Funeral

Good Morning and welcome to Irondale Church. Today we are here to remember, to share and to celebrate Christina ________ and her life. Christina’s family wanted to express their appreciation for your presence here today and to tell you there will be a gathering at the Tri-Area Community Center for cake and coffee immediately following this service.

Christina did not like funerals, she didn’t want anybody singing at the service today and as I spoke with the family they decided that even if there was no singing there should also be no moping. God allowed Christina to live for 89 years, and though we grieve the loss, we are grateful for the time she lived. Today rather than her death, we want to focus on her life: Her work and contributions too so many; the things we learned from her and the life she lived in this community. Later in the service today, there will be a time of open sharing, so if you have a favorite memory or statement you would like to share, you will have an opportunity.

Right now would you join with me in prayer asking God’s blessing on our time together.

Dear Lord you are the creator, the sustainer and the taker of life. We humbly come before you today, grateful that you created Christina, that you allowed her to live 89 years and that you allowed her to share so much with so many. We are disappointed that her life has ended and we are grateful that her memory continues to keep her alive in our hearts. We are also thankful for the Lord Jesus who died as a sacrifice for our sins and we are grateful that Christina was a professing Christian. So we can be confident, that though she has left here, she is now with you in heaven forever.

Dear Lord we pray your blessings on this service. We ask that your presence be felt, that you would comfort these who mourn and that your Spirit would help this time to be a time that would express our love and appreciation for Christina and You.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Reading of obituary

Christina was only six years old when she and her family boarded a train, left North Dakota, traveled to Seattle and settled in Quilcene. The year was 1924. World War 1 was over, logging was the financial life of Quilcene and Calvin Coolidge was President. Christina was 11 years old when the Great Depression struck America’s economy. Though WW1 had been dubbed “the war to end all wars”, Christina was 20 when WW2 began and 27 when it ended. She watched as loggers quit swinging axes and started using chainsaws. She undoubtedly washed clothes on a scrub board and was likely excited to hear of the invention of a washing machine. Unfortunately, the machine required electricity so it was of little use. If there was electricity in their home, it would have been minimal. Kerosene probably provided the household lights; wood the heat; clothes were ironed with a piece of steel heated on the stove; toast was made in a frying pan and the abacus was the closest thing to a computer.

Christina was 42 when the first American astronaut went in outer space. Fortunately, by that time, she had already been watching television for 15 or 20 years, or she never would have believed it. If your Grandma seemed from time to time to be a little old fashioned, or if she seemed to be reluctant to change, it would probably be best to remember she experienced a lot of change and has done just fine. She grew up in an era when buying a candy bar was huge treat and told stories of hiding her candy bars so she could have a small bit each day for a week or more. But, hiding a candy bar was no small feat in a home with 13 children.

Christina spent a lot of her time this past 20 years volunteering where she could. She was an active participant in events and affairs of the Tri-Area Community Center. She helped in the food bank and anywhere else she could. She loved doing crafts, enjoyed baking and always had a soft spot for babies. She was an active part of the Tri-Area Christmas for Children project. But putting $10 worth of Match Box Cars under the Christmas tree at the building supply was not her thing. No, she felt the need to hand-crochet stocking hats for every child in need. Up to 300 hats a year for many years. I calculated that to be enough yarn to reach from here to North Dakota and back and enough example to teach 65 descendants that the charitable work you do has more value than an entire career of earning money.