A Service of Remembrance and Celebration of
Jeanette Allard Hastings
November 9, 2002

A short video presentation of Jeanette and reception were held in her honor in Sapp Hall immediately following the service. The presentation is offered as a tribute by Roger Hastings, son.

A Note About the Service

How appropriate to honor our mother at the "vesper hour" when the colors of the day collect themselves in one last hurrah and celebration of another God-given day. For us it also is filled with tender memories of attending the 5:00 p.m. service on Sundays at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, a time when we were enveloped by sunset light filtering through stained glass windows and knew the chiming of the hour would be followed by the Crusader Youth Choir singing in hushed tones, "Now the Day is Over." For mother, it meant a respite from another hectic day that had begun with trying to make five children presentable in Sunday best, followed by the flurry of activity around getting a roast on the table, and then, if lucky, a quick read of the paper or short nap before loading up the car to head back to church. How exhausting it must have been to get her small army to their appointed rounds, yet how rich and full those days were and are in our hearts.

Jerusalem, the Golden was not sung often - if ever - at these vesper services. It's a "golden nugget" beloved by our dad, though until now, unknown to us kids. Not long ago Mom mentioned Dad's love of hymnody, reporting that she would frequently find him up in the middle of the night if he awoke with some hymn in mind whose words he needed to track down. We awake with a thirst for water; Dad awakes with a thirst for knowledge.

As you see the tributes accumulate, you might remember that yes, there are five children. Youngest son, Roger, will be giving his tribute to Mom in the form of a slide presentation in Sapp Hall, immediately following the service upstairs. We feel privileged to count Shizue Kaneko Fukuda in our family and in addition to her treasured presence with us today, she has brought an urn from Japan for the final resting place of Mother's ashes. We know that Mother is pleased and honored by this gesture from Shizue and her family.

Mom was able to see Jessica dance Come, Ye Disconsolate as Darrell sang this beloved hymn, and we know she cherished the experience. It gives us particular delight to be able to share it again today and we are so grateful to Darrell for his generosity in participating in this service. It means a great deal to us.

The flowers on the altar remind us of the irises Mother grew in her Dallas garden. She had a great love of flowers and plants, and seemed to take responsibility for wayward ones that just needed a little extra care, a different pot, a sunnier window. The other things on the altar today were placed there because of a revelation we only found out about this week. Our friend Annie from Memphis told us that some years ago she and Mom were at a meeting where they were told to pair off and "talk about what kind of funeral you would want." Annie said Mom expressed the desire that her funeral be of comfort to the living because she knew she would be at rest. She didn't need anything in particular but wanted the service to be a celebration of life. She didn't want the funeral industry to enhance its coffers by her passing, so she wasn't interested in fancy boxes or big floral sprays. She thought in lieu of flowers it would be nice if people would bring things from nature that were particularly meaningful to them. She mentioned rocks, she liked the symbolism of rocks, although Annie couldn't quite remember why rocks were so important. It seems Mom was enamored of the way things work in this world and was quite comfortable with the cycle of life reality that would some day render her body ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The past two weeks have been, of course, a major blow to our family. We have lost the embodiment of our family's heart and soul. And yet, we have all stood in amazement at what this great loss has afforded us: we have witnessed the most generous outpouring of support and comfort imaginable. Our special thanks go to Dr. Stephen Lucas, Carol Lucas, Rev. Jill Spruce, doctors and nurses at Round Rock Medical Center, and many others from this church and from Mom’s circle of friends.

s We feel blessed to have this celebration at a time when Dee Dee Wilson and Dr. Brooks Whitmore were able to contribute their remarkable musical talents to the service. Mother took such delight in what they bring to worship at Highland Park, we know she is pleased they could be a part of our vespers today.

In these difficult passages, it is true ministry to extend hospitality to families. We have known this, but have experienced it personally in a profound way in the preparation for this day. We are grateful more than we can say to Fran Hattin, Rev. Cheryl Hill and all who are on the Hospitality Committee for their help in arranging today’s reception and for assistance with audio-visual needs.

Finally, our day is complete because we are able to share it with our dear aunts and uncles who have come to Austin from all over the country: Sunny Wheeler from Glendale, CA.; Trudy and Charles Taylor from Harrisburg, IL; and George and Edna Earl Allard from Flora, MS. We are thankful to have cousin Pat and her son Scott here, as well as Shizue and Naohisa Fukuda from Tokyo in attendance.

Tender Hands

Dear hands, tender hands,
Touch my face with love.
Thine to give,
Mine but to cherish.

Warm eyes, softest eyes,
Brush my face with love.
Thine to give,
Mine but to cherish.

Fain, I wish that I could thank thee more
For these two gifts I can but love thee more.
Fain, I wish my heart was worthy more.

Tender hands, softest eyes.

Words and music by Noel (Paul) Stookey
Copyright 1971 Songbirds of Paradise Music