Beautiful Memories

Thank you to everyone that joined the boys and me to say farewell to Tim this past Wednesday and Thursday. Donnellan Funeral Home put together a lovely video with pictures of Tim from childhood until his death. David Sutton, a local professional photographer, gave us permission to use two of the portraits from our recent photo session for Tim's prayer cards. They turned out just beautifully.

I want to say a particular thank you to the parents from Brendan's Cub Scout Den. The scouts from Brendan's den came together in uniform. Thank you so much for that tribute to Tim. We had visitors from both boys' schools, the Cub Scouts, the Boy Scouts, our church and many, many folks from Northwestern. I am sorry that I couldn't spend more time with each of you.

I am grateful beyond measure to everyone at the Sheil Catholic Center who helped make Thursday such a memorable day. I was completely blown away by the music. Angela Stramaglia and all the musicians that gave of their time and talents contributed to an atmosphere that went beyond good prayer (a Fr. Ken saying) to GREAT prayer. My special thanks to Fr. Tom for accepting the tough assignment of incorporating a remembrance of Tim into his homily. He managed to convey so well the many facets of Tim that made him so special. I also want to thank Teresa Corcoran and all the folks that helped her put together the reception after the service. Thank you for providing us with a time and space to share our memories of Tim as well as food to sustain us while we did so. After all, what is a Sheil event without food?

Most of all, however, I want to thank everyone that came to the funeral. I was so touched to see the chapel filled with all those people. Hearing the chapel resound with music as we began to sing the opening song is a memory that I will cherish forever. While the choir was beautiful, it was the full, active and conscious participation (another Fr. Ken saying) of everyone there that made Tim's funeral a moving celebration of his life. In my dark moments, I simply pull up that image in my mind and the memory of all the love and affection shown on that day comfort me.