That’s Amore
I delivered a funeral for a friend today. We celebrated the life of her mum, Jean, a spirited woman, born in the 1930s, who gave life a good run for its money.
The send-off really captured the spirit of this strong, independent, creative, sassy woman. I could see it reflected in the two fine women she brought up. The sisters, now sitting before me in the front row, are fully armed with her spirit, her know-how (fully coached in the use of power tools), her style and enough chutzpah to run a bar in London and an arts centre or two in Scotland.
The celebration kicked off with Ella Fitzgerald’s The Lady is a Tramp and we swayed and sang out to That’s Amore by Dean Martin. There was a slide show looping, with Jean in many poses, with her big loving family, many admirers and many friends. In each, she was sporting great outfits, trend-setting hair-dos and sunglasses. A gift she’d bestow on her children too… the joy of dressing up.
The family had put time, effort and thought into decorating the pretty wicker casket being borne down the aisle. It was festooned in bunting and cheery fat flowers the colour of Oddfellows (70s sweetie reference).
The sun streamed in as we shared her story and family members braved the nerves to read tributes penned specially for Jean. One of the sisters had written a sparky, colourful metaphor poem that completely captured a portrait of her mum. (See our blog for a how-to guide.)
The stories rang of family parties at home, singing, dancing, playing music. You could just catch a the whiff of Brylcreem from the dance halls of the day, And at the heart of the story was her loving caring family, looking out for each other and having fun doing it.
All the care Jean had shown to others came back to her in spadefuls. Her lifeforce drew people to her throughout her life, even when memory and physical strength failed. All the fun and love she created and shared, stayed with her right to the end.
Family took reflection time to watch the slide show, listen to the sweet Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond and remember.
Family across the globe tuned into the webcast to say goodbye to Jean.
A life well lived and well celebrated.
Party on Jean!
