Funeral Homily for Holly Lantz-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

The Very Rev Melanie Dickson Lemburg

Funeral Homily for Holly Lantz

November 2, 2024

 

        This week, I found myself thinking about a quote I’ve heard periodically over the years, and at first, I couldn’t figure out why.  But then I realized, it was because it was a way to articulate some of the beauty that was Holly Lantz. 

“Life is short,

And we do not have much time

to gladden the hearts of those who

make the journey with us.

So… be swift to love,

and make haste to be kind.”

         

        “We do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make the journey with us.  So… be swift to love, and make haste to be kind.”  Over and over this week, I have been hearing stories about how Holly gladdened peoples’ hearts with her love and kindness.  She was, you might say, a gladdener. 

        Holly always loved children; she taught so many children how to read, and she tutored even more. (Are there folks in here who were taught or tutored by Holly?).  She had this tree outside their home, and she would keep it decorated for each season as a gift to her family and the children who lived all around them—hearts at Valentine’s, goblins at Halloween.  During Covid, Holly started a fairy house trend at the Landings.  She set up fairy houses in different places around the Landings, so that parents could take their kids out on their golf carts to have something to go do together.  (Apparently, the fairy house phenomenon took on a life of its own and ran afoul of the Landings Association, but Holly’s original project gladdened many hearts in a time it was sorely needed.)

        Richard shared about how Holly was always a safe place for him.  He would go and talk to Holly frequently when they were out at the Tybee house, especially when he was going through difficult times.  Holly was a kind listener, and she would often be quiet for whole stretches of time, and when she would speak, it was always caring and insightful. 

She was the biggest cheerleader for Lauren and Robert.  Rick talks about how she prayed for Lauren for so many years, that she would marry a good man and be happy.  When Lauren and Robert married, those prayers were certainly answered, and then Holly prayed more, and supported, and encouraged, and gladdened over the four-year journey that led to Sullins’ birth.  And let me tell you, I had never seen Holly Lantz as radiant as she was on her birthday (wearing a birthday tiara) this past year, and holding newborn baby Sullins in the hospital. 

And then of course, there was her 47 years of marriage to Rick.  She was as good a wife as she was a mother.  She and Rick had a marriage of respect and partnership that was built on the foundation of love and kindness.  It was clear that they were smitten with each other.  She loved Rick and their family whole-heartedly, and she wasn’t afraid to put him in his place when she thought he needed it.

Because let’s be honest, while Holly was gifted at being swift to love and hastening to be kind, gladdening the hearts of those she journey with….she was also a handful.  She had definite opinions about how things should be.  Her siblings will tell you.  She was the oldest, and while her brother Billy might have been the biggest, she would often assert her dominance as leader of the pack with her proclamation to them that she was “the queen.” So it’s what they all called her.  (She would also regularly remind Lauren that this made her “a princess.”  I wasn’t sure if that was a reminder of Lauren’s status as royalty or of her place in the royal pecking order. Probably both?)

When we were looking through Holly’s notes for what she wanted for this service, Rick shared that he has already written his own obituary.  He was so proud of it, and brought it to Holly for her to look at and she responded, “That’s too long!  Do you know how much that’s going to cost?”  And when we were going through her file, I can tell you that she saved a bunch of funeral bulletins from other peoples’ funerals, and on at least half of them, Holly had written “No!!!”  Lauren shared that when she was little, all her friends called Rick “Mr. Holly.” 

I’ll never forget the first time I met Holly.  I had just started at St. Thomas and had popped into the Thrift Store, and the ladies who were working there were eager to introduce me to Holly.  As we chatted, she shared that her mom wasn’t doing well, and so I offered to go visit her.  Holly got really teary and then gave me a hug, and the next Sunday she and Rick were in church.  They’ve both been a regular part of our Wednesday healing service and I was always touched when Holly would share something as it would give a quiet glimpse into a deep well of faith.

It's especially poignant that Holly chose these readings, that speak to her faith, and she chose them years ago.  The reading from Lamentations, is especially a gift—with its reminder that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, that God’s mercy never ends, and that God will offer comfort and consolation even in the midst of grief and mourning. 

None of us would have chosen to lose Holly so soon, and none of us would have chosen for her to have such a difficult end.  And no one could have fought harder than Rick or been more faithful in walking with her in last few months.  With all of the gladdening that Holly did in our lives, all the love and kindness that she offered us, her loss is especially devastating. 

So we gather together today to mourn.  And we also gather together today to remember the hope of our faith, the hope of Holly’s faith:  that death is not the end, but a change; that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God has shown us once and for all that God’s love is stronger than absolutely anything, even death.  Holly has joined the great cloud of witnesses who wait for all of us just beyond the veil, and her love and her kindness and the ways that she gladdened all our hearts will continue with us, surprising us when we need it until we are reunited with her again at God’s heavenly banquet. 

In the meantime, may we follow Holly’s example.

“Life is short,

And we do not have much time

to gladden the hearts of those who

make the journey with us.

So… be swift to love,

and make haste to be kind.

And may the blessing of God Almighty:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you now and always.  Amen.”