Erin and JJ Remember

Grampa and Erin sharing the love!

The post for  today is the second in my eulogy series.  Erin presented this tribute to her Grampa at the memorial service.  Those of you who could not be there will be able to read it.  She wrote the poem when she was in high school for both of her Grampas and then modified for each one at their memorial services. I think she did a great job!

Erin with Grampa and Meemo

His Hands Remember

By Erin Buckingham

Hands thin, old skin stretched tight over knobby fingers,

Both hands gnarled and achy from years of hard work and arthritis.

One crooked fingered hand grabs a bag of popcorn and sticks it in the microwave.

It pokes the buttons with its slender fingers.

The other shaky hand stays at his side.

These hands had seen better days, when they held the reins of the wild horses, Clutching the saddle horn as the horses would buck,

Holding on till the horse was tame. 

Being there at the ranch was like being set free in the sky,

To roam and wander all you wanted.

Now the hands were too tired for such adventures

And had to be stuck inside this old country house.

I asked Grandpa if he’d ride horses today if I lent him my hands.

I asked if he would show me how to ride.

“Come here,” he said, “and let me see your hands.”

He stared at them with longing in his eyes;

A hint of a smile spread appreciatively across his face. 

Softly he replied, “Lend them to me, babe, and we’ll make popcorn together.”

Erin and her husband Brent

Erin’s Eulogy for Grandpa Manville

Grandpa loved everyone unconditionally.  He let us in, all of us, and even if you aren’t an immediate member of the family, Grandpa always treated you as if you were.  I know for a fact that he loved me, there’s no doubt in my mind.  I know that he loved you all, too.

               Love isn’t always expressed in the simple words, “I love you.”  These are powerful words, but Grandpa put action behind them.

               The Bible gives the perfect definition of what love is and what it isn’t.  The Bible says that a person’s life amounts to nothing without love.  Well, knowing this I can confidently say, Grandpa Manville led a full life.  Here’s what the Bible says about Love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

The Message (MSG)

3-8 “If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.”

Love never dies!  The love Grandpa had for his family, both blood related and “adopted” will live on.  He taught us how to love and we will carry his legacy on to others.  The next verses in this passage of the Bible go on to say,

“12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.”

We’ve been taught by one of the best how to love extravagantly, and now it is our turn to trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, and best of all love extravagantly.

 By Erin Jones Buckingham, May 27, 2014

JJ and Erin at the Cabin

                Jeanette’s Eulogy for Dad

               I have a few words to say about my dad, but I am allergic to microphones.  They make me cry!  Thank you Erin for reading this for me.

               My memories of dad are many.  I only wanted to share 3 memories with you.  I loved spending time playing Rummy with Dad.  We would play on Dad’s bed and watch Barnaby Jones on TV.  We played Dad’s rules apparently, because when I played with mom, she told me, “Those were not the rules.”  She said Dad makes up the rules.

               Another memory of Dad was when he and I went haying together.  We would drive to the Buffalo Ranch and take a detour for breakfast Ding Dongs and chocolate milk.  It had to be healthy because I was pregnant with Micah!  We would eat our breakfast and then set to work on greasing the baler.  I would crawl in the knotter and Dad would do the rest.  We baled hay all day and then went home to do it all again the next day.

               The last memory I will share is the time we went to Sturgis on our motorcycles and Mom and Dad snuck to Nevada and stayed at our house waiting for us to come back so they could surprise us.  Dad was so proud of himself!  That is just how Dad was.  He was all about his family.  He loved us all dearly, and the love he and Mom showed us taught us how to love others.  I know that the reason it hurts so bad to lose Dad is because we loved so hard, and when you love that much, it hurts that much to say goodbye.

               I got to tell him goodbye the last time I saw him.  I told him I loved him and thanked him for loving me.  I let him know that it was an honor to be his daughter.  God gave us such a wonderful gift when he gave us Robert and Penny Manville.  I truly am blessed and loved.

               Goodbye Papa.  I love you! 

By Jeanette Manville Jones, May 27, 2014

 I just had to put up these two pictures of Erin and Paul.  Erin is the only girl out of 10 cousins! There are only 10 days between Erin and Paul and he has always "taken care of " his only girl cousin.  Well.....sort of anyway.  He included her in all their night games and once rescued her from the "ballroom" at McDonald's when they were about 3 or 4 years old.

Erin and Paul (yesterday's eulogy).  They have always been close cousins!

Erin and Paul hiking up to Aqua Fria a few years ago.