NOTE TO READER: First is the message, then the funeral as given. The benediction ties into the body of the message and reasserts the power of the resurrection.
We are each entrusted with one life, formed by the hand of the Father in our mother’s womb – surely God has his hand on us from the first moments of life. One life, one opportunity - one heart, one soul, one spirit. What a precious gift we are given. And a life well lived – this is something we cherish, this is something we hold dear.
Such a life Jean lived – and so we cherish her.
Here we gather to honor our sister in the Lord, our friend, our mother – and yes the love a lifetime – a woman who was much more than a spouse, she was a soul mate, a dear friend. Here we gather to say our final goodbyes, our final – I love you Jean…here we gather to rejoice in the fact that we were so blessed to have known Jean.
But, this my friends, is not our final gathering, sad is the case if it were. No, we will gather again, all together in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ – All who have given their lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ will be there, all who are believers in the name of our Lord Jesus will be there, and we will gather with the saints of all time, past, present and future; All suffering and woe will be left behind, we will be full of joy covered in the grace and mercy of our the Lord our God.
There we will again be with Jean – she will be proper, I’m sure she will still be quite British. There we will laugh with her again, see her bright smile and Jean will tell us exactly what is on her mind.
A live well lived is reflected by the friends we keep. A well lived life is reflected by our deeds acted out, and our deeds held back. A well lived life is reflected in our love for those around us. A well lived life is reflected not by accomplishments, successes or accolades, but by relationship – a relationship not only with others, but a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Jean’s life reflected all these things.
First and foremost we need to know that Jean was a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, and that means noting less than the fact that she gave her life over to Jesus. Because of this relationship with Jesus Christ, Jean is right now in the presence of God. She is right now in the presence of God not because Jean was a good woman, though she certainly was; She is right now in the presence of God not because of her good works and her kindness, though she was generous, loving and had many good works; Jean is in the presence of the Almighty God because of her relationship with Jesus Christ – period. See, her relationship with Jesus produced the qualities in Jean we loved so much – Jean was who she was, not because of her tireless efforts to be good, Jean was who she was because of her intimate relationship with Jesus Christ who made her who she was.
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(START OF EULOGY)
Jean kind of attached herself to you. Not to say that she wasn’t choosey, but to say, it wasn’t long before you realized what a good friend she was, what a good woman she was.
Ken was introduced to Jean – as Jean was going out on a date with their mutual friend, Don Holester. Jean still went out with Don that night, but, but, Ken arraigned a date for the following week, and that was that. They dated for about two years, and then the wedding.
Now, you now it is love when your groom hops on a charter flight from San Diego to the wedding….and gets grounded in the Mojave desert because of a thunderstorm. Ken was five hours late. They had the reception first and when Ken arrived at midnight, they had the wedding service – how romantic is that! Then Ken was off for four years in the service. If Jean was willing to put up with all that, you know she was dedicated to her marriage and dedicated to her daughter Sheila.
Ken and Jean together owned and operated Northern Hydraulics Ltd. But Jean worked at many different jobs in her life including Arco Credit Union, Ventura Schools Credit Union and even a hardware store. Jean was a dedicated woman who stayed at home when she could, but also was not afraid to jump into the work force when needed.
Jean survived being bombed in London and arrived in America on the Queen Mary when she was only 17 years old. Perhaps living through such uncertain times gave her a heart to help others, or perhaps her gratefulness that she made it through, gave her such a generous heart. Jean was always giving, wasn’t she? She doing what she could to help others. She was a volunteer at the Senior Center every Wednesday. She was quite devoted to the Homemakers club – which supports AWAKE shelter and her heart went out to those at the Gospel Mission which she supported extensively.
Jean loved to travel to exotic locations: To name a few - Fiji, Australia, China….and early on, Alaska. Ken’s job had taken him to Alaska in the summer of 1968 and Ken invited the family up for a visit. Ken had this primitive one room cabin down in Homer….Jean, this proper Englishwoman, took right to it, lighting the wood burning stove and getting out a frying pan for dinner. God provided absolutely perfect weather for the visit and at the end of her time, Jean told Ken, “If you think you are going to stay here all by yourself, your crazy!” She was decisive. She started making arrangements as soon as she got home in California and was up here by the summer of 69.
Prim and proper, but Jean loved wild Alaska, she thought Alaska was the most beautiful place in the world. Of course, we all know how right she was. Jean even loved moose hunting. One time, early on, before they had clued into life in Alaska, they were out moose hunting and it was like, -35. They stayed warm and cozy in the camper that night, but, surprise, in the morning the truck would not start (Ken still had the same oil he used in the Santa Barbara area). They decided to heat the engine block with a propane heater, but that was frozen too. So with a fire made of some brush they thawed out the propane and then heated the engine and went shopping for the right engine oil.
(END OF EULOGY)
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Some think they find their way through this life with a series of coincidences, mere circumstances or even with a twist of fate now and then. Others depend upon hard work, their wits and hope for a bit of luck to come their way. Still, others let life’s events carry them this way and that, and are optimistic that in the end everything will somehow work out ok.
But we who are Christians, we who are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, and no other, we do not live our life in any such manner. We know that luck and fate are pure fiction; We know that there are no such thing as coincidences and we know that in any circumstance, any circumstance at all, God will never abandon us.
Death first came to humanity because of sin in the Garden of Eden, striking fear into Adam and Eve as they hid from the sight of God. To this day we fear death, and our fear is based on the fact that we are powerless against it. Do what we will, death still waits in the shadows. Though we don’t think about it, though we don’t talk about it, though we avoid the subject whenever possible, like our sister Jean, we will all have to face death someday too. We all fear death, but to God, we read in psalm 116:15, to God, the death of his saints is precious. How can this be? The thing we fear most, God finds precious.
What is precious for God isn’t death, no, God, in the resurrection in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered death and holds full dominion over death, God hates death; What is precious to God, is the death of his saints. She was, and still is, a servant of the Most High God and Jean was and still is precious in His sight, and Jean is very much alive in His presence as we speak
Now, this is not legend, this is not myth, and this is not something we tell ourselves so we can sleep well at night. This is reality. We saw Paul tell us in our passage from Thessalonians that we are not to be ignorant, like those who have no hope – those who see this as the end…..and we are not ignorant.
Here at this moment it is not possible to comprehend why. Why, Jean was taken from us so quickly, but know that this is no reflection on the deep love and concern that God had for Jean, and it is no reflection of the love and concern that God has for you right now....At this moment things may appear in a fog, and even at a loss, – for we see the spiritual life with difficulty. But know this, whatever the circumstances, God does not abandon us, in fact Jean is precious to Him and He holds her dear.
(END OF MESSAGE)
- FUNERAL SERVICE -
Prelude
Welcome
Welcome, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Jean Diana Soundy, Who was known by God in her mother’s womb, who came to know the Lord God through an anointed relationship with Jesus Christ, and who is now in full communion with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Opening Scripture
Heb. 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Opening Prayer
We come before you this afternoon to celebrate the life of our sister Jean. We thank you so much for the gift of her life and for the time we were able to spend with her. Lord God, You formed us from the dust of the earth and by your breath you gave us life
you made us in your image and you are the one who holds us in your care, we come to you, asking you to be with us now in both strength and power.
We know that in a time like this, it is your strength that we draw upon, it is you we draw upon and not our own strength. May your Spirit wash over us and by your hand, may we be sustained by you this very day.
May the presence of the Holy Spirit be upon us all...We ask this all in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord - Amen.
Hymn: Eternal Father
Scripture: 1Thes 4:13-18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Hymn: what a friend we have in Jesus
Scripture: Psalm 116:13-19
sa. 116:12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD—in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Solo: Pat Peacock –
Message
Time of Sharing
Psalm 23
Pastoral Prayer
Jesus our Lord, You have given us a new and living hope in Jesus Christ. We thank you, that by dying you destroyed the power of death, and by rising from the grave you opened the way to eternal life.
We know that because you live, we shall live also and that neither life nor death, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from your love.
Your love cares for us in life and watches over us in death. We thank you for the assurance that is such in the kingdom of God
We ask the you be with Jean’ family, Lord have mercy on them. We commit them to you in your unfailing love and into your merciful care.
May your full peace be with them in power and in the times tears and memories, may you surround them with your Holy Spirit, and walk with them through this time.
We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord – Amen
Hymn: Amazing Grace
Benediction (behind the casket)
Please remain standing for the benediction.
We the living, stand here before our sister Jean Soundy.
But let us not be ignorant, because of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, not only are we the living – but also is Jean – for she is right now, at this very moment, very much alive and well in the presence of God the Father Almighty.
Let us therefore remember, that this life we are entrusted with, this one life we have been given is not our own.
May the peace of God
Which surpasses all understanding
Keep within your hearts and minds
In the knowledge and love of God
And of the Son Jesus Christ our Lord
And the blessings of the Almighty
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Be with you always
amen
Postlude
Committal Following Service At Graveside
