A life of influence

Funeral homily for John Harold Crockford

The life and death of each of us has its influence on others.  With these words, the apostle Paul tried to tell the early Christians who were living in Rome a truth that might have seemed rather evident to them; it seems to be evident to us today too, but what Paul was trying to do was to encourage them to understand that Jesus had come to live among us, to show us a different way of living, a way that was based not on envy and competition but on love and mutual respect.  Like the Christian community at Rome, we too are invited to learn this truth today, and we luckily have the example of the saints who have gone before us, and the saints who have lived in our time, to teach us how to live lives that are based on love and respect.  In short, these are the people who courageously pass on the gift of faith so that we ourselves can appreciate the full riches of the heritage that is entrusted to us.

In preparation for today’s celebration, I invited John’s family to sit with me and to share with me the ways in which his life has influenced theirs.  They told me about the fact that he converted to Catholicism in order to marry the love of his life.  Others in this parish have spoken of the long life he shared with Myrna, and about his commitment to service within this parish and beyond its walls too.  John’s love and commitment extended to everyone in his family.  He enjoyed nothing more than spending time with them at the Mikisew Provincial Park at South River or at Seguin’s beach, where he shared his love for the outdoors, for hunting, for fishing and for various recreational activities. His devotion to minor hockey also demonstrated his commitment to making the world a better place, especially for children.

John entered this church countless numbers of times.  He knelt here in prayer beside his wife.  Together they brought their children here and provided opportunities for them to learn the lessons of discipleship that Jesus teaches in the scriptures.  These are lessons that we all must learn if we are to be followers of the one who invites us to gather here today.  Like Jesus, we must strive every day of our lives to welcome all those who come to us, searching for love and respect.  Like all of the disciples who have gone before us, we learn from the master the importance of not being so concerned with our own will as with doing the will of the one who has sent us to provide living examples of compassion and forgiveness for our world.

Some would say that this is the job of all parents, and I suppose they would be right.  In fact, no one can testify to this better than the members of John’s immediate family, and the members of this parish who have had the privilege of knowing and loving him for so many of his 82 years.  We can all agree that he was truly a man of faith and conviction.

I have had the privilege of knowing John Crockford for only a few months, but you can testify to the depth of his love, the joy he found in bringing joy to others, his commitment to simple gestures which bore so much meaning: simple gestures like a pat on the back or a playful check of a newly shorn head of hair; acts of great generosity like all the behind-the-scenes work in preparation for the annual turkey dinners held here in this parish; commitment to his family and willingness to spend time travelling with his siblings, and most of all undying hope that he would one day be reunited with Myrna, with Wendy and with Poppy.

Today, we have come to this place to pray once again with John in the place where he prayed so often.  Today we entrust his soul to the tender loving care of the Father who has promised us all that there is a place waiting for us in our heavenly Home when our earthly lives come to an end.  Today we participate in the Eucharistic banquet, a foretaste of the rich food that awaits us when we finally sit at the table of the heavenly banquet.  Even now, our participation in this feast and our faith in the promise of our heavenly inheritance helps us to return John to the loving embrace of our God, and to trust that God’s undying love will wipe away the tears from our cheeks and replace the sorrow and anguish of our being parted from him into a reason to rejoice and look forward in hope to the day when we will see him again in heaven.