Earlier, on Saturday, July 20th, the Dayton Mennonite Fellowship kindly held a potluck supper in honour of Paul's family. This was then followed by a Memorial Service with the Fellowship on Sunday afternoon.
The gathering in Goshen the next day did not attempt to duplicate the Dayton event, and instead focused on readings drawn from scripture and more recent writers, as well as written prayers. Both Memorials provided time for people to give thanks for Kay and to remember how she had helped them. I will mention only two comments made in Goshen, though many were memorable and moving.
Amy gave thanks for the way Kay suggested, encouraged, and made it possible for "We Five Brothers" to spend a few days together in her Dayton home many years ago. During that first brothers-only reunion, the brothers bonded in ways nobody could have anticipated. In a similar vein, Grandma gave thanks that Kay devoted so much time and creativity to organizing the larger family reunions for Grandpa, Grandma and their descendants in Tennessee and Georgia Bay, Ontario (Mark and Amy also organized the memorable reunion at their home in Cutchogue--complete with tornado).
Here are some photos from the Goshen Memorial for Kay:
During the Memorial in Goshen, people paused to look at photographs of Kay and to admire a table cloth that had been signed by all their friends in the Dayton Fellowship. Paul also asked that Alan's recent photo of Stephen and Gretchen be displayed on the table. We knew that Cousin Stephen's time of remission from his cancer had concluded, but we never suspected that he would pass away less than 24 hours later in Hawaii. Paul and Gretchen both know what it is like to wait while helplessly watching a loved one slip away.
After the moving Memorial, everybody drove to Middlebury, where Grandma hosted a reception in a private room at Das Dutchman Essenhaus. This enabled the entire clan to visit while eating Amish food "family style".
On days surrounding the Memorial, we tended to gather in the Social Room on Grandma's floor in Evergreen. We found the room suitable for games and even meals, so we brought in food from various stores.
Grandma and Grandpa's first date more than 70 years ago was over a board of Chinese checkers. They played games the rest of their lives, especially during the retirement years. A reunion of this family would be unthinkable without games--especially Scrabble.
Each day, we tended to gather in Grandma's apartment until we ran out of chairs and had to move elsewhere.
The various iPad-ers in the family usually manage to find time to share new discoveries. It is possible for nonagenarians to learn new tricks.
We managed to take a few photos of people, either in groups in the shade of the gazebo, in hallways, or wherever we happened to remember to shoot. Sadly, there is no photo showing everybody. I know others were shooting casually, and hope they will also share photos with us.
Grandma and Don wanted to show us their ride out to the pond and some garden allotments. Can you can tell from the way they dress that it was mid-July in the Midwest? Convertibles can be breezy.
When possible, people would meet at Goshen's Electric Brew for something to get the blood going for another day. Even folks from Kreiderland (our nickname for Seattle) find the coffee to their liking.
Some evenings, those still awake would gather either by the indoor pool at Hampton Inn or in their lounge.
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| Some of us look best out-of-focus. |
