On the deaths of two nieces
Beatrice (l) and Erin (r) each died in the Spring of 2018 I sat at the dining table with my dad and my wife selecting readings from the Bible as well as hymns and other music for my niece Erin's funeral. She died in a head-on collision on her way to go fishing in the coastal bend, one of her very favorite things to do. She was 22 and seemed to have been really finding herself. She had just rescued two baby opossums, and we worked with her roommate to get them to a wildlife rehab center. The opossums were no surprise, that was Erin. At the dining table, we had our Episcopal prayer book, hymnal, and the Bible. My dad and I took turns with his reading glasses. In the middle of it all was the bulletin from my niece Beatrice's funeral two months before. Beatrice was 16 and struggled with depression until it took her life. As we wept and read, my dad commented, "Who would have thought we would use Beatrice's funeral to plan another one." Beatrice & E