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Walk in Spirit

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 6:46 AM

How do we commemorate and honor the life of an extraordinary person,

one whose impact on family, friends, co-workers, and strangers on the

street was unmistakable and lasting — those special memories that

recall this person into our immediate presence? Just like life itself, these

recollections are varied and contrastive completing a whole of intersecting

parts that enliven our spiritual and

emotional connection to this rare

being.


To each of us, Lavonne H. Gage –

Von, Vonnie – was special, and

what we remember about her, even

in those shared experiences, is

deeply personal and deeply stirring.

Like the feel of the wind and the

warmth of the sun, we each were

touched singularly and uniquely. 

“Our” Von was authentically my

Von, my wife, my mother; my

grandmother, my great-

grandmother; my sister, my sister-

in-law, my aunt; my best friend, my

teacher, my mentor; my neighbor,

my touchstone.


Those special words of encouragement, those stern words of upbraiding,

when a reality check was called for; those sweet tender reaching-out

moments of hers; those spontaneous verbal and physical hugs that lifted

you and let you know that you were special in her eyes are what we carry

of her through this life. Those inseparable, countless Von moments are

what we carry as her legacy gifted to us and the world. The beauty of her

form and spirit, the dignity of her nobility, the genuineness of her

unconditional acceptance are what we draw from, when life confronts us

with its harsh challenges. 


To the very end of this sojourn, when her verbal expression was limited,

the quintessential Lavonne remained as an energy of magnanimity that

held us in its spell. And we remain spellbound, as she takes that walk in

spirit, still showing us the way of a selfless life. And when our time

comes, she and those ancestors who have gone before will sing to us:


“Come this way,

With summer’s rains

smelling of forest and sod


“Come this way,

with winter’s snows

Freezing-white with reminiscence


“Come this way,

with spring’s blossoms

Bursting of color and scents


“Come this way

like the river of a baby’s breath

Flowing deeply, steadily

Against the drumming of its mother’s heart


“Come this way…"