Lives Well Lived - Terry Whyte, Lena Sander, Fritzi Schmidt

The Death of three great friends.

On Wednesday, January 4th, I opened the A.V.Times, and turned to the Obituary’s page, and I saw pictures of Terry Whyte, Lena Sander and Fritzi Schmidt.

We have all read a lot about Terry Whyte in the Times Colonist, in the A.V.Times and many attended the celebration of his life at Echo Centre. I was sorry that I was not able to take part in the open mike portion, for I had to leave to attend Lena’s funeral at Notre Dame’s church. As I sat at this ceremony, several lines of famous writers came to me. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. We were reminded that we, too, shall pass away, the body that is, for another writer told us: Dust thou art, to dust returneth, but the soul lives on forever. Another writer told us that we should follow the example of Terry, who was very concerned about the lives of his brothers and sisters on this earth, and so the words: Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us, footprints on the sand of time. Finally, these lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Here was Anthony talking about Brutus: His life was gentle, and the elements so mixes in him, that Nature would stand up and say to all the world. This was a man! My puny words were inadequate to this great occasion, and so the masters of the language, came to my help. You have had a lasting impression on my life, here comes another poet to end my praises of Terry, and he says: Lives of great men, all reminds us. We can make our lives sublime, and, departing leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time!

Terry was a frequent visitor to Our Celebration of the Word, and he has shared many words of prose and poetry with us. I thank the management and residents for giving the Word celebration a home over the years.

As just as the open mike was taking place at Echo Centre, my wife and I made our way to Notre Dame church for the funeral mass of Lena Sander. One of the readings of this service was about The Good Wife, and that fitted Leaner, for above all, she was not only a good wife but a faithful woman to her church. I had to wait downstairs after her burial to find out more about this hard-working and generous woman. Her formal education ended in grade eight, and this was one of the regrets of her life, but it was Shakespeare who said: Sweet are the uses of adversity. What Lena was not able to do educationally, she vowed that she was going to make sure that all her children made education one of the primary purposes of their lives.

The result, her three children: a doctor, a dentist and a teacher. I know that Lena’s dreams have been carried on by her children. Well done mother, caretaker, wife, sister, and friend to all. What a legacy she has left for us all.

And now Fritzi. Fritzi was one of the most important member of the group that met at Abbeyfield celebrating the word. She shared her Toastmaster’s skill with us all. Sometimes a speech, sometimes a story, sometimes sharing with us some of her life adventures. It was an honour to be counted as one of your friends. As her husband says: She will be missed by George, David, Sidney, Jenny, Shelley, Martin, and we hope everyone who knew her keep her in their hearts.” I will always keep her memory green as long as I live. Rest in peace Fritzi.

These citizens have done their work, and now we have a legacy of service to continue!

Note that all these meetings are held at Abbeyfield:
- Come to the Folkfest meeting on January 18th at 4 p.m.
- PaGo Grannies meet on January 23rd at 5 p.m.
- Celebrate the Word meets on Monday 30th at 7 p.m. We will be hearing your words, and Gordon Scoffield will be giving us a brush of Shakespeare by telling us the story of Romeo and Juliet...