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- Eulogy for Beatrice K. Smith August 8, 2000
Rev. Richard R. Hubbard
Dear family and friends, we gather here this afternoon to celebrate the life of Beatrice Smith. We give thanks to God that hers was a long and rich life, busy and active until the end. She and her husband, Herman, can rest easy that they leave a living legacy of their three daughters, Dorothy, Marian and Nancy, and their husbands and eleven,
grandchildren, twenty great grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren'. From a biblical perspective, they were truly blessed.
I am thankful that when I first met Bea, she was very much alive. Indeed, her vigor and wit seemed to belie her age. I had been warned that Bea could be a "woman of strong opinions". One would need to be to make it to 96, still full of vigor and vitality. My impression, at the end was that the time had come. She had lived her life as fully as possible, for as long as possible. Neither age nor immobility dampened her interest in life and those around her. Her vitality alone should inspire us when we start to feel older and tiered...
I asked the family for some help in telling the story of her life. She grew up on the family farm in Hornell. One can only guess at the changes she saw around her over the course of her lifetime, from horse and buggy to automobiles, from wood stoves to electric range, yet with others of her generation she took it in stride. With five brothers and two sisters, she never lacked for company, though privacy was probably hard to come by.
She married Herman Smith, a mold maker at Ingersoll Rand, in 1922. They had four children, Dorothy, Marian, Nancy and Clair. Clair, the only son, died in the early 1970's. We pray that he is now gathered with his mother and father in that heavenly mansion.
I was told that Bea was quite a baker, who as a homemaker, augmented the family income by baking bread and rolls every Friday, and never had any left over. She also took in washings to help, and being a farm girl and one of eight children, was no stranger to hard work. After her children were grown, she worked at the Corning Hospital laundry, retiring in 1968. And through the years in Painted Post, she was an active and dedicated member of the Methodist Church. Rev. Jack Bunde, the Chaplain at Coming Hospital, said Bea always faithfully attended his services, and loved to sing hymns (which proves she was a real Methodist at heart).
It was hard for her to leave her home. Is it ever easy for anyone? To leave behind a lifetime of memories, the scene of so many of the chapters of one's life. But change is always a part of our lives. We are all sojourners on a journey of life and time.
She moved to Green Meadows, where she enjoyed playing cards, hopefully not on Sundays. (Smile. I'm joking.) She enjoyed visiting with the friends and especially appreciated that her granddaughter, Janice Montgomery, worked there and woke her up each morning.
After breaking her ankle and time at Arnot Ogden and Coming Hospitals she moved to Founders Pavilion, where she needed rehabilitation. She made progress, but now needed a wheelchair. Some people might have given up, or withdrawn, but not Bea. She kept as busy as ever and enjoyed playing checkers and games with Randy Dann. I am told that on a trip to Niagara Falls, he introduced her to a group of men as Miss America 1918. From what I hear she gave as good as she got. She was alert, very much alive.
She enjoyed visiting with family and friends. She kept busy knitting, crocheting and, of course, playing cards and checkers. Reportedly she hated to lose, but that's true of most of us. We'd rather win than lose, at the games we play. I think it would be fair to say Bea loved the playing as much as the winning, the fun, the friendship and fellowship that games can provide.
We all have our favorite foods and hers was maple walnut ice cream. It would be nice if the next time you have maple walnut ice cream you think of Bea, a reminder, a remembrance of a life rich in the things that truly matter; family, friends and faith.
Time for family remembrance
It is hard to say good-bye to those we love, to let them go, to leave them in God's hands. But surely Bea's life was rich and blessed, full to the very end. So, this afternoon I ask that you remember the life and love you shared, your times together, your shared joy and laughter as well as hurts and sorrow. None of us are perfect. We do the best we can, and some things we may do better than others. Now is the time to remember the best of Bea's life: her love of life, her love of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, her friends at Founders, Green Meadows, Corning Hospital, Painted Pos, her faith that gave her hope, strength and the courage to carry on faith and as active on our lives as she was in hers.
Let us pray. Almighty God, we give you thanks for the life of Beatrice Smith, for the life and love she shared with her family and friends, for her force of will and vitality of life, for long years and rich memories. Amen.
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1904 - 2000 (96 years)
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