A fond farewell.......

In 2008 my mother passed away.  We were all very sad, but knowing we had to celebrate her life, because that is what she would have wanted, my sisters and I planned a fun funeral that was filled with memories for all of us.  

Our strength and courage was lifted by a poem we found in her small flat, penned in our mothers’ shaky hand, perhaps copied, but we do not know.  For us, it was from her:

    To my daughters

Do not look on my coffin and weep
I am not there
Do not stand at my graveside and cry
I did not die;
 
Gaze into the green depth of the ocean
Watch the soft clouds in the sky
Look at the colourful flowers
There am I.
 
Gaze deeply into your mirror
What do you see
Join in your children’s laughter
There is me
 
Do not grieve, do not cry
For as long as you are here
So am I.

 

Mum

To help treasure her memory I had a Corban & Blair Black Album personalised with her name and life years.  It came in a black display box, which was ideal for the occasion of the funeral. But instead of just mounting photos in the album we wanted everyone who attended my mothers funeral to share, to be part of this wonderful collection of photos, stories and memories. 

During the service, tears flowed as each grandson reflected and recounted events and experiences shared with their loving nanny.

 Prior to the funeral my husband developed a self-running slide presentation of my mothers life history and backed it with music.  Saved onto a CD, we played this on a big screen at the wake, but it is now mounted inside the front cover of the album.

 Encouraged by the funeral director to have a document to sign, I printed off sheets and asked for signatures as people left the church.  I later punched holes in each sheet and placed them in the front of the album.

During the wake, we took the black album apart, inviting guests to write on each page while we took their photos. Many of my mothers’ friends had funny things to say, and really appreciated the opportunity to pen their thoughts.  For us, her children and grand children, it was good to be able to put faces to names then keep them as a record because all of these people were part of her very full life too!

Now all the pages are assembled in our beautiful album detailing moments in my mothers life along with her passing.  An album we will all cherish forever.

A personal story from Lexie Henderson-Lancett