RUTH'S PASSING
Isn't "passing" a gentle word? Or "passing over." The end result, of course,is that Ruth is no longer with us. Here are some materials related to her memory.
Ruth's memorial service on February 24, 2007, was extraordinary. It involved two and one-half hours of photos, music, personal stories, memories, chanting, and candle ceremonies. For a copy of the program, see this pdf file: Program
Throughout the service, photos of Ruth were projected onto a screen, from early childhood to her final months. Two photos are included on this page. For more, see Photos.
A number of poems and messages were included in the service. Several items were intended to be read, but were passed over due to time constraints. They have been included here. Click on the names of the poems, which are links to the text.
Ruth's close friend Rossette closed the program by reading a poem about death, called The Ship (author unknown).
In response to the message in The Ship, I wrote a song to sing, although I ended up reading it rather than singing it. It is simply called Ruth. Here are both poems.
Lisa and Lorna, two aquaintences of Robert's from Kearney, Nebraska, sent a Kalil Gibran poem which was titled Celebration of Life.
The Gibran poem ends with the word dance. The service ended with that wish to all of us from Ruth, that we choose to dance. And then we played the song "I Hope You Dance" as popularized by Lee Ann Womack: " . . . and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."
Robert has received dozens of beautiful cards from people recalling what Ruth meant to them. This message is from Sandie, and is typical of many of the messages. Some 93 messages, some of which contain beautiful poems, can be seen at spiritbook.
Ruth's obituary for the newspaper, as written by Robert, with some suggestions from Ruth: memorium.
We miss you, my love. You will live on here, and in our hearts.
Photos: Ruth at 7, 40, and 60. (The chicken's name was Brownie.) She was on stage introducing Ram Dass. The bottom photo was taken inside the climatron at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.
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