| Personal Tributes |
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| "I am enclosing a check for the Frances D. Alleman-Luce Orphans Fund in loving memory of Frannie Luce, a dear friend and fellow parishioner of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford, Ohio. My heartfelt sympathy to all her family, Stan Jr., Molly, Rick and Jim and therir families. I am thankful that this memorial fund has been established in her name to carry on her spirit in the good work for the children it will support. - Jane S." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent in by Fran's PEO friend Doris in Wellsely, Mass.: The Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in England, written by Henry Scott Holland, 1847-1918: "Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner. All is well." We in P.E.O. loved Fran and were so sorry to hear she had left us. She was a great member and gave us wonderful book review from all her reading. She always had a happy greeting for us and we enjoyed her home when she was hostess. We shall miss her trerribly. I often think that she must be content and flying over luxurious green grass with many fragrent and colorful flowers, with many bird calls and angel choirs singing thir melodious songs to her with God's comforting hand in hers. God Bless." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. I hope that she didn't suffer and that your love and fond memories of her will be of great comfort to you. Thinking of you and wishing you all the very best, Rev. Elizabeth Levy" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent in by the President of the Roosevelt Island PTA "To the family: Although I only knew your mother briefly, I found her to be an inspiration and liked her very much... her loss will be felt by all. Sincerely, Erin Feely-Nahem and Family" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A very profound sympathy...for this great loss... may you find comfort in your heart soon." -- Carmen Aleyda Ruiz, AFS student from Colombia - USA, '92-93." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Though technically my mother-in-law, and ex mother-in-law at that, we were for many years the dearest of friends. Long weekends were spent doing little other than talking. Conversations moved from the kitchen where she sat perched a-top a tall stool, to the back veranda where in lawn chairs we watched the river pass. Then into the living room where Fran sank deeply into her chair and we contemplated the circumstances of our lives. She made me feel good; she made me feel important. She never hesitated to venture an opinion, but also frequently admitted she had no advice to give. We talked of many things, but not everything; there were topics Fran would not discuss. But she made me feel important; good about myself and important to her. I greatly value the time we had together. And I hope I contributed as much to her life as she did mine. Fran was my friend and I loved her. - Jan Tilney Luce Holmes" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I'm so sorry. Please accept my condolences. It may help to know that, having friends all over the world who care, you will never be lone. -- Karen Naftzger, AFS, Rocky River, Ohio" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent in by a relative: From the Austin paper, by the Rev. Browning Ware, a retired Baptist minister: HONOR YOUR PARENTS WITH FORGIVENESS (Sat., March 3, 2001, D5) "Honor your father and you mother" -- Exodus 20:12 "How can I honor my parents when I don't even like them much of the time?" Honest question. The congregation had arrived at the fifth commandment in a sermon series several years ago. On a recent Sunday morning, I listened as a pastor wrestled withthe same issue. Among several insights, he suggested that the one way to honor parents is to forgive them. A strange idea: to honor by forgiveness. This notion, although not novel, is to be encouraged, as it ought to be. Parents, like children, are not perfect. They need, and deserve forgiveness. Unless forgiven, we hold trhem hostage to a charicture. To forgive our parents releases them to be human. It provides opportunity for them to be who they are and to grow in a similiar freedom from which their childre can learn. To forgive parents does not mean that we agree with them -- that we love them or even like them. But to honor them means to respect them for the gift of life they have given us. Without them, we would not exist. Forgiving our parents is not surrender; throwing in the towel and becoming obedient chlden again (if we ever were). Forgiveness does not suggest empathy in which we acknowledge circumstances of their lives out of which they made decisions thatimpacted us. If our parents really blew it, with no excuse whasoever for their conduct, we still need to forgive them for our sake as well as for theirs. Furthermore, even if parents are deceased, we may forgive them and release them. Amazing what the gift to them may mean to us." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "She was a challenging person with a very quick mind and wonderful sense of humor. I loved hearing her husky laugh! She will be in my heart forever. I send my love to you, your family, and extended family and know that you will be comforted by all who loved and respected Fran. Love, Claudia." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Your mother certainly was a beautiful person. Since you have an inter-faith mass, I imagine she believed on reincarnation. Good spirits like her, keep working up there helping those needed down here. I imagine your mother after a natural time resting with her loved friends she found there, she will keep helping humankind to Talk together and Walk together as you and I are doing today. God has received your beloved mother. With all my hearth to you. Sincerely, Teo, AFS, near Santiago, Chile." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent in by a American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Exchange Programs Volunteer "Dear Jim, Please accept my condolences on the death of your mother. What a legacy she has left -- her involvement in AFS, and all the lives she touched, your participation and the life-changing experiences you (and your host family) must have had. The hard work and dedication of people like you mom (and her father) are inspiration to all of us who work hard as AFS volunteers. Thanks for sharing your mother's story -- what a tribute to her commitment. Sincerely, Cathie, AFS Volunteer, Eastern N.Y. AFS" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "My family and I are very sorry for your lost. We hope that God holds you close in His care, assuring that your mother is now in the most beautiful place, peacefully watching over you with Him." Salam, Hanni Armansyah, AFS Returnee Indonesia-USA 1990-1991. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Dear Jim - what a shock to learn that your mother died. Your mother had spirit even in her last weeks and days. I didn't believe she would die so soon; I honestly felt she would live to move into her own apartment near you all. Life is strange. We are where we are for reasons we do not understand nor can explain. You were able to offer her care and comfort in your home. You were a good son. You made many sacrafices over the years to help your mother with her health and subsequent move to New York. You have given her compassion and time when others would have given up. It must have been so difficult for her. I liked your mother. She had an easy way with new people. She has spirit, was crusty, witty and very smart. I was looking forward to knowing her better. I wish her well in her new journey, free of the bindings of life, free of the pain of losing a child, free at last. She will be with you always close in your heart, in your mind, in the wind, in the flowers, in your son Mathew, and all who knew her. You came from her and forever you are comnnected. May you feel God's presence as he circles your life; "He weeps with you and walks beside you in sadness." We weep with you too as we love you more than you know." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "My deepest sympathy goes out to you during such a difficult time. Sorry for your loss. Sincerly, your Haitian sister." |
| Note on musical selection for this page and memorial service The hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" is generally considered by hymnologists to be one of the most joyous expressions of hymn lyrics in the English language. Its author, Henry van Dyke, was recognized as one of the ablest Presbyterian preachers and leading liturgy figures in this country. In addition to achieving fame as a preacher, he served as a professor of his denomination, became a Navy chaplain during World War I, and represented his country as an ambassador to Holland and Luxembourg under an appointment by President Wilson. "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" portrays a joyful interplay between God's created world and the manifestation of this same creative spirit in the life of a believer. Such interesting similes as "hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee..." illustrate this interesting technique. The second verse reminds us that all of God's creation speaks of His glory and, in doing so, directs our worship to the Creator Himself. The fourth stanza concludes with an invitation for all of God's children to join the mighty chorus of joy begun at creation's dawn (Job 38:7) and, in so doing, to find the encouragement needed for any circumstance of life. The text for this hymn was written while van Dyke was a guest preacher at Williams College, Massachusetts, and he said the Berkshires were his inspiration. The tune, "Hymn of Joy," comes out of the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and was first adapted for a hymnal by Edward Hodges, an English organist who served the Trinity Church in New York City. The Ninth or "Choral" Symphony was Beethoven's last symphony and is generally considered to be his greatest. It took him six years to complete the writing of this work. It was his supreme desire to complete one great symphony that would combine both instruments and voices in one majestic expression of sound. He was inspired for this work by a poem written by his German poet friend, Friedrich Schiller, a work entitled "Ode to Joy." |