if you can’t be the poem…
June 23, 2009 | T. Suzanne Eller
If you can’t be the poem, be the poet.
Today Richard’s uncle Jack passed away. I don’t know if anyone ever accused him of being a poet, but I believe his life was inspiring.
Jack became a part of the Eller family over 50 years ago. It all started when he spun in and out of Ab Eller’s driveway with his hotrod car to court a young girl named Dessie Eller. Her father might not have appreciated Jack’s shinanigans, but Dessie certainly did. They married. She was only 16, but it was a commitment to love for a life time.
Jack was bigger than life. A preacher. A pastor. A father who shamelessly loved his daughters. A man who still winked at Dessie and teased her, even if she was fussing at him (deservedly so, I am sure). A grandpa who loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren like crazy.
He was a handsome man. In the older days they would have called him dapper. But he was far too young for that title. Handsome works just fine.
He was a little bossy and opinionated at times, but gentle and fun at the same time. How does that work? I don’t know, but it worked well for him. At the Eller get-togethers you would find him in the kitchen, hands immersed in soapy suds, telling us the best way to do it.
What I loved best about Jack was that he was always ready to talk about Christ. If someone was missing at the family get-togethers, and Jack was missing too, we knew. Somewhere they were sitting, standing, immersed in conversation about Jack’s favorite topic, God.
He preached a thousand sermons in a little church on Ash Street in Muskogee, OK. But over the last several months he’s preached a more powerful sermon. Trust. Faith. Humor. Bravery.
Cancer sideswiped him. It wasn’t what he expected, nor what he wanted. I’m sure there were moments he complained or was angry, but when I saw him he somehow mixed humor and faith.
He found a collection of great-looking hats to cover his head when his thick head of hair fell out. He made jokes that might have made a stranger uncomfortable, but to his family we knew it was exactly how he intended to face this battle: full of life and sometimes even with a joke at his own expense.
Jack passed away yesterday at 11:30 a.m. surrounded by family. They hadn’t left his side in the past few weeks. Sons-in-law mowed. Children played. Daughters fussed. Dessie loved.
I’m in Pennsylvanie. A long way from home. When I received the news it wasn’t a surprise, but in a sense it was. This was simply a man who was too full of life to die.
And yet this is the good part. He believed every word he ever preached. And Jack preached about Heaven.
I’m sure he’s sitting somewhere in heaven right now, his jewel-laden crown cocked at a fashionable angle, talking about his favorite subject.
But this time it’s a little different. His favorite subject is right there with Jack.
I wish I could be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation.
We’ll miss you, Jack. The Eller family loves you.
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Suzie, this is beautiful. I didn’t know Jack extremely well, but being at his funeral yesterday … you know he touched a lot of lives. Speaking God’s word was something he lived for. He will be missed.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:57 am