Funeral homily for Tim Garner-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

The Very Rev. Melanie Dickson Lemburg

Funeral Homily for Tim Garner

July 11, 2024

 

        Tim Garner was a good man.  He was faithful, dependable, with a kind sense of humor that was often self-deprecating.  He was a leader who wore his leadership easily in whatever circumstances he found himself.  His son Tedd remembers how Tim would always talk about the importance of being a good leader, and about how other people saw this in Tim because he modeled it, exemplified it, even.  When Tim was in the Air Force there were often men who worked for him who requested transfers so they could follow him wherever he was stationed. 

        Tedd also remembers how when they lived in D.C., Tim stepped up to be Tedd’s Webelos leader because no one else wanted to do it.  Tim really didn’t want to do it either—it definitely meant stepping out of his comfort zone- but as a result those 8 boys learned not just the requisite painting, and arts and crafts, but they also learned how to make structurally sound bridges out of toothpicks and how to rig a sailboat. 

        Tim was detail-oriented and thorough.  He wasn’t afraid to ask hard questions, but always in a kind way.  He took care of people.  And even more significantly, he did the things that needed to be done to take care of people, even when that was difficult.  Tedd remembers how Tim supported Linda in taking care of her mother in Mississippi which often meant frequent long trips to Mississippi with her or when Linda went alone, Tim learned to be a bachelor for weeks on end.  As Linda’s Alzheimer’s began progressing, Tim was running their household, shopping and cooking, and he did everything needed to get their house here sold and move closer to Tedd and his family.  Even after they moved, Tim continued to take care of Linda, patiently finding her glasses or her purse, answering the same questions over and over again, and helping her do basic tasks, always done in a spirit of kindness. 

        Here at the church, Tim was involved in so many different ministries, but perhaps his most lasting contribution was made through his work as Junior Warden.  Now, for those of you who don’t know, the Junior Warden position is an elected position that oversees the buildings and grounds of the church, and in my opinion, it can be one of the most thankless roles in the church because the to-do list never ends (there always seems to be something breaking), and because everybody always has an opinion about everything buildings and grounds related.  In his tenure as Junior Warden, Tim was responsible for making both our church and our chapel more accessible to differently-abled people—installing the ramp at the chapel and also moving the accessibility access to the front of the church.  He also did a great deal of work in helping restore our historic chapel so that it continues to be a beautiful place of worship that we worship in to this day.  He made the hard decisions and saw them through even when they weren’t popular, but they were the right thing to do.  And he was instrumental in the running of our Memorial Garden for many years.  He would meet with the families and help them pick out plots; and then he would dig the graves.  It is fitting that he will rest there among so many people who he took care of. 

        Today we gather to give thanks for this faithful man and for all the ways that he loved us and took care of us.  We also gather to remember the hope of our faith, the hope of Tim’s faith, the hope of Easter:  that death is not the end, but a change; that Jesus has gone before us through death and into new life where we will join him as his faithful flock.  We gather to remember that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God has shown, once and for all, that God’s love is stronger than absolutely anything, even death.  And we gather to remember that in God’s kingdom we will all be fully healed, restored to the fullness of who God has created us to be and feasting together again at God’s heavenly banquet.

        Until then, may we follow Tim’s example.  May be willing to make the hard decisions, to do the hard things, courageously and steadfastly, as a part of how we love each other.