My mother died the day before Mother's Day 2014. I think I must still be in a bit of shock. In November 2013, I was told she had early demensia. In March, her pacemaker was replaced but she also was diagnosed with an intestinal parasite. Seemingly, she recovered from the pacemaker surgery and medication killed the parasite. However, she became weaker and weaker to the point of my needing to place her in a nursing home in early April for respite and greater monitoring of her condition, possible interventions and care. And then she choose to no longer eat or drink, but to 'finish her race', meet Jesus and go home.
She wanted a celebration of life and love, not a funeral. Her Tasmanian family planned that with the clergy of St John's Anglican Church for Sunday, 18 May 2014, 3 pm, followed by internment of her ashes in the church's Memorial Garden. My older brother Bob prepared a eulogy recorded by my son Myles. All the family and many friends participated - Bible readings, tributes, photo collection, prayers, playing musical instruments and ashes bag. She would have loved the party!
Many have asked for a copy of the video. It is on the St John's Anglican Church, Launceston Tasmania Australia website
http://www.stjohns.net.au/documents/sermons/video/20140518%20Tiny%20Kennedy%20funeral.mp4
This may change or not be on the website for very long. On 4 June, St John's
loaded the video file onto their test Vimeo website at http://vimeo.com/stjohnsanglicanchurch/tinykennedy
The tributes at the service-
my welcome and introduction
Welcome family and friends to the joyous celebration of thanksgiving
for the life and love of Mother – Tiny Kennedy.
Today’s service was originally planned by Mom in 2005 before Monte and
I went to the USA for 3-5 years, and we asked Roger if he and the church would
look after her on our behalf. But
for years, we all knew she had an envelope hung from her mirror with the words
– “On the event of my death”. The
service has been modified as you will experience. But she was adament in all documentation and talking that
she wanted a celebration, she knew where she was going and we should all be
very happy for her.
So let us join together and celebrate Mother’s life and the assurance
of her faith in Jesus.
Tiny Kennedy – known only as Dorothy Marie to her parents,
grandparents, and the medical profession – (how many times have I heard her
say, and then myself, ‘Yes, but call me Tiny!) was born on August 23,
1927. She was a blue baby and her
parents were told she wouldn’t live a year, or into primary school. She must have been taken to the
Catholic Church when visiting her father’s mother, for when she was 5 her
mother took her to the Episcopal Church and the rector spoke with her and, of
course, she wanted to be loved by God the Father of us all and His son Jesus
Christ. We have her father’s
Family Bible and her grandmother’s prayer missal. And at the age of 6, her parents divorced and she stayed
with various family and extended family never living more than a couple of
years with any one family. She
attended the Catholic Church when she lived with her father’s mother and Sunday
School when she could walk there.
She clearly remembered a time living with her mother and brother in a
shed in someone’s backyard during the depression and having only flour and
water made into pancakes – and her mother worked as a nurse in a hospital in
LA! Another time living with an
aunt, also a nurse in a hospital but in San Francisco, having over ripe
tomatoes squeezed into hot milk as tomatoe soup. After all, this was the depression.
Mother graduated from high school and attended Santa Monica City
College. She married my dad in
1946 in the Hollister Methodist Church and had three children – Bob, myself,
and Tom.
Throughout her adult life until coming to Australia, she lived in
Hollister, California. She worked
as a sales clerk, waitress and as a medical technician, in addition, to making
a home for us. She was very active
in the Methodist Church becoming a lay reader and preacher. She was very active in a country youth
development program called 4-H; was a test cook for Farm Journal and wrote
articles for the local paper on a variety of community events and activities. In her later years in Hollister, she
also became very involved in the Historical Society, dressing up to provide
living history at events and in one of the neighbouring historical towns – San
Juan Bautista with its Spanish Mission Church serving mass daily since 1797.
Coming to Australia with Monte, Marc, Myles and I in 1984 and becoming
an Australian citizen in 1995.
Mother was welcomed into St John’s and felt quite at home with its organ
played by Bill Pearce and the beautiful stained glass windows. Hollister Methodist Church too had a
fine organist and beautiful stained glass windows!
I knew that on coming to Australia that Mother would need her own
activities and friends – our little family would not be able to supply all her
social needs. So with help of the
growing quilting community, we founded the Launceston Patchworkers and Quilters
and joined the Tasmanian Quilting Guild.
Mother joined the Embroiderer’s Guild. Mother joined the Mothers’ Union and contributed to other
church activities. I am looking forward
to Judith’s tribute. I also look
forward to Lynn’s tribute from the quilters. Mother so enjoyed the music concerts and Monte’s activities
in the community. She was so much
at home here in Launceston.
I have especially enjoyed reading so many of your tributes included in
your remembrance cards and in the last get well cards to Mom. They are very special as Mother – Tiny
is/was such a special lady.
A special thank you to Roger, Ross and the family of St John’s, to the
musicians. And thank you all for
coming and sharing your friendship, love and support.
So, welcome to this celebration.
Join with us as we thank God for Dorothy Marie Kennedy – our mother,
granny, granny great and friend.
Myles Mumford's tribute
Granny was a generous woman of a service and I'm sure there will be much made of that today but that's not what defined her to me.
I think of the many thousands of cookies she baked for community events, for fundraisers, for church events, for the many people who dropped in to our house, to her house who always found the cookie jar full and often fresh from the oven. I'm forever spoilt for store bought cookies and could never appreciate other childrens love of arnotts biscuits when compared to coming home from school for hot cookies cooling on the racks in the kitchen. But that's not what defined Granny to me.
I think of the dozens and dozens of children who spent their first years playing on quilts made by Granny that went on to be treasured childhood memories for both children and parents in a seemingly unending stream of quilts, quilts made at the drop of a hat for whomever was having a baby no matter how distant or tenuous their relationship to Granny or the family. But that's not what defined her to me.
I think of the many many times that people dropped in to our family house, brought in by various family members at the last minute and the way in which Granny could make any meal extend from food for 5 to a seemingly endless supply of food from the kitchen. A true feeding of the 5000 with loaves and fishes. Occasionally this flustered her of course but I can't remember when between Granny and Mum someone went hungry at our house. And every dinner was accompanied with desserts for which she was well known. But that's not what defined her to me.
Granny was not a perfect woman. She liked things to be just so at least that's some of my earliest memories of her and the Mumford house was rarely "just so" and whilst I think she came to love the chaotic and vibrant life at home it was not without problems. Granny was a strong willed woman with strong opinions and this at times made her difficult to live with especially in the special situation of an extended family in a small house. This too, did not define Granny for me.
Granny was very creative and appreciated many forms of art and beauty. Her quilts have been exhibited many times and in many places, and adorn the beds and walls of many homes. Her walls were covered in art of her friends and family, and she enjoyed music both performed and recorded all her life. Her love of beauty and her art is not what not defined her to me.
I knew Granny really only in the last third of her life and though she told me stories of her growing up, life on the farm, her children and many more these stories always felt distant to me and didn't really define who she was to me either.
All of these things and many more are what Granny did but they are not who she was.
Granny was resilient, strong, independent, thoughtful but above all she was loving. Granny loved people, cared about people, was interested in people and, it seems to me that most of what she did and said stemmed from this core part of her. I literally can not remember a time when she wasn't doing something for somebody, preparing to do something for somebody or collecting people around her to do something for somebody to show that somebody that they were loved, and that someone cared about them. Some of her last words to me were how about how lazy she was being at the old peoples home! At the same time she always had time to stop what ever she was doing and have a cup of tea (and a cookie!) with whomever dropped in. The amount of people who have contacted me in the last few weeks to tell me how they were touched by her, by her interest in them is really staggering.
A friend gave me his condolences the other day with the words "No one bats for you like your Granny does" and that really defines Granny for me. But, she didn't just bat for me, it seemed she batted for everybody she knew. One of the strongest definitions of Granny for me is how many of my friends knew her simply and affectionally as Granny.
Well, Granny wanted this day to be a celebration which makes a lot of sense. She wouldn't have liked us standing around all somber thinking about her, in fact though she liked to be appreciated she never liked a big fuss about her and would probably be off to the kitchen by now to check that the pie was baking or to see if the kettle had boiled and truth be told she's probably in Heaven's kitchen right now sorting out a few cookies or perhaps organising Heavens Quilting Guild.
Bob Kennedy's tribute
I am Bob Kennedy, Tiny Kennedy’s eldest
son. I’m very thankful to have
been born to this dear person that God has used to touch many people besides
just her own children.
She was a very dear Mother to me.
She did everything she could in raising us and encouraging us as we
matured into adulthood. My Mother
had been very involved with her church in Hollister and an organization called
4-H which helped young people grow up and get along with others and learn
helpful skills. I know she was a special person to a lot of people and when I
see some of her friends who knew her here in Hollister, California, USA they
always ask about her with deep appreciation of the wonderful friendship they
had with her.
Many of those friends were not too happy back in 1984 when she informed
them that she was moving away to live with my dearest sister, Kathy. At first that move was going to be to
Washington state and so she’d be back for visits but then Kathy and her
husband, Monte, had the opportunity for Monte to teach music, his passion, at
the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education, now the University of Tasmania, on
the big island below Australia. So visits would be father apart. She did make it back to the states 2 or
3 times and they were good visits.
The last time she visited she brought a Tasmanian friend, Marlene
Boatright, with her as she had broken her arm or wrist and needed some help,
plus there was a special quilting conference they both wanted to attend. I
rented a small economy car and spent a special week with her, driving her and
her friend around California to see some beautiful sites and her only brother.
I didn’t learn until about two years ago that my dear Mother was born
with a bad heart and at the time the doctors didn’t think she’d live past one
year old. But our dear God had
wonderful plans for her and saw to it that she lived on. In fact, she was very active, hard
working, energetic person. On an
emotional scale she had one of the nicest, most loving, caring hearts a person
could have and this is what made her so special to a lot of people.
When my Dad was no longer a part of her life, this may have slowed her
down some but not much. She shared
with me a few years later after she dated a couple different nice men that she realized
for her, she didn’t need a husband in her life to replace my Dad. She had a full life with him and there
were so many things she could do to help others that would give all the
fulfillment she needed. So she
gave her life more fully to God and all of you who she’s touched with her deep
love and concern. My Mother
enjoyed reaching out to others and was not one to sit around to mope and
complain.
Back in December 1998 I got to come and visit her and my sister and her
family here in beautiful Tasmania for 28 days and I had a wonderful time. She wanted me to come 2 years ago buy
my wife’s health kept me from coming.
But just about that time we began to do computer skyping every few
months and that was very good.
And that brings me around to the most important thing I learned through
my dear Mother. She took us three
children from when I was 5 years old onward to the Methodist church where we
began to learn about a loving Jesus and His loving Father. What an awesome God we can all
know. He wants to have a loving
relationship with every person on this planet but only a minority of people
want to have a friendship with Him and God doesn’t force Himself on anybody but
He is doing everything He can to touch people’s lives every day. I hope all of you who are here today
can truly have a special friendship with their Savior and best friend, Jesus
Christ. If there’s anyone here
today that doesn’t know Him and wants to, you should talk to my sister or her
husband or someone in this church body who really knows Him personally.
God gave her a great love for life and reaching out to others. I know she’ll be missed by all of
us. But, if each one of us, has a
true Christian relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father of us all, we
will see her again. And in God’s
kingdom there will be no more separation from our dearest friends or closest
loved ones because death will be no more.
I look forward to seeing my dear Mother again. To God be
the glory forever and ever.
Judith Moxin's tribute
For thirty
years Tiny called St John’s her spiritual home. It didn’t take long
after her arrival to become involved in the life of the parish and to foster
relationships, particularly with women and children. She was a true servant of
God using the talents He had given her, not because she had to, but because she
loved Jesus.
Tiny joined
Mother’s Union participating fully in all their activities. She led the prayer
time; each month focusing on MU ladies from a different country.
As you know
Tiny was hard of hearing and wore aids. She always sat at the front so she
could hear – in fact we used her as a sound check. If Tiny could hear the
volume was correct.
She
volunteered to assist when the Parish ran an outreach programme to children
during the school holidays – Kids Love Our Mission Program –the KLOMP Club. On
seeing her enjoyment with working on the programme I asked her if she would
like to be the GFS Granny. She helped with the cooking and the sewing and
enjoyed interacting with the girls. Tiny even came on camps: on the first
occasion I explained why I had put her in a room as far away as possible from
the girls who would not settle down and had a tendency to screech and giggle
which made sleeping a little difficult! I said goodnight to her and hoped she
would sleep well. Her reply – Oh, don’t worry about me, I just take out my “ears’
and fall asleep – which she did – loudly!! Because she also snored – loudly!! When
the GFS branch closed she continued in fellowship with the GFS Townsend Group.
Tiny was a
member of CMS and supported Missionaries both prayerfully and financially. She
attended Summerview and came to hear missionaries when they were speaking here.
On hearing news of her death, Steve and Narelle Etherington, long time missionaries who correspondend with Tiny, said: “She was a
lovely lady who greatly encouraged us.”
Tiny served
on the Executive of the Anglican Women’s Fellowship, was Patron for many years
and attended Fellowship days and the Annual Conference as often as she could. On
being invited to be the Patron she asked: What do I have to do? To the reply –
welcome people, talk to them and say Grace whenever we eat – she said: Oh I can
do that. She didn’t leave the Conference or Fellowship day without speaking to
every lady present to encourage them and affirm them. And she managed to pray a
different grace whenever she was asked.
Tiny also
attended Women’s Breakfast and the Craft Group until it closed, folded the
weekly Bulletin until she moved to Ainsley. Bible study and prayer played a most
important role in her life. She attended many different groups throughout the
years and was very happy to host a group at her home.
Much has
been said about Tiny’s brownies – and the recipe is on the back of the service
sheet – but she could cook other
things. Her coffee scrolls were very good and she cooked a mean lasagne. She
and I travelled to many places with the smell of things she had just taken from
the oven permeating the car. This was one way she used her gift of hospitality
– she cooked and supplied meals whenever there was a need.
During the
week, when speaking to various people about Tiny, the word most used was “encouraging”. I was also reminded that a favourite verse of Tiny’s was from Philippians:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” That just about
sums up Tiny, doesn’t it. A person who encouraged and one who rejoiced in her
Saviour. We will miss
her.
Lynn Morrison's tribute
My name is Lynne Morrison. I met Tiny in 1984 in Launceston through our love of patchwork and quilting, hence began a friendship to last over the past thirty years. We have shared my babies, marriages, divorce, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren and my grandchildren.
Tiny used to visit us after we moved to Penquin on the NW coast in the early 90's. She was certain my boys needed a pet and what better than a rabbit. Marc and Myles had two male rabbits and only needed one, so we moved Max the rabbit to Penguin. Six days later Max turned out to be Maxine, producing seven offspring!!! I can still hear Tiny laughing so hard I thought it would reset her pacemaker! I believe it still causes chuckles in the Mumford household!
Launceston Patchworker's and Quilters was started in 1985 after a discussion following a Tasmanian Quilting Guild exhibition in Launceston. Tiny was a founding member of this still very active group. Patchwork and quilting was a big part of Tiny's life. She taught patchwork to many, including on King Island and Bendigo, as well as being very generous with her 'Tuesday Quilters' both morning and evening groups, first started at Alanvale Road. We could borrow any of her books but they needed to be recorded in 'the borrow book'. Many quilts were tacked together on her ever extending table; it was a bit like the damart ad...there always seemed to be another leaf we could add.
Tiny attended many quilting retreats to all parts of the state, for a weekend of endless sewing and much laughter. I remember one I was organising at Campbelltown, but would have a six week old baby at the retreat. We shared a room that year 'cause Tiny said he could holler all he liked, she would just take out her hearing aids!
Tiny loved to encourage beginner quilters and for many hears a sponsored a book prize at the Tasmanian Quilters Exhibition for a beginner. She was always ready and will to help, bit it sewing, basting or a plate of freshly baked cookies. My favourites were the chocolate chips, a winner at any gathering.
She made many, many quilts be it for babies, weddings, bushfires, church and any celebrating that was happening. How many of you here today have a "Tiny" quilt at home?
After her 85th Birthday, she helped organize a craft show and gave a talk about some of her old and new quilts to raise funds to build a BBQ area for Ainslie House. She proudly me earlier this year. All members of the TQG and LPQs loved to show Tiny our handiwork. She was such an encourager, however, eventually she would carefully turn the quilt over to the back and announce, "Where's the label on your quilt?"
Fond memories of Tiny will live on in our hearts, and bring a smile to our face. I bid farewell to a gentle, lovely lady, Tiny Kennedy.
And a few photos -
