MY Father Wrote His Own Eulogy...

It has been nearly three years since my father past away at the local nursing home in Brighton and I still very much miss him.

He had a bad heart for a number of years and knew that his death was only a matter of time. One day he asked me to give his Eulogy when the time came. I told him that I was not looking forward to it, but if that is what he wanted, I would do my best. He promised to send me some notes I could use.

And, in a way he did.

The "notes" he promised, turned out to be Actual Drafts - in all, at least 10. I read them - at least the earlier ones - thinking that I could do better.

A week before my father died, I visited him at which time he told me that the end was near. We said our goodbyes - I told him that he was the best father ever and that I loved him. (Easy to write, but hard to say). He responded by saying that he had done his best. There were tears on my part.

Anyway, as I was about to leave, he handed me his final Draft - I pocketed it and returned home.

I didn't read it, but rather over the following week went to work on my own version.

When I received word of his death, I completed the final touches.

On the day of his funeral, I took my completed effort - along with his final version which I had still not read. I thought to myself that I would read it on route to Brighton simply to add any key points that I might have missed in my own.

His Final Draft Was Great - in the end Dad had written something beyond my poor ability.

I put my version away.

In the Receiving Line at our Olde Family Church, many of the mourners stopped to say how much they had enjoyed my Dad's Eulogy. How so, I had yet to give it?

Apparently, over the preceding weeks when anyone had gone to visit Dad - he had them read his Auto-Eulogy.

I chuckled.

Later, as I stood before the gathering, I acknowledged that Dad had indeed written his own Eulogy, that I was about to read and that, thanks to Dad, many there were privy to its contents.

"For those few who were not" - I commenced.

I won't go into the content, other than to deal with his Opening and Closing - since I believe those two sentences speak to the Man, My Father Was.

He Opened By Thanking Everyone For Coming To His Service.

And He Closed, By Telling Them That They Live In The Best Country In All The World - Canada.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher