Letting friends know when a parent dies

When I run into oldtime friends I haven’t seen in awhile, I always feel bad if they have lost a parent I knew or had heard a lot about. With some friends, I’ve made this pact: Let me know when your parent dies, please.

Not sure I had the pact with Scott Sines, a former managing editor here, now at the Memphis Commercial Appeal, but I was so happy today when he emailed me the eulogy he wrote for his mother, Norma. It’s a beautiful eulogy that captured the spirit of a woman who lived much of our modern history.

Norma was a pretty good athlete before it was fashionable for women to play sports. She taught the boys how to swim and dive without making a splash. She was a member of First Pres. for many years and willingly served on any church board that needed help. She laughingly referred to those groups as the “Biddy Committees” and she could get away with it because she was the chairman of many of those groups and made sure that no need was unmet during her service.

So thanks Scott, for letting me know. I’ll do the same.