I said goodbye to one of the most awesome people in my life yesterday – my friend Joe Fitzgerald. There was no way I was going to let a snowstorm keep me from his funeral service. And so my husband, two sons and I made it to the church along with a handful of other people, mostly family. There might have been 20 of us total.
It was an awesome service. Tears trickled down my cheeks when we started to sing Here I Am, Lord. I absolutely adore this song, and my husband knows that when I die I want this hymn to be sung at the service. We also sang Let There Be Peace on Earth, which is totally a Joe song. He always signed his letters and cards: Peace and love, Joe.
After the service, we went to a buffet luncheon that his niece had arranged at a nearby hotel. It turned out that only nine of us could make it to the luncheon and there was enough food to feed 900. So I totally loved what Joe’s niece, Barb, did. She invited a group of contractors who were stranded and hungry to join us. She also invited the waitress’ family, who were waiting outside in the cold for her to get off work, to join us. So it turned out that we shared this delicious luncheon with a bunch of people we didn’t know. And I kept thinking how crazy it was and how good it was and how happy it made me to know that it was what Joe would have done. He was the most generous person I have ever known.
And so, in honor of Joe’s life, I share this hymn with you. Peace and love, Buffy
Beautiful. He sounds like he was a wonderful person. Thank you for sharing.
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