Janet Elizabeth Smith (née Dean)
The Last of the Ladies
16th March 1948 – 21st December 2017
Wetheral Woodland Burial Ground
29th December 2017
The Gathering
We meet today with sadness for our loss and joy at the knowledge that Janet has been safely gathered into the loving arms of the eternal spirit where there is neither pain nor suffering nor tears.
The Reflection
In a moment of reflection and guided by the spirit let us offer our own reflections on the Janet we knew and loved.
A daughter, a sister, a lover, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, we each share her loss, grateful that she passed surrounded by her loving family; that she was able to offer her farewells with grace and dignity, supported as she was by the caring staff of Hospice at Home.
A moment for you to share
A personal Reflection
I met Janet in Salisbury in the Summer of 1967...
Music: I saw her standing there (The Beatles)
...within a week I had to travel to Germany for a summer job; I wanted to ask her to marry me but had the good sense to ask only that she would she meet me from the train when I returned.
She agreed and did meet me.
We married in November 1968.
She blessed me with love and loyalty and four wonderful children in whom she invested all that was best about her.
Diagnosed with MS forty years ago she bore her pain and limitations and triumphed over them.
The Cancer was less easy and in the end undermined her strong will and forbearance, yet as so many people commented she looked so well because even as it ate away at her esh, her spirit endured and triumphed.
We meet today with sadness for our loss and joy at the knowledge that Janet has been safely gathered into the loving arms of the eternal spirit where there is neither pain nor suffering nor tears.
The Reflection
In a moment of reflection and guided by the spirit let us offer our own reflections on the Janet we knew and loved.
A daughter, a sister, a lover, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, we each share her loss, grateful that she passed surrounded by her loving family; that she was able to offer her farewells with grace and dignity, supported as she was by the caring staff of Hospice at Home.
A moment for you to share
A personal Reflection
I met Janet in Salisbury in the Summer of 1967...
Music: I saw her standing there (The Beatles)
...within a week I had to travel to Germany for a summer job; I wanted to ask her to marry me but had the good sense to ask only that she would she meet me from the train when I returned.
She agreed and did meet me.
We married in November 1968.
She blessed me with love and loyalty and four wonderful children in whom she invested all that was best about her.
Diagnosed with MS forty years ago she bore her pain and limitations and triumphed over them.
The Cancer was less easy and in the end undermined her strong will and forbearance, yet as so many people commented she looked so well because even as it ate away at her esh, her spirit endured and triumphed.
Forbidden from carrying Lilies on our wedding day she carries them now on her
heavenly birthday and for her this poem:
Lilies, their waxy green
Whiteness you chose to carry
Those years ago, were refused you
But now, these years later
The lilies remain fine and firm
Their lustre captures the light
This Anniversary gift
Continues to flourish and shine
Even though your life
Is shortened now by illness
Each night we count the moments
Before dawn to be sure
That you are granted another
Day to offer your gracious farewell
To those you love and whose love is returned
Lilies don’t last forever
Like the flowers of the field and humankind
They flower, blossom and perish
But you will stay forever in my heart
In the hearts of those who love you
And rest in the bounteous gift of love
Lilies, their waxy green
Whiteness you chose to carry
Those years ago, were refused you
But now, these years later
The lilies remain fine and firm
Their lustre captures the light
This Anniversary gift
Continues to flourish and shine
Even though your life
Is shortened now by illness
Each night we count the moments
Before dawn to be sure
That you are granted another
Day to offer your gracious farewell
To those you love and whose love is returned
Lilies don’t last forever
Like the flowers of the field and humankind
They flower, blossom and perish
But you will stay forever in my heart
In the hearts of those who love you
And rest in the bounteous gift of love
Music: Such a Woman (Neil Young)
The Commendation
Janet go on now on your journey from this life to whatever life awaits you, you return to the source of creation, sustained by the story of Jesus’ redemption and the nurturing of the spirit.
So we believe that you will today find comfort and consolation in the heavenly Jerusalem where you will be welcomed home and find peace.
The Committal
As a father is tender towards his children, so is the spirit of peace, who knows that we are like the grass flourishing as the flowers of the field, when the wind goes over it, it is gone and will be known no more.
We are entrusting Janet to the merciful keeping of the spirit of peace and we now commit her body to the to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust in the hope that one day we will meet again merrily.
Moment of Silence & Personal Reflection
Music: The Last of the Ladies (The Courteeners)
Canon Michael Manley will lead us in the Lord’s Prayer and offer a final Blessing
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