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Mark Jr.(Eulogy)
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Grieve not for me, nor mourn
the while.
Happier
would I be, to see you smile.
Let
no tears fall, since I've passed away.
...But
miss me, and remember me each day.
Live
your lives, as I'd want you to, and treat thy fellow man, as I would do.
...And
when the time has come, your lives be through.
I'll
be waiting here, for each of you.
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EULOGY
Thank you for coming to my Dad's 62nd birthday party.
He would be 62 years young today.
Rather than hold a funeral and wake to mourn his passing,
Myself, my Brother, Sisters and our Mum have arranged this
birthday party in his honour, on his birthday, to
celebrate his life.
This IS what he would prefer, undoubtedly!
He's looking down upon us all, right now, thumping his
chest and stroking his moustache, as if to say, "what can I
say?.." revelling at the sight of his legacy of family,
co-workers and the best friends I guy could ever hope to
have.
He not only created my Brother, Sisters and I, he made us
who we are... teaching by example.
I am convinced, that he had a similar effect on his friends
and other people he came into contact with on a regular
basis.
Therefore, he will "always" be with us... living in us...
and through us... and as we pass his values on to our
children, and they, to their children, and so on.
If it could be proven, I would be willing to bet my own
life, that there has not ever been, nor will there ever
be a more honest and honourable human being as my Dad.
Dad didn't even fudge on his income tax returns.
Although Dad wasn't specifically "religious", I once asked
him, as a child, if he believed in God. His answer was
something to the effect of, "I believe there is a higher
power than us, but wouldn't assume be able to comprehend
or describe it".
When, also as a child, I asked him if he believed in Santa
Claus, he said, "'I' believe in Santa Claus".
It took me about twenty years to understand how a grown
Man could honestly say that he believed in Santa Claus.
However, "I" believe in Santa Claus... and...
I couldn't say, definitively, that the following is what
"he" meant but, because his response to that question
caused me to ponder the meaning, I came to the conclusion
that "Santa Claus" is the force that compels a person to
give something to another person anonymously, without any
expectation of reciprocation, or even being thanked...
... and I can't think of a better metaphor, than that, to
also describe my "Dad's" character.
He was always there for us. It didn't matter if it was
5am Sunday morning to drive me through my paper-route in
snow too deep to ride my bike, or 3:30am to pick-up a drunk
16 year old from wreck beach. He was ALWAYS there.
Although I believe that the world IS a better place having
had Dad live here for the past 62 years, I can't help but
think that now, the world has lost something that it
desparately needs.
So now it's up to each of us to follow his lead.
Every time we are faced with difficult decisions, we now
should ask ourselves, "what would Mark John Sandquist have
done"?
Then maybe, the world won't miss him, as much as we do.
Thanks again for coming today to celebrate my Dad's life.
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In lieu of flowers, donations
can be made to The Western Canada Wilderness Committee (or BC Cancer
Agency) in his memory. A Celebration of Life will be held on
Jan. 25 2009 (his 62nd birthday). Please contact the family for details.
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