Leslie’s Memorial Service Presentation, May 4, 2013
Church of Christ Uniting, Kingston
Ten years ago, when I stood up at this same service, and memorialized our class, I took a look back at where we had come from – I referenced the songs, movies and events surrounding 1963, and spoke sadly but matter-of-factly that we had lost only four classmates. Today that number is 14, or over 10% of our class – 11 men and 3 women, equally divided between boarders and day students.
Biographies of my classmates reveal the usual cross-section of Sem graduates: there are (and were) doctors, stockbrokers, teachers, nurses and management in all industries and service professions. There are also housewives and clergy and authors - and even a robot-builder and a long-haul trucker. Of those we lost, none was more or less important than another; all fought enemies and diseases with bravery and courage, and their obituaries proudly testify to the start Sem gave them for their future.
Our class is not typical of many – we were flower children, coming of age during an unpopular conflict, trained to think for ourselves and voice our own opinions – not quite Baby Boomers and not yet GenXers. We exhibited plenty of school spirit while here, but haven’t always come back to reassemble in record numbers. We are fiercely loyal to our friends, but don’t aggressively reach out to past casual acquaintances or classmates. We were not internationally diverse, as is today’s student population, but we represented all segments of the country in our boarding population, and a several of us returned to Northeastern Pennsylvania after college. Those classmates we remember today mirror these patterns – they settled locally, and on the East and West Coasts, were hedge fund managers, teachers, artists, chaplains, housewives, and farmers. Their journeys were sometimes too short, but no one less interesting than another.
To quote poet Richard Netherland Cook:
The journey of life is just a path.
On earth to lead our way,
A place to stop and rest awhile,
For we were never meant to stay.
The journey of life is a stepping stone,
On this path to greater things,
Life is not an empty dream,
If we rejoice in all it brings.
Each step we take will bring us closer,
When our journey in life will end,
And time for some is fleeting,
Time for others will extend.
Though the journey is not easy,
Loved one's will take our hand,
To guide us in life's journey,
With their footprints in the sand.
Our journey on earth to Heaven,
Will be measured by our deeds,
By how we have treated others,
And cared for others’ needs.
The journey is different for many,
But the destination is the same,
For eternity will await us all,
When God calls out our name.
The Class of 63 remembers all our friends who are no longer with us, but knows they indeed have been measured by their deeds.