EMPORIA’S MEMORIAL DAY observances will concentrate on honoring those who have served in the military. But Monday is also a day to remember all of those we have lost and still miss.
The longer you live, the longer your Memorial Day list grows. Once you pass 50, if you’re not checking the obituaries once a day, your life is bound by much too small a circle.
Looking back on the past year, Emporians now have many more people to remember on that day of memories. Some were friends, some acquaintances, but their faces are still clear in memory. Sometimes, we can recall their voices. All of them died since we last observed Memorial Day.
Here is the list:
Don Perry Carroll Schubert
John King Joan Rorabaugh
Dorothy Brinkman Phil Martin
Laura McWilliams Ralph Marsh
Leona Creager Teresa Didde
Junius Penny Leonard Crowl
Milton Ropfogel Billy Cook
Opal Glasgow Ben Winter
Rose Bennett Harry Hart
The list is incomplete, of course. Every heart holds memories of those who have enriched our community.
The point is this: This weekend is a good time to make a list of those you miss and to think about why you miss them. It keeps their memory alive and memory, not mourning, is what Memorial Day is all about.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
My mother was the self-appointed keeper of the flame in our family when it came to making sure that all the graves were decorated for Memorial Day. Every year she would haul out the old decorations from years past.....discard the worn and ragged ones....replace them with new...and make certain every family member buried in Emporia was remembered.
A year ago last January she died. Before her death she started lamenting that the graves would never be tended to by anyone after she was gone. She did this good naturedly...but you could tell she was concerned about it.
So for these past two Memorial Days my brother and I have made sure we followed in mom's tradition. After completeing our decorating chores this year....we both gathered at the head of her grave and gave her a good-natured rasberry....had a good laugh...wiped away a couple of tears....and remembered.
We miss you Mom.....
May 24, 2009 at 1:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )