A Son's Eulogy to His MotherGREETINGS, I am Andrew - Mary's eldest son, and I welcome you ALL!.... Family.... Friends.... past Co-Workers.... and Well Wishers, too. I would like to thank EACH and Every one of you, today, for sharing in this,....A Memorial For Mary Elizabeth Wilson Fulmer. She valued YOU, her friends above most things in her life, and many of you were counted on her list of "Dear Friends". Sometimes a luncheon, sometimes it was just a phone call from any one of you, but I know first hand how much each of you meant to Mom. I am glad that she had such Friends and Family, and that each of you were able to be a part of her life. As for myself, I usually waited until Sunday afternoon to call her, and always got a full review of the past week, and a preview of the week coming up. I would hear about the wonderful meal she had with one of her friends, or the latest news from somewhere else. Its only been a few days now but I already miss those calls. I will grieve her passing as much as any child would, for when a parent dies it leaves a hole in your soul that will remain open forever! And that is O.K. for it needs to be open. Open, yes, but not empty ! Some would say, "Well, Time heals all wounds" But I would prefer to fill this wound, this hole, with all the memories I have, and with the memories we'll all share and with a bit of luck the hole that I carry in my heart now, will soon be filled to overflowing and there will be NO need for it to heal. It is a shame that we must lose someone close to us in order to get to know them better. Apart from ones spouse, with whom we share everything, we rarely have the opportunity to really know someone. Many of you probably only knew Mary from some limited context, a slice of her life if you will. Some of you, more; some, less. I've had the privilege and honor of sharing a very large slice of her life, and all of mine. As her first born son, my slice has lasted 51 years, and even with all that time to spend together, there are things I've learned about her only just this week that I never knew before. You all have seen the photos, and watched the video pictures that are on display here, each of them capturing just a moment in time, a mere instant in a day gone by, and all together they span the lifetime of one Mary Fulmer. But Mary shared this earth with us for nearly 74 years......26 Thousand, 9 Hundred and 26 days to be exact; and it would take that many pictures plus many times more to fully capture all the slices of her life. 26,926 days.... sounds like a lot doesn't it? Well, it's not enough. If we could only have but one more day with our loved ones. The trouble is we never know how many days we are to be blessed with. We ALL must make each day count. Mary used her days well. For most of us, I'm sure there are days we would do over if given the chance, and she had those days, too I'm sure. But all in all and from my perspective as one of her sons, I see that Mary Lived Her Days. She didn't just pass the days, nor did she dwell on the past, or wish for the future, She Lived Her Days. She lived her days with You, her friends, and with her family, both near and far. And you have lived some of your days with her. Let us remember those days together. For a Memory not shared is just a secret. Born in 1937, Mary grew up like most do....
And as it turns out, she managed to live as full a life as anyone could hope for. May we all be so lucky. Thank you. |