morning musings
happy tuesday morning..
it is suddenly cooler overnight here in ocean city.. the waves are moving in from a different direction this morning. sand pipers and gulls are busy eating crab. I'm sitting here in the quiet waiting for the rest of the family to rise. this has been a great vacation so far..
I've already received one birthday wish.. thanks Gordon. It's tomorrow.. but I like celebrating a birthday month when I can. Happy bday to Josh in Texas. I remember those lovely lasagna dinners we shared for bday celebrations.
so... on a serious note, I have been thinking for two days about what I want to say...
Last friday, the mother of my high school sweetheart passed away. But Linda was more than just the mother of someone I once loved, she was also my friend. She had quite an impact on my early adulthood. I only dated her daughter for year and half.. but then when I went into my next relationship.. Linda was very much a presence in my life. Ellen and I were both attending Friends Meeting in Richmond at the time. We saw Linda and Mike often then and I remember going out to see her several times in Ashland. We Ellen and I decided to get married, looking through the diverse religious backgrounds we both had.. we ended up getting married in the manner of friends. Although at the time, the Richmond Friends Meeting had not yet come to the stance it has now of gay/lesbian marriage. So, we did it at our home and Linda, for lake of a better term, was our officiate. She was the one to explain to us what being married in the manner of friends was all about. She was the first one to break the silence, to bless our union, welcome our friends. It hadn't been but a few months since she had given birth to her youngest daughter, Hannah. Hannah was asleep, laying against her father during the ceremony. So, a small amount of regret at not saying to Linda how much she meant to me during that period of my life. But I do have happy memories of her and I know she had such a full life in many ways. She was a woman who followed her passion and calling in life. For that, I celebrate her.
Here is the OBIT from the Richmond Times Dispatch.
HEACOCK, Linda A., 64, of Ashland, Va., beloved mother, wife, and peace worker died at her home on September 12, 2008. She is survived by her husband, Michael F. Jeffrey of Ashland; son, Ted Heck; and daughters, Mrs. Anne Heck Wright and Hannah Heacock Jeffrey; and son-in-law, Mr. Chris Wright. She is also survived by her sister, Sue Heacock Wolfe of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and her brother, Joel Heacock, of Warminster, Pa. After a career in social work, foster care service, and counseling incarcerated mothers at the Women's Farm (Virginia Correctional Center for Women), she received a spiritual calling to work in Africa, sharing her lifelong knowledge of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). Linda was a birthright Quaker. A member and former Clerk of Richmond Friends Meeting, she became an Embraced Minister to travel to Kenya in 2005 to work with Kenyan Quakers in the Great Lakes region teaching AVP to a core group of Kenyan young adults to aid tribal reconciliation and the prevention of domestic violence. On her third trip she was diagnosed with Burkett's lymphoma, which is usually only found in parts of Central Africa. Her friends and family will miss her gentle soul and passion for justice. The Kenyan Quaker women she worked with called her "Mpole" which translates as "gentle one". This is an apt description of her life. A memorial service, in the manner of Friends, will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Richmond Friends Meeting, 4500 Kensington Ave., Richmond, Va. on September 20, 2008. In lieu of flowers, Linda would appreciate donations to the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI). Please make the check out to: Friends Peace Teams, earmarked to: African Great Lakes Initiative, and send it to: African Great Lakes Initiative Friends Peace Teams, 1001 Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 63104.
it is suddenly cooler overnight here in ocean city.. the waves are moving in from a different direction this morning. sand pipers and gulls are busy eating crab. I'm sitting here in the quiet waiting for the rest of the family to rise. this has been a great vacation so far..
I've already received one birthday wish.. thanks Gordon. It's tomorrow.. but I like celebrating a birthday month when I can. Happy bday to Josh in Texas. I remember those lovely lasagna dinners we shared for bday celebrations.
so... on a serious note, I have been thinking for two days about what I want to say...
Last friday, the mother of my high school sweetheart passed away. But Linda was more than just the mother of someone I once loved, she was also my friend. She had quite an impact on my early adulthood. I only dated her daughter for year and half.. but then when I went into my next relationship.. Linda was very much a presence in my life. Ellen and I were both attending Friends Meeting in Richmond at the time. We saw Linda and Mike often then and I remember going out to see her several times in Ashland. We Ellen and I decided to get married, looking through the diverse religious backgrounds we both had.. we ended up getting married in the manner of friends. Although at the time, the Richmond Friends Meeting had not yet come to the stance it has now of gay/lesbian marriage. So, we did it at our home and Linda, for lake of a better term, was our officiate. She was the one to explain to us what being married in the manner of friends was all about. She was the first one to break the silence, to bless our union, welcome our friends. It hadn't been but a few months since she had given birth to her youngest daughter, Hannah. Hannah was asleep, laying against her father during the ceremony. So, a small amount of regret at not saying to Linda how much she meant to me during that period of my life. But I do have happy memories of her and I know she had such a full life in many ways. She was a woman who followed her passion and calling in life. For that, I celebrate her.
Here is the OBIT from the Richmond Times Dispatch.
HEACOCK, Linda A., 64, of Ashland, Va., beloved mother, wife, and peace worker died at her home on September 12, 2008. She is survived by her husband, Michael F. Jeffrey of Ashland; son, Ted Heck; and daughters, Mrs. Anne Heck Wright and Hannah Heacock Jeffrey; and son-in-law, Mr. Chris Wright. She is also survived by her sister, Sue Heacock Wolfe of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and her brother, Joel Heacock, of Warminster, Pa. After a career in social work, foster care service, and counseling incarcerated mothers at the Women's Farm (Virginia Correctional Center for Women), she received a spiritual calling to work in Africa, sharing her lifelong knowledge of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). Linda was a birthright Quaker. A member and former Clerk of Richmond Friends Meeting, she became an Embraced Minister to travel to Kenya in 2005 to work with Kenyan Quakers in the Great Lakes region teaching AVP to a core group of Kenyan young adults to aid tribal reconciliation and the prevention of domestic violence. On her third trip she was diagnosed with Burkett's lymphoma, which is usually only found in parts of Central Africa. Her friends and family will miss her gentle soul and passion for justice. The Kenyan Quaker women she worked with called her "Mpole" which translates as "gentle one". This is an apt description of her life. A memorial service, in the manner of Friends, will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Richmond Friends Meeting, 4500 Kensington Ave., Richmond, Va. on September 20, 2008. In lieu of flowers, Linda would appreciate donations to the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI). Please make the check out to: Friends Peace Teams, earmarked to: African Great Lakes Initiative, and send it to: African Great Lakes Initiative Friends Peace Teams, 1001 Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 63104.