE AND THIS TIME DAD IS HERE WAITING FOR MUM. I LIVED AT HOME FOR THE FIRST 21 YEARS BEING LOOKED AFTER BY MUM AND DAD. THE LAST 21 YEARS, WITH THE HELP OF TERRY, JUDY AND JOANNE WE HAVE LOOKED AFTER MUM. IN THE EARLY YEARS, AFTER DAD DIED, WE ONLY HAD TO TAKE HER SHOPPING, TO APPOINTMENTS AND OUT FOR VISITS. THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, HOWEVER, WE HAVE HAD TO BE THERE A LOT MORE. SHE WAS SO FRUSTRATED WITH HER MEMORY LOSS AND HER LOSS OF EYE SIGHT. SHE WOULD CALL BECAUSE SHE FORGOT HOW TO USE THE MICROWAVE OR TO SAY THE TV WAS NOT WORKING OR HER MEDICATION WAS MIXED UP. WE WOULD GO DOWN AND SHOW HER WHAT TO DO, WHICH SHE SOMETIMES REMEMBERED BUT NOT ALWAYS. SO MANY TIMES WE WOULD TRY TO CALL AND ONLY GET A BUSY SIGNAL OR NO ANSWER AT ALL. I WOULD DRIVE DOWN PRAYING SHE WAS OK AND THAT IT WAS BECAUSE SHE HAD NOT PUT THE PHONE BACK CORRECTLY. MUM I WANT TO APPOLOGISE FOR ALL THE TIMES I SAID YOU SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL. WHILE WE SPENT THE LAST TWO WEEKS WITH YOU AT TALL PINES, USING THAT SAME PHONE, I THINK WE ALL HUNG THE PHONE UP WRONG AND NO ONE COULD GET IN TOUCH WITH WHOEVER WAS THERE. WE ALL SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH MUM DURING HER LAST FIVE WEEKS. WE ALSO GOT TO SEE EACH OTHER A LOT MORE AS WE CHANGED SHIFTS. WE WERE ALL GIVEN THIS TIME TO HAVE SOME ONE ON ONE TIME WITH MUM. WHEATHER IT WAS HELPING HERE EAT, REMEMBERING OLD TIMES, TRYING TO MAKE HER MORE COMFORTABLE OR JUST HOLDING HER, IT HAS BEEN A SPECIAL TIME FOR ALL OF US. IT WAS NOT ALWAYS EASY WATCHING HER DETERIOURATE BUT I DO NOT THINK ANY OF US WOULD HAVE MISSED THIS CHANCE TO SHOW HER HOW MUCH WE LOVED HER. AS AMANDA SAID IN HER MESSAGE ON THE WEB SITE MUM WAS NOT SOMEONE WHO SAID “I LOVE YOU”. I DO NOT REMEMBER GROWING UP EVER HEARING DAD AND MUM SAY “I LOVE YOU” TO EACH OTHER, BUT WE KNEW THEY DID. WE ALSO NEW SHE LOVED US ALL. WE WOULD HUG AT CHRISTMAS, OR BIRHTDAYS WHEN WE ARRIVED AND LEFT BUT IT WAS NOT SOMETHING WE DID EVERY TIME WE WOULD GET TOGETHER. WHILE I LIVED AT HOME I REMEMBER MUM COMING IN AND KISSING ME GOODNIGHT AND SAYING “NIGHT, NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT, WATCH TO BUGS DON’T BITE” SHE DID THAT 39 YEARS AGO LAST NIGHT TOO CAROL(MY MAID OF HONOUR)AND I AS IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE I LEFT HOME. IT HAS BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE YOU LEFT US MUM AND I STILL GO TO PICK UP THE PHONE AFTER DINNER TO CALL YOU JUST TO SEE HOW YOU ARE. I WISH YOU COULD READ ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS ON THE WEBSITE (BUT THEN AGAIN MAYBE YOU CAN). I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, WE ALL MISS YOU TERRIBLY AND KNOW WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN SOMEDAY. SO IN CLOSING, ON THIS DAY 39 YEARS LATER, MUM, I WILL SAY TO YOU, ‘NIGHT, NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT, WATCH THE BUGS DON’T BITE”. WE ALL LOVE YOU AND WE KNEW YOU LOVED US. Janet's Eulogy: Jo and Wendy, Your words were beautiful at Mother's service.I don't think there was a dry eye. As I said I couldn't speak because I thought my words sounded..."too native" This is what I wanted to say... Mother We are all here to celebrate your life today. You are a Remarkable Mother , Grandmother and Great Grandmother. As we stand here together...missing you , grieving for our loss. We are so grateful for all of the memories we have of you. We could not Respect,Admire or Love you more. We know that you are reaching out to each and everyone of us in a totally new way. Bridging our physical reality with your pure spiritual energy. You are an Elder that has taught many with your Knowledge...We Thank you You are a Mother that has Guided your children and ...We Thank you You are the Woman who created my future...I Thank you There is no more suffering...You are free. Go now on your Journey and be at Peace... Watch over us and guide us from the Spirit World...We will miss you Mother Jo's Eulogy: Mum, Renee, Renee(with an accent on the second last e), Mickie, Nannie, Mrs Manderson, was different from the rest of us. She didn't "like" funerals. She did not want us to go thru what she found overwhelming. Here we are at this "gathering" to show our love. Normally you would do this indoors for the acoustics (and I was going to say for the warmth but it turned out to be a perfect day). This spot, the final resting place is definately the saddest place to be. The last six months fo Mum's life was not what she deserved, but personally and selfishly, I was blessed to have the time to take care of her, as we all did, and get to know her profoundly. She fought. Her independence and strong will were there to the last moment. I saw her true spirit, strength of character, and humility. She had me believing she would get out of that bed and defy the odds. The nurses and caregivers said she was "cute" as she high-fived them, gave them the thumbs-up, and reached out her finger to give blood and never even wincing. She would always give a smile on demand for Sal the caregiver. A young nurse in-training, Manju, came to say good-bye to Mum before she (Mum) left the hospital. She had tears in her eyes and said she would miss my Mum. I think Mum's life may have been comming to an end with or without all the mishaps and in a natural world she may have gone sooner. We were all given warning. I would say my "goodbyes" and "I love you"s everyday, just in case it was the last. I've always thought my Mum was a great Mum, especially after the teenage years...but you realize it even more in the reflection of strangers how truly special she was and it made me proud to be her daughter. You always hear in Disney movies that when someone dies "they will forever be in your heart" and I thought that was just an attempt to make you feel better but I get it now. You truly do take to heart what you admire in that person and you aspire to become that. It's a final gift and I thank my Mum for that. Renee was a devoted wife. She took on jobs around the house that "back in the day" would be considered "man's work". She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She wanted Dad to relax after a long days work. When he died twenty-one years ago, my grief was more for my Mum then for myself. I feel a sense of relief that they are now together. Mum & Dad, Renee & Jimbo as I called them: You were fun, devoted, loving parents and I miss you both very much. A generation has passed. I take great comfort in having Uncle Harry, Auntie Sheila, Mum & Dad all resting here together but something tells me they are probably doing more than resting right now. Mum and I shared the most beautiful sunrise from her hospital room. Though her eyesight was failing, she could still see the pinks and oranges filling the whole sky, not just on the horizon. It was more beautiful than any sunset I have ever seen. A sunrise unlike a sunset has the promise of a new day and I feel that for Mum, now that her suffering is over, it is a new day. For me, I will remember the good of her remaining days as the family pulled together and shared every moment with her, with caring, attention, and love, and a song or two. The nurses would say that we were a good family, but it was that she was a great Mum.
