Commemorative Speech:
The Eulogy for Garnett Octavia Mills
(Byron’s Grandmother Delivered in Princeton, WV in 2013))
Introduction: Today we have the honor of celebrating a life that was lived long and well. In
over 30 years of ministry and over 22 years of pastoral work which has included many funerals,
Grandmother is the oldest. I have experienced both ends of the spectrum from ministering at the
funeral of a still born child to today my Grandmother died at 96. I am so thankful and blessed
that it is my grandmother who is on the other end of the spectrum. One was a funeral, but today
is a celebration.
Transition: There are three themes that came to mind as I prepared to share words that would
honor grandmother and comfort us. Grandmother's life has left each of us with #1) Memories
that will never fade #2) An Example that we can follow and #3) And a hope that we should never
forsake.
I. She Has Given Us Memories That Will Never Fade
A. Cars in a musty garage
B. Getting up early to the smells of breakfast and a coal stove heater.
C. Trips on Highway 16 to from Welch, WV to Caretta, WV
D. A broken Bulldog doorstop at the top of her stairs.
E. A joyful, contagious raspy laugh.
II. She Has Given Us An Example That We Can Follow--Fingerprints of God
A. She Gave An Example that God's best is for each of us to live a long satisfying life-1. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set
him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will
answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalms 91:14-16
NKJV)
B. She Gave Us An Example of Selfless Laughter
1. I remember a day when Grandmother was getting in the car to go shopping
and as proceeded to put one foot in the car, the other foot slipped under the car
and grandmother crashed onto the ground. She didn't moan, she didn't curse,
and she didn't quickly jump back up in vain embarrassment...she laughed
while lying on the ground and she laughed....and she laughed...at herself. I
learned a lesson that day; don’t take yourself too seriously. And if you fall,
you might as well get a laugh out of it. And here comes one of God's
fingerprints found in
2. James 1:2--'When you fall into various tests and trials count it all joy".
C. She Has Given Us an Example of Flexibility and Adaptability.
1. In many ways life was very different when Grandmother was born. She has
lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, inflation, recession,
communism, socialism, Sputnik; a man walking on the moon and the list goes on.
The Korean War, Vietnam, The Cold War, Desert Storm, Desert Shield, women's
rights, civil rights, computers, cell phones, microwave ovens, satellites, the
internet, shopping centers, shopping malls, and online shopping. Somewhere in
the midst of that she had to adapt and change more than any of us will probably
ever have to adapt. Nobody can live for nearly 100 years without learning to
change.
D. Last, She Has Given Us An Example of God's Faithfulness which has kept her for
nearly 100 years.
III. She Has Given Us Evidence Of A Hope That We Should Never Forsake.
A. The hope she pointed to is best revealed in the Words of the Apostle Paul…
a. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 MSG--”Every time that I stand beside a loved, and
now one of my own, my heart is comforted by the fact that there is hope
beyond this life. I am thankful of the Scriptures that offer such hope. I am
thankful for the finished Work of Jesus Christ that offers such hope. And
regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those
already dead and buried, we don't want you in the dark any longer. First off,
you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look
forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke
loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who
died in Jesus. And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we
have the Master's word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us,
those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them
behind. In actual fact, they'll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the
command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from
heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they'll go first. Then the rest of us
who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to
meet the Master. Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge
family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.”
b.
1 Corinthians 15:19, 20 NET-- “For if only in this life we have hope in
Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone. But now Christ has been raised
from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
Conclusion: As honor Garnett Octavia Mills and celebrate her ninety seven years of life let’s not
forget the wealth she has given us in memories that never fade, an example that never stops
teaching and a hope that is never ends.
Concluding Prayer: