Eulogy video

Click the following link for video of the eulogy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3K_U-5RHmY&feature=youtu.be

Follow the eulogy text in the post below.

Eulogy Text

If there was one thing that always brought life when mom was present, it was laughter. She

Robin

A few years ago, I was sitting at the bus stop at Quadra and Blanshard St., waiting for the #6.

An elderly woman walked over to me and we began chatting. She was so excited because she

had recently got her mobility back, could walk again, and was enjoying the outdoors once

more. She spoke to me very highly of her physiotherapist, a South African woman, who

helped make this all come about. You know how this ends; before long, we established that

the physio was my mother.

This is not a unique story. I know many of us here today have been healed through Mum’s

care and advice, and I know there are people here who, in part, owe their ability to move

freely to Mum. She was a healer, and this desire and gift was woven into the fibre of her

being. Ever since she was 10 years old, she wanted to be a physiotherapist. I don’t know

about you, but when I was 10, I could barely spell physiotherapist.

Mum was not one for sayings or adages, like “an ounce of prevention is worth more than a

pound of cure,” but she did live this. Many of us were “healed” from future ailments through

Mum’s preventative care. When lifting a heavy object, you’d better bend from the knees or

watch out! Father William, from having Mum in the parish office for some time, I’ll bet your

posture is better! I had a friend in highschool who slouched horribly; she didn’t slouch in my

house! No matter who you were, Mum wanted you to live fully, and would go to great

lengths to help heal, comfort, and strengthen.

Jesus said, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Mum accepted

this proposal, and lived life in all its abundance. Carpe Diem, was not a phrase Mum used,

but she always seized the day.
Would you have got on a 10-ton concrete yacht with a scruffy engineer and sailed half-wayWould you say to the man you loved, “So are you going to marry me or what?” Mum did. Would you risk falling in love and pouring your life into a spouse and children. Mum did.

But when it came to living fully, there is one gift that she reserved for Lauren and myself

alone. She gave us life, literally; from the moment our lives began, she added to it, nourished

it, carried it, and breathed herself into it. God chose her alone from all humanity to fulfil the

role of being our mother, and she poured herself entirely into that sacred vocation. Thank

you, Mum, for our abundant life.

Lauren

Mom had a great sense of humour often taking it out on dad! In a stormy day out in the Atlantic,

mom had to winch dad up the mast to change the light on the boat. The wind was smacking

dad around, causing him to curse and swear so Mom decided she was not up to listening to

that type of language, and proceeded downstairs to have a nice cup of tea, leaving dad stuck

up the mast till mom felt like bringing him back down.

Even when times where tough, mom still used laughter as a form of medicine. Two weeks

before mom passed, when she was having difficulty speaking, we put a bell next to her bed to

ring if she needed us. One morning my dad and great aunt where sitting having breakfast;

suddenly they heard the bell ringing from the bedroom. They both rushed in to see if mom

was ok, to find her sitting comfortably in her bed. She smiled and whispered “I just wanted to

see who would come running first”. Even in the face of grave illness, Mom still found ways

to lift our spirits due to her love and compassion for us. It seems very appropriate that her

day of passing was Valentine’s Day, a day that celebrates love. Personally, I think she always

wanted to be remembered with roses and chocolates.

I am certain that mom has touched each of us with her never-ending desire to help, love and

understand. I saw this in mom at a very young age in a grocery store line. The cashier was

very rude and unpleasant to us, and I immediately wanted to be rude and unpleasant back to

her; mom however continued to be polite and friendly and not let this women’s disposition

affect her. As we walked away I asked mom how she could still be so polite to someone who

was so rude, mom replied, “you just don’t know what that person may be dealing with in

their own life”. I will never forget her sense of compassion, and to this day I am always

particularly friendly to grocery cashiers.

Throughout mom’s journey with cancer, her love for family, friends and strangers continued

to shine. Two Fridays ago, battling to walk herself, Mum noticed an elderly woman

struggling with her walker. She made her way over, and quietly helped the lady through the

door. They silently exchanged knowing glances of companions on a common journey. Just

last Saturday in the middle of the night, I sat with mom on the side of the bed ensuring she

was comfortable. She turned to me and asked if

others first.

We are here celebrating the life of this great woman who healed and cared for others, lived

life fully, passionately, and humorously, and above all, loved unreservedly. She lives on and

is still with us. Try to imagine her, not in some distant heaven but all around you. For she is

closer to you than your own heartbeat.

To finish, Robin and I would like to offer this song to carry our laughter and sorrow and

honour Mum’s life.

Funeral Mass

Orbituary

JENNY DANIELS neé FROST

March 10, 1957 – February 14, 2012

Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend passed away peacefully on Tuesday at home with her loving family by her side. Funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Parish, cnr. Burnside W/McKenzie. Donations in lieu of flowers to Victoria Hospice Society.

Tuesday - Valentine's Day

Jenny went to be with God at about 1.30am Pacific Time today. The family  had spent a wonderful evening singing hymns and songs to her and were all in the house with me at her side when her breathing slowed and she quietly slipped away. We love you Jen. Rest in Peace

Sunday

Jenny is resting comfortably after a busy day yesterday with Barbara arriving, getting up to have a little walkabout the bedroom and look at her flowers :) Today she is quieter and breathing easier than in the last few days.
Lauren, Robin, Peter and I went for a hike up mount Doug yesterday, while the Frost girls and Kelly stayed with Jen. Pete and I went out for a beer and ribs in the evening to reminisce.
Had a wonderful supper with the family tonight - lots of reminiscing and laughter. Fr. William came by and had us all gather for the Anointing of the Sick for Jenny.

Initial Update

Hi all,
We are so grateful for the abundance of support, love, and encouragement being shown to us. Thank you so very much. Lately, due to Jen's declining health, we've not been able to keep in touch as much as we'd like. That being said, we know how much it means to keep loved ones up to date with how things are going. Those of you who received Jen's handwritten letters know how much she loves keeping in touch. So in light of our inability to have many visitors, answer all phone calls, and respond to all emails, we thought of posting a light blog to keep people "in the loop." I can't promise constant updates, but hope it helps. Things have begun to decline rapidly over the last month, so hopefully this can help get you up to speed.

December
As many of you recall, Jen began to lose her voice late last year due to a paralyzed vocal cord. This, paired with a sudden increase in pain in early December, made things a little difficult for her to do her normal daily activities. Jen and I had a wonderful time throughout the month seeing our grandchildren, Mark, Nicholas, and Susanna who brought a lot of innocent and oblivious cheer to the season. Robin and Rachel were around Victoria and Port Angeles for the whole month, so we had some wonderful visits and having Lauren living in Victoria we had a lovely family Christmas together. One of the highlights was a family trip to the Shaw Ocean Center in Sidney where we got to see the children's glee at the various sea creatures.

January
Over this month, Jen began a slow but steady decline. More scans revealed that the cancer had spread substantially. Another trial course of systemic chemo and was slated to start later in the month.

February
Jenny was unable to have the slated chemo due to a low platelet count. On Tuesday Feb 7th, she had a fall and went into a steep decline in responsiveness and is now having great difficulty speaking. She spends most of her time in bed.

We have activated the Hospice Palliative Care team as it is likely that Jen will need daily attendance by the team for pain medication and monitoring. They are a fantastic resource for in-home care of advanced stage cancer patients, plus the counselor who attends is a wonderful support for all the family to ask questions.

The family has been a huge support with Lauren staying here and both Robin and Heather having traveled from Ontario to help us and Jen. Barbara just arrived from South Africa and my sister Eve is coming from Connecticut next week. Jenny’s Mom & Dad are too frail to travel at this stage, but we keep in daily contact with them. Peter Everett stopped here this weekend on his way back to UK from Houston and has, as expected, lightened our spirits substantially. Robin and Lauren took Peter and I on a "walk" up, down, and around Mt. Doug today - it was a wonderful way to clear my head and decompress.

We continue to pray for a miracle and just take one day at a time and enjoy the love and support that we have from all of you. Jen is not strong enough to see visitors at this stage and right now we have an abundance of lovingly prepared baked goods! However, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, especially on this World Day of Prayer for the Sick.
Love to you all,
Peter