Even in the funeral business you will find lite moments.. moments that
seem to have been placed there on purpose if you will, just to relieve
the strain of the day. The following is one such moment. A real story
from the book Undertakings of an Undertaker, true stories of being
laid to rest. I can't help but smile each time I review it...maybe because
I'm a former Beagle owner and dog lover. You'll smile too when you
read it.
A Beagle in Church (Day
of the Beagle)
My assistant
and I arrived at the Methodist Church in plenty of time for the scheduled 1:00
pm memorial service. We unloaded the
five floral pieces and placed them appropriately around the alter and the riser
in front of where I would be seating the family.
The gentleman
who had passed just three days earlier had been cremated, and his lovely wife,
also getting on in years, had decided she would like his service at their
church where they had been married some forty- five
years earlier.
This is truly the full circle of life, being baptized at a church,
perhaps being married at the same altar a couple of decades later, and finally
having your mortal remains taken to the same facility for a final goodbye. What would transpire at that altar less than
an hour from now was another of those “it will never happen again” moments, a
moment indeed worth writing about.
The church
members started to arrive within twenty minutes of the appointed hour, and I
briskly assisted them at the register book, handing them a service bulletin and
directing them to a seat. One elderly
lady with a rough looking fox wrapped about her neck whispered in my ear as she
passed, "Do you fellows have Mrs. Billings who passed away last night? She
was a dear and I must know where she will be laid out."
Having no
knowledge of the woman's death, I remarked back to her, "I'm so sorry, but
no, our firm has not been notified of her passing. Perhaps one of the other firms in town has
her."
"Oh
quite so" she uttered back.
"Although, your firm does such a lovely job, can't see anyone
wanting to go elsewhere."
Before I
could suggest she look at the evening newspaper, she had quickly left me and had made her way through the double doors at the back of the
church. She was heading for one of the
nearby ancient wood pews, which had no padding, just a straight back and a most
uncomfortable contour. I had figured out years ago why so many churches built a
century ago configured them as such. It would be very difficult, if not
impossible, to fall asleep in one of these pews. Even if a man or woman of the cloth were to
go on for an hour, or more, you most assuredly would have to be constantly
manipulating your back and limbs to keep from seizing up. This surely would keep you awake through the
majority of the sermon delivery!
Within twenty
minutes , we had almost seventy people in church. The pastor winked at me on his way in and
said,"Good day young man. I'll try to be brief today." Now when a Pastor says that, be prepared.
What that means is that you will be there for the duration. In fact, you might miss your first child’s birth.
Soon, the
pastor was at his post, and the organist had sounded the official opening with
his rendition of “The Old Rugged Cross”. To my left, came two very young and
distinguished looking members of the U.S. Navy. The deceased had been a Veteran
of the Navy, and these folks were here to present the flag to his wife who now
sat in the first pew on the right. I instructed them on where the wife was
seated, what she was wearing etc.. They
stretched their necks to make sure they had her in sight and nodded in the
affirmative to me. I thanked them in advance
for their service and they said in return to me, "You're welcome Sir. We are honored to be here today."
The pastor
had finished his sermon and from the pulpit announced that military honors
would now be accorded before the final blessings given. The two service people walked slowly in step
up the middle aisle of the church. Their
actions together, almost forming one person.
Military honors were always moving, seeing the flag unfolded, refolded
and handed to a loved one, thanking them for the veteran's service to the
nation. But today, there would be a little icing on the cake.
As the
service attendants held the flag fully unfolded and prepared for the re-fold,
out of a secondary parallel aisle to the left came running the unmistaken
brown, black and white dog body of a small Beagle. He hit the main aisle, made
a sharp left turn and bolted for the front of the church. As he passed three rows of pews, several in
attendance started to laugh, a sharp contrast to the seriousness of the two
Navy personnel who looked on, trying to keep their composure. As the Beagle passed the eighth and ninth
aisles, a gentleman on the very inside reached down, grabbed the Beagle and
gingerly pulled him up on the pew, putting to an end to his uninvited presence
at this most solemn occasion.
I believe the
widow never knew what happened behind her, and the flag presentation was
completed with all its dignity that could be mustered. We never did find out who the dog belonged
to, but everyone in attendance had a smile on their face as they left. I’m sure many were thinking that this was not an
accident, but rather planned by a "Higher Up" authority to lessen the
pain of those in attendance. If it was HIS will, it worked. After all, who couldn't love a Beagle in
church.
