My eulogy at ChickMagic's funeral on Saturday

derby378

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Mon May-17-10 09:05 AM
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My eulogy at ChickMagic's funeral on Saturday

Some of you had expressed interest in reading the eulogy I delivered for Ginny on Saturday, so here it is:

Over the past few days, amidst the tears and the heartache, I tried to figure out how best to share the memory of Virginia with all of you gathered here today at Grove Hill. The reason I am up here at the podium is because even though I am eternally grateful to Chris for officiating at this remembrance, I felt the need to share something about Ginny's inner self as her husband, as her best friend, and as her advocate.

Those of you who do not know about Ginny's ancestry should know that her family tree includes Benjamin Franklin as well as George Read, a Founding Father who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. It also includes a few honest-to-goodness pirates and outlaws, most likely including the famous female pirate Mary Read, who sailed in the Caribbean with Calico Jack Rackham in the 18th century.

What unites all of these people in Ginny's lineage is a long tradition of tenacity, that certain spark that drives some people to push forward and never give up. Her father, Louis, displayed this resolve as an Army sergeant during World War II. Her nephew, also named Louis, has demonstrated this resolve by becoming a Marine, and he is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. And in the many years I have spent by Ginny's side, I realize that she, in her own way, was just as determined and driven as her father, as her nephew, as her distant ancestors. She had the mind of a scientist, the heart of an explorer, and the soul of a patriot.

Ginny needed this tenacity. Throughout her life, she has had to battle adversity of one sort or another, be it illness, accidents, or violence from someone who wanted to break her spirit. But Ginny rose above it all. She was given a 5% chance of surviving stage IV ovarian cancer. That was 25 years ago. Her indomitable spirit has been a source of hope and inspiration to other cancer survivors. Ginny encapsulated this persistence in one of her personal mottos: Ne illegitimi carbunculi tibi in facie sint - Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down.

Being Ginny's husband for the past ten years, I know a little something about Ginny's persistence. I also know that Ginny truly appreciated humor, and has had a lifelong passion for it. She has befriended comedians and tried her own hand at comedy. And I know that her ghost will haunt me if I don’t get one laugh out of you at this memorial, because that's the parting gift that Ginny wanted to leave all of you. She could find humor in practically anything. Like the time some 20 years ago when her beloved cat Axl was still fairly young, and one day, while Ginny was entertaining guests at home, Axl sneaked up behind her and stole a piece of pepperoni pizza off of her plate and ran into the bedroom with it. Ginny angrily chased after Axl to get the pizza back, but when she cornered him, he was just sitting there on the floor with that slice of pizza sitting in front of him, and he was staring up into her face with a look of terror that seemed to say "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, I really screwed up..." When Ginny saw how frightened Axl was, she couldn't help but burst out in laughter, and she forgave her kitty for stealing the pizza slice.

Ginny loved her many animal companions throughout her life. And she had a love for wildlife in general. Ginny had a well-deserved reputation up at UT Southwestern Medical Center for being that lady who insists on putting out birdseed for all the pigeons and sparrows, cracking nuts to make it easier on the squirrels, and rescuing the occasional cat that showed up on campus. She fed seagulls on the Gulf Coast and rare blonde squirrels on the Capitol lawn in Austin, and she even had a pet octopus during her college years. Her love for animals was deep and abiding, and she did everything she could to make sure her pets had a life filled with love and comfort. She has rescued so many wild birds and nursed them back to health that I've lost count of them all.

This was a wonderful woman who was driven to find humor in everything around her, driven to show wildlife the respect that it deserves, and driven to overcome any adversity that confronted her. And this wonderful woman, for whatever reason, chose to share her life with me in marriage. I miss her terribly, and I always will. No matter what happens to me as I continue down the highway of life, I will treasure Ginny's memory always, and when my turn comes, I will seek her out in the afterlife. I loved Ginny from the first moment I laid eyes on her, and I will love Ginny forever.

As one last thought, a few years back, Ginny had the opportunity to make a small contribution to a probe that was launched into space by France a few years ago, if memory serves me right. The probe contained a time capsule that people from all over the world filled with brief wishes of peace, happiness, and brotherhood for any alien intelligence that may recover the probe. Ginny contributed this wish to the probe's time capsule: I hope that you will dream and be happy.

If Ginny could share one final wish with all of you today, I think it would be this. On behalf of my best friend and true love, I hope that you will dream and be happy.