From memorial service held on October 22, 2018 at Mill Creek Canyon, Salt Lake City, Utah:
We are here today in memory of our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Adra Beth Whitesides Williams, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy.
We wish that she had had more time on this earth, and perhaps that during the time she did have, we had spent more of it together. We wish that the last few years of her life had not been lost to illness, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her suffering is at an end, there is still sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and life behind. The ways she touched our lives will remain.
Despite the struggles and adversity she faced, she always said she felt that she had been lucky in life. Unlike most young women of her generation, she completed a college degree. Her mother Itha was instrumental in making this happen, supporting and encouraging and working to help pay college expenses. We don't know if she intended to be a teacher, but she had no interest in being a nurse or secretary, and because these were the three professions that were available to a young woman in the 1940s, she ended up teaching. She was a natural at it. It gave her a sense of satisfaction and contribution and accomplishment. It also afforded her the financial independence to live her life as she chose. After her retirement from teaching she continued to contribute to her community by tutoring the children and grandchildren of her neighbors and friends.
We know that she carried the pain of her young life and of the illnesses and early deaths of her mother and brother with her into adulthood. She did a lot of difficult emotional and spiritual work to try to understand and process these early years and the imprint they left on her, and to move past them to be able to lead a rich, fulfilling life. She found joy in having her own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and in her career as an educator.
The great passion of her life was dancing. Had her life circumstances been different, she most likely would have followed that passion into a career. She also showed early promise as a pianist. One of her piano teachers believed that she had the talent to become a professional, but life intervened and this was not to be. However, she continued to greatly enjoy both dance and music throughout her life, and shared these passions with family and friends.
Although she suffered from dementia in her last few years on this earth, she was able to remain at home and always remembered her loved ones. Dementia has been called "the long goodbye". Perhaps this was her way of slowly and gently leaving those of us who love her to soften the impact of her departure. We know that she would not want us to be sad, and that she would want this memorial to be a celebration of her life, and death as a part of life.
After her passing the following quote by George Bernard Shaw was found among her personal papers:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature…..I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Today we honor the splendid torch of her life, here among the mountains of Utah that she loved so much.
Dear God, we pray for the spirit of our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Take her into your arms and bring peace to her soul. May her transition be sweet and joyful. Amen.
"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
We are here today in memory of our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Adra Beth Whitesides Williams, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy.
We wish that she had had more time on this earth, and perhaps that during the time she did have, we had spent more of it together. We wish that the last few years of her life had not been lost to illness, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her suffering is at an end, there is still sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and life behind. The ways she touched our lives will remain.
Despite the struggles and adversity she faced, she always said she felt that she had been lucky in life. Unlike most young women of her generation, she completed a college degree. Her mother Itha was instrumental in making this happen, supporting and encouraging and working to help pay college expenses. We don't know if she intended to be a teacher, but she had no interest in being a nurse or secretary, and because these were the three professions that were available to a young woman in the 1940s, she ended up teaching. She was a natural at it. It gave her a sense of satisfaction and contribution and accomplishment. It also afforded her the financial independence to live her life as she chose. After her retirement from teaching she continued to contribute to her community by tutoring the children and grandchildren of her neighbors and friends.
We know that she carried the pain of her young life and of the illnesses and early deaths of her mother and brother with her into adulthood. She did a lot of difficult emotional and spiritual work to try to understand and process these early years and the imprint they left on her, and to move past them to be able to lead a rich, fulfilling life. She found joy in having her own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and in her career as an educator.
The great passion of her life was dancing. Had her life circumstances been different, she most likely would have followed that passion into a career. She also showed early promise as a pianist. One of her piano teachers believed that she had the talent to become a professional, but life intervened and this was not to be. However, she continued to greatly enjoy both dance and music throughout her life, and shared these passions with family and friends.
Although she suffered from dementia in her last few years on this earth, she was able to remain at home and always remembered her loved ones. Dementia has been called "the long goodbye". Perhaps this was her way of slowly and gently leaving those of us who love her to soften the impact of her departure. We know that she would not want us to be sad, and that she would want this memorial to be a celebration of her life, and death as a part of life.
After her passing the following quote by George Bernard Shaw was found among her personal papers:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature…..I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Today we honor the splendid torch of her life, here among the mountains of Utah that she loved so much.
Dear God, we pray for the spirit of our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Take her into your arms and bring peace to her soul. May her transition be sweet and joyful. Amen.
"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
From memorial service held on October 22, 2018 at Mill Creek Canyon, Salt Lake City, Utah:
We are here today in memory of our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Adra Beth Whitesides Williams, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy.
We wish that she had had more time on this earth, and perhaps that during the time she did have, we had spent more of it together. We wish that the last few years of her life had not been lost to illness, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her suffering is at an end, there is still sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and life behind. The ways she touched our lives will remain.
Despite the struggles and adversity she faced, she always said she felt that she had been lucky in life. Unlike most young women of her generation, she completed a college degree. Her mother Itha was instrumental in making this happen, supporting and encouraging and working to help pay college expenses. We don't know if she intended to be a teacher, but she had no interest in being a nurse or secretary, and because these were the three professions that were available to a young woman in the 1940s, she ended up teaching. She was a natural at it. It gave her a sense of satisfaction and contribution and accomplishment. It also afforded her the financial independence to live her life as she chose. After her retirement from teaching she continued to contribute to her community by tutoring the children and grandchildren of her neighbors and friends.
We know that she carried the pain of her young life and of the illnesses and early deaths of her mother and brother with her into adulthood. She did a lot of difficult emotional and spiritual work to try to understand and process these early years and the imprint they left on her, and to move past them to be able to lead a rich, fulfilling life. She found joy in having her own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and in her career as an educator.
The great passion of her life was dancing. Had her life circumstances been different, she most likely would have followed that passion into a career. She also showed early promise as a pianist. One of her piano teachers believed that she had the talent to become a professional, but life intervened and this was not to be. However, she continued to greatly enjoy both dance and music throughout her life, and shared these passions with family and friends.
Although she suffered from dementia in her last few years on this earth, she was able to remain at home and always remembered her loved ones. Dementia has been called "the long goodbye". Perhaps this was her way of slowly and gently leaving those of us who love her to soften the impact of her departure. We know that she would not want us to be sad, and that she would want this memorial to be a celebration of her life, and death as a part of life.
After her passing the following quote by George Bernard Shaw was found among her personal papers:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature…..I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Today we honor the splendid torch of her life, here among the mountains of Utah that she loved so much.
Dear God, we pray for the spirit of our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Take her into your arms and bring peace to her soul. May her transition be sweet and joyful. Amen.
"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
We are here today in memory of our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Adra Beth Whitesides Williams, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy.
We wish that she had had more time on this earth, and perhaps that during the time she did have, we had spent more of it together. We wish that the last few years of her life had not been lost to illness, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her suffering is at an end, there is still sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and life behind. The ways she touched our lives will remain.
Despite the struggles and adversity she faced, she always said she felt that she had been lucky in life. Unlike most young women of her generation, she completed a college degree. Her mother Itha was instrumental in making this happen, supporting and encouraging and working to help pay college expenses. We don't know if she intended to be a teacher, but she had no interest in being a nurse or secretary, and because these were the three professions that were available to a young woman in the 1940s, she ended up teaching. She was a natural at it. It gave her a sense of satisfaction and contribution and accomplishment. It also afforded her the financial independence to live her life as she chose. After her retirement from teaching she continued to contribute to her community by tutoring the children and grandchildren of her neighbors and friends.
We know that she carried the pain of her young life and of the illnesses and early deaths of her mother and brother with her into adulthood. She did a lot of difficult emotional and spiritual work to try to understand and process these early years and the imprint they left on her, and to move past them to be able to lead a rich, fulfilling life. She found joy in having her own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and in her career as an educator.
The great passion of her life was dancing. Had her life circumstances been different, she most likely would have followed that passion into a career. She also showed early promise as a pianist. One of her piano teachers believed that she had the talent to become a professional, but life intervened and this was not to be. However, she continued to greatly enjoy both dance and music throughout her life, and shared these passions with family and friends.
Although she suffered from dementia in her last few years on this earth, she was able to remain at home and always remembered her loved ones. Dementia has been called "the long goodbye". Perhaps this was her way of slowly and gently leaving those of us who love her to soften the impact of her departure. We know that she would not want us to be sad, and that she would want this memorial to be a celebration of her life, and death as a part of life.
After her passing the following quote by George Bernard Shaw was found among her personal papers:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature…..I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Today we honor the splendid torch of her life, here among the mountains of Utah that she loved so much.
Dear God, we pray for the spirit of our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Take her into your arms and bring peace to her soul. May her transition be sweet and joyful. Amen.
"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
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