AN HONORABLE AND ETERNAL GRADUATION

On October 18, 2009 Sister Howlett's second mom Barbara Hess Merrill, who was 91 years old, joined her dad and Barbara's beloved parents and siblings when she passed on to the next world. Sister Howlett's first mom, Nora died when she was only 49 years old and Sister Howlett was 21 years old. Then her dad found another wonderful woman, with two of her own children, who was willing to be a wife and second mother, and she has been the beloved second mom of Sister Howlett, her brother and her sister for 43 years. We have loved her for all her genuine love for us. But now it is good that she could be relieved of her life here on earth as she was in such pain and suffering. Mom Barbara is with her husband, Mel, and Mom Nora in a special marital unit. They must have been happy to have her join them in their celestial home on high. Being the last surviving child of her parent's twelve children, Mom Barbara must have been met by many of her Hess family as well, who are also sealed in our Lord's eternal family. What a joyful gathering it must have been.

Most of the family here on earth gathered for her funeral in California. It was a very happy/sad experience. Sad that we won't see her for a while, but happy that she is very joyful where she is now and freed from her suffering. Seven of Elder and Sister Howlett's nine children and many of their families made it out to the funeral. Pat flew from Germany where she and her husband are serving a mission for our church. Grant couldn't come, and he was sorely missed. It was a great sacrifice just for her to go, but well worth it. We feel that our family came together to celebrate our mother's, grandmother's, nana's(great-grandmother's) life and it was a very healing time for all the family. She was a very special matriarch of our Merrill family for many years.

The funeral was beautiful with so many of the family participating. Her daughters, Kathy, Sharon and Pat, and granddaughter Gayla all helped to put together a beautiful printed program. Two very lovely entries that were printed on the program will be included at the end of this blog entry. After the funeral and luncheon, we all traveled out to the beautiful Rose Hills Memorial Park filled with green grass, rolling hills and shady trees, where she was laid to rest next to our father, Mel Merrill. Many pictures were taken and it was lovely to see so many people paying tribute for her giving nature and loving heart.

The following are two selections that were used on Barbara's printed program:


A special tribute written in honor of the Queen Mother by Queen Elizabeth II

We can shed tears that she is gone,
Or we can smile because she has lived.
We close our eyes and pray that she'll come back,
Or we can open our eyes and see all she's left.
Our hearts can be empty because we can't see her,
Or we can be full of the love we shared.
We can turn our back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or we can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
We can remember her and only that she's gone,
Or we can cherish her memory and let it live on.
We can cry and close our mind, be empty and turn our back,
Or we can do what she'd want: smile, open our eyes, love and go on.


A LITTLE PARABLE FOR MOTHERS, author unknown

The young Mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked. And her guide said, "Yes, and the way is hard, and you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young Mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them on the way, and bathed with them in the clear streams, and the sun shone on them, and life was good, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then night came and storms came, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold; the Mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Oh, Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near and no harm can come." And the Mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, but at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So, the children climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, "We could not have done it without you, Mother." And the Mother, when she laid down that night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage; today I have given them strength."

And the next day came. Strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, caused the children to groan and stumble, and the Mother said, "Look up. Lift your eyes to the Light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months, and the years, and the Mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was hard, they helped their Mother; and when the way was rough they lifted her, for she was light as a feather. And at last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could see a shining road and the golden gates flung wide.

And the Mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey, and now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us mother, even when you are gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living Presence."