Sermon Tone Analysis
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Prelude
Processional
Welcome
Scripture Reading (John 11:17-27)—Randy Shepley
Prayer
In Christ Alone
Scripture Reading (Isaiah 40:1-8)—Ryan Lang
Scripture Reading (Romans 8:18, 31-39)—Courtney Sando
SHARING OF REMEMBRANCES
Patricia Young Mesic was born in 1931 during the beginning of the not-so-great depression.
She was the oldest sister of ten children, and times were tough.
But Pat was upbeat when she recalled her youth, like the weekends with her little sister Marie at her grandmother’s farm on Back Bay road with its fresh churned butter and delicious cakes and pies.
Pat was a child of her time.
She’d sometimes skip piano lessons to read comics at the corner shop, even though it was a time when kids couldn’t get away with anything because the neighbors on Brick Row would see you and tattle.
Pat reminisced about everything from watching The Wizard of Oz at the theater with her sister Carol, to the church bells tolling on Pearl Harbor Day as people solemnly walked to church to mourn and worship.
When Pat was 15 years old, just five days before Christmas, her father died unexpectedly.
So from an early age Pat experienced sadness and loss.
But Pat didn’t allow her loss to lead to a sense of entitlement.
She quickly rolled up her sleeves and went to work to help make ends meet.
She was a hard worker.
As a teenager she worked at a confectionery, a soda shop, and Levy’s dress shop, to name a few.
Somehow she was able to maintain these jobs without neglecting her studies.
She was an honor student excelling in Latin and Drama.
She was a student director, involved in student government and journalism, and was a cheerleader for the Typhoons of Newport News High School.
After high school, college was not an option but Pat continued to work hard.
She became a secretary at the VA to the chaplains, which included a rabbi, a Methodist, and a priest.
If we could only add a Baptist to the mix we’d have the makings of a good bar joke.
Pat was so nervous at the job interview that she reached over and took a sip of the minister’s coffee cup.
But they hired her anyway.
Pat’s favorite job was her job as a medical secretary at Penn Orthopedics, which grew from one doctor to seven during Pat’s forty years at the practice.
Even as the company expanded, Pat remained their single transcriptionist.
She was so devoted and efficient that no one could possibly replace her.
In the good and the bad times, Pat knew she was loved.
Pat was loved by her siblings, her cousins, and her mother Mary.
She was a loving oldest sister.
Pat was large and in charge, hosting family most holidays.
Imagine a slew of local siblings and their spouses gathered together.
The laughter, the gossip, the arguments, the politics, the TV trays, the pickup football.
Compliments about the turkey and Grandma Mary’s ambrosia.
Complaints about the shipyard and the government.
Some things never change.
But at the center of it all was Pat, welcoming, weighing in, interested in everyone, cooking all day and collapsing afterwards.
Pat was loved by First Baptist Church of Newport News, then located on 29th street.
She was involved in all aspects of church life.
From Sunday School, VBS and the girl’s auxiliary, to choir, summer camp, and church picnics.
The message of good news this church taught, and the members who mentored and guided Pat along the way, were foundational in forming the relationship with Christ that sustained her for a lifetime.
Pat was loved by her two daughters, Jane and Susan.
I spent some time in Pat and Buster’s apartment on Monday and noticed a tribute to Pat’s love for her girls hanging on the wall in the sitting area: a massive, glorious portrait of Susan and Jane.
Although neither Susan or Jane liked that picture, it was obvious they both deeply loved their mom.
Susan remembers how her mom never talked about herself.
No matter how much pain or discomfort she was in, she was always most interested in how you were doing.
Jane remembers how her mother struck just the right balance of giving them roots and wings, and always always she adored us and showed it so abundantly.
And she fondly remembers the warm connections her mom made during a weekly Bible Study Fellowship class at Bethel Baptist.
Pat was loved by her grandchildren, their spouses, and their children.
Ryan and Courtney said Pat was one of a kind.
Not long ago they gave Pat baby booties at Christmas (to announce the anticipated arrival of another great grandbaby) and she thought the baby booties were "toe warmers" and wanted to put them on her big toes.
Blair and Becca remember the pride Pat had in her family.
How excited she was to watch her family grow... wedding by wedding and baby by baby.
Kyle remembers how Pat would wake up in so much pain she could hardly walk, but the second she saw him she would smile and say "Good Morning Sunshine"
Rebecca and Pat were very, very close.
Pat was her favorite person in the world.
In college, Rebecca created a series of family portraits depicted as a food item.
Grandma Pat was a huge lemon meringue pie painted in oil on canvas.
Years later, when Rebecca and Gabe got engaged she requested Pat’s small chip diamond ring as her own wedding ring and Gabe was all too happy to comply.
Courtney loved the sound of Pat’s laugh and how she gave the softest hugs in the world.
How she called the grandkids “sugah.”
How much she loved Chuck and always talked about how lucky we are to have him.
Noah remembers the warmth and welcoming hugs Pat gave many years ago when he was new to the family.
He will miss how engaged and genuinely interested she was in everyone's happenings and happiness.
Pat was loved by her husband, Buster.
In 1950, Pat was a young woman living in a Hampton apartment, taking two buses to work at nights at Mushy’s Soda Shop.
There she saw a young marine in tennis whites at the counter.
She arranged a friend to set her and Buster up and the rest is history.
When I asked Buster what led him to propose to Pat, he said “she expected it.”
And I’m told as recently as last year Pat remarked about how cute she thought Buster was.
70 years of marriage certainly had its ups and downs.
They’d sometimes argue over things like why Buster bought the name brand groceries, but they didn’t let the sun go down on their anger.
After 70 years together the two were still deeply in love.
She was his go-to person, and he never failed to make her laugh.
Most importantly, she was loved by Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ love for her was the source of the love she poured out on others.
More than once she would stifle a mean comment from her daughters saying, “Imagine Jesus were in the room with you, listening when you speak.”
That was, of course, advice she didn’t always take herself, but still a good lesson none the less.
A few days ago Pat was near the end of her ninety year journey in this life.
Jane asked her if she was afraid, and Pat answered “no.”
Jane asked again, “Why aren’t you afraid?” and Pat said “because I’m going to heaven because I believe in Jesus.”
That’s the kind of peace and joy we want everyone here to experience, even as you rightly grieve the loss of Pat.
That peace and joy in the presence of Jesus is the focus of this song.
In the Garden (Tracy Bledsoe Houston)
MESSAGE
Don Shula has more wins than any other coach in NFL history.
The only active coach to even be in the ballpark is New England’s Bill Belichick, and he’d still need at least 5 more winning seasons to catch Shula.
So Don Shula is kind of a big deal.
Shula used to think he was a big deal too, until he was humbled in the off-season many years ago.
He and his wife were in a little seaside town in Maine, hoping for a chance to relax anonymously.
It was raining when they arrived, so they decided to go see a movie.
As they entered the small theater, the movie had not yet started, and the lights were still up.
When the small crowd in the theater saw the great Don Shula enter the room, they began to applaud spontaneously.
After Don and his wife sat sat down, Don leaned over to her and said, "I guess there's no place I'm not known."
His wife smiled and added, "And loved, dear."
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