Lillian
A sister that I dearly loved died last Sunday night. She was 88. Her memorial service was this morning. It was even more difficult to get through than I thought it would be.
I don't think many people know how much Lillian meant to me. I wasn't one to sit at her feet, basking in her stories. It's safer to say that I loved her from afar. Not too afar, we were in the same bookstudy for years. She lived just around the corner from my family. And we pioneered in the same congregation at the same time. But in the span of her 25 year pioneering career, I was a mere blip. I was a silly 20-something girl who joked around with her out in service a couple days a week.
But I guess I always saw my future in her. Or I should say that I hoped I saw my future in her. I would never presume to actually compare myself to her - she had it too together for me to do that. But as sweet as she was, she had certain personality traits that felt familiar - stubbornness, independence and backbone. The brother kept referring to her as "fiesty" today. And that is the perfect word. She was as kind as they come, but she had a ton of spirit, too.
She had a great memory and talked about people quite often. She'd lived in at least three states, so she knew people from all over. Every time she talked about someone, she described them as "lovely." That was her word. "Lovely." And she meant it. But she also meant it on the few occasions when I heard her talk about people who weren't so lovely. The best example of that was listening to her talk about Lana Turner. Lillian went to high school in California. I am almost positive that she sat behind Lana Turner in one or many classes. She was not impressed with Ms. Turner. If I recall correctly, Lillian thought she was stuck up and rude. I can't ever see a Lana Turner movie without thinking, "She was rude to Lillian as a teenager."
I thought that I was going to be OK for the service. Then after the song, just before the prayer, I looked at the back page of the program to see the photo included with this post. (I can't get it to post, but will try again later.) It's such a perfect reflection of Lillian's personality that I lost it. I felt like such an idiot - people weren't even expecting me to show up and I could barely keep myself together.
I had never actually met Lillian's son (though I'd heard that he was "lovely"). I introduced myself to him and told him that I'd pioneered with his mother years ago. I certainly didn't expect him to recognize my name. He was kind enough to tell me that his mother "spoke very highly of me." Maybe I made a fraction of an impression on her. I know that she made a lasting impression on me.
...I can't wait to see her again.
I don't think many people know how much Lillian meant to me. I wasn't one to sit at her feet, basking in her stories. It's safer to say that I loved her from afar. Not too afar, we were in the same bookstudy for years. She lived just around the corner from my family. And we pioneered in the same congregation at the same time. But in the span of her 25 year pioneering career, I was a mere blip. I was a silly 20-something girl who joked around with her out in service a couple days a week.
But I guess I always saw my future in her. Or I should say that I hoped I saw my future in her. I would never presume to actually compare myself to her - she had it too together for me to do that. But as sweet as she was, she had certain personality traits that felt familiar - stubbornness, independence and backbone. The brother kept referring to her as "fiesty" today. And that is the perfect word. She was as kind as they come, but she had a ton of spirit, too.
She had a great memory and talked about people quite often. She'd lived in at least three states, so she knew people from all over. Every time she talked about someone, she described them as "lovely." That was her word. "Lovely." And she meant it. But she also meant it on the few occasions when I heard her talk about people who weren't so lovely. The best example of that was listening to her talk about Lana Turner. Lillian went to high school in California. I am almost positive that she sat behind Lana Turner in one or many classes. She was not impressed with Ms. Turner. If I recall correctly, Lillian thought she was stuck up and rude. I can't ever see a Lana Turner movie without thinking, "She was rude to Lillian as a teenager."
I thought that I was going to be OK for the service. Then after the song, just before the prayer, I looked at the back page of the program to see the photo included with this post. (I can't get it to post, but will try again later.) It's such a perfect reflection of Lillian's personality that I lost it. I felt like such an idiot - people weren't even expecting me to show up and I could barely keep myself together.
I had never actually met Lillian's son (though I'd heard that he was "lovely"). I introduced myself to him and told him that I'd pioneered with his mother years ago. I certainly didn't expect him to recognize my name. He was kind enough to tell me that his mother "spoke very highly of me." Maybe I made a fraction of an impression on her. I know that she made a lasting impression on me.
...I can't wait to see her again.
3 Comments:
That's someone I would have liked to have met. Will you introduce us in the new system?
You had a really hard weekend, didn't you?
Im glad you cried at the funeral. I think you needed to.
That picture was perfect. I told Mom "That sums it all up".
I always wanted to have Lillian describe me to someone..her perspective on people made everyone truly lovely.
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