Funeral Homily for Kitty Hill-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

 Funeral Homily_Kitty Hill

July 12, 2021

        Today we gather to give thanks for the life, ministry, and witness of Kitty Hill.  Miss Kitty, as we all knew her, was the choir director here at St. Thomas for many years.  She was a gifted musician, a fellow alto, and she was always very serious about her music.  When Miss Kitty and Bob moved to Savannah, Kitty had offers for jobs at much bigger churches for much more money.  But something drew her to St. Thomas and our four member choir at that time.  In reflecting back on it, she’d often tell her family, “that’s where the Lord sent me.”  She worked diligently to grow the choir and the music program here, and what a gift her presence was here among us!

        As much as she loved music, Kitty cared about people.  She was proud of peoples’ accomplishments, and she would tell them that.  She was always so sweet and kind, and she never had a bad word about anybody.  She loved people quietly and deeply, and there was never any doubt about how much she loved her husband and her children.

        The other thing that folks here remember about Miss Kitty is how she was always perfectly coordinated, impeccably dressed.  Our parish administrator, Fran Conner, who was a co-worker of Kitty’s here at St. Thomas, told me about the last time she saw Kitty.  They actually ran into each other in Belk’s on Black Friday.  “Miss Kitty loved to shop.”  Fran remembered.   “It seemed like every time I’d go in Belk’s, Miss Kitty would be in there.  And the last time I saw her, she was just shopping there by herself, quietly self-contained, and she was wearing her red beret with a pin on it, a red jacket with her trademark kitty pin, a white blouse, with red shoes and a red handbag.”  “Nobody could fail to love Miss Kitty,”  Fran concluded. 

        And even though by the time I really started to get to know Kitty, she was already slipping away and no longer fully herself, we always were able to connect over music.  Many times when we didn’t have things to say, we’d sing together, and it would bring her peace. 

        Kitty lived her life like a good conductor.  She was always quiet and sort of behind the scenes; good conductors are not flashy or especially noticeable but they help bring together all the different parts and voices to weave together and make beautiful music.  And that is how Kitty lived her life.  Her life was a symphony of kindness and faithfulness, not unlike our gospel passage of the beatitudes which she selected for this day. 

        So, we gather today to give thanks for Kitty, and we also acknowledge that we will miss her; we will miss her quiet kindness and faithfulness.

          Yet even in our grief, we are mindful this day that death is not the end, but a change.  That when our mortal body lies in death God has prepared for us a place in the heavens.  We remember this day the truth of Easter, that through Christ’s death and resurrection, God’s love has proven to be stronger than absolutely anything, even death. 

        We give thanks for Kitty’s presence in our lives, and we live in the hope that we will not only see her again but one day sing alongside her in the heavenly chorus where she is, even now, already rejoicing.