Interruption for Eulogy

My Father In Law passed away over the weekend.

I wrote and delivered his Eulogy

Psalm 34 verse 18 says :  The Lord is closest to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Welcome everyone. My name is Gillian and Sam was my Father In Law.  

We are here today to say goodbye to Sidney, or Sam as we all knew him.  A devoted husband, a loving father, a brother and a friend.

Sam was born in Pretoria in 1942 and moved around a lot while growing up.  He was the youngest of two brothers and grew into a tall, dark and handsome man.  He was 23 years old when he met the love of his life, Rina, and they married in Pietermaritzburg and moved to Johannesburg shortly after getting married.   They were married for 46 years! They had three awesome children Ronel, Andre and Riaan.  

Sam was a loyal employee, working his entire life for Spoornet.   He dedicated 42 years to them!!  starting as an Appy and worked his way up to Logistics Manager when he retired at the age of 60.    We can find true inspiration from this…..Sam faithfully applied this devotion to all aspects of his life. 

Sam spent a decent chunk of his life at The Dinwiddie Bowling Club.  He loved his active Saturday afternoons with friends in the sunshine.  He relished this big part of his life, and often shared stories about the quirky characters from The Bowling Club.   He loved to share the story of youngest son, Riaan, who was only a teenager at the time, beating the previous year’s Club Champion!    It was a proud moment for Sam, watching his son follow in his bowling footsteps.

Dad, loved to laugh most of all…..  I enjoyed cracking jokes with him….and watching his lips curl into a huge grin and then break into a belly laugh.  We all loved that big, loud belly laugh….  Dad had a great sense of humour and an incredibly kind heart.   He adored having the whole family over for a braai and loved to chat over the grill and catch up with his children and grandchildren.  He enjoyed his food and he and I shared a love for chocolate.

Dad also loved to Teach-By-Example and taught both his sons to be able to pretty much fix anything.  He once climbed up a ladder to fix the garage roof and to save himself two trips up the ladder, he carried the drill in one hand and the extension cord in the other.  He lost his balance and plummeted to the ground breaking his arm.  The moral of the story?  Do as you’re told, not as you see.

Most of you may not know that Sam had another hobby.  The Lotto.  He took great pleasure in carefully studying and plotting every lottery result on his Excel Spreadsheet on his computer.   Eventually, all his plotting paid off and a jackpot was won, which he shared with all his children.

Our hearts are heavy today as we say goodbye to Sam….    I took comfort in something that Riaan, Sam’s youngest son, said to me the other day, “Dad is with his mum and dad.  Ouma Kay and Oupa Joe”.   

I hope you can also gain peace,  knowing he is with family and with The Lord.

Sam peacefully passed away on 30^th of August and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Someone once said “The catastrophe of death cannot be altered, but it can be transformed by love”.

We love you Dad.  We will miss you so very much.  I am so proud to have known you.

It’s tough to say goodbye, so Please Remember to keep Mom, Ronel, Andre and Riaan in your prayers during this difficult time.

 


Normal blogging will resume soon.