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Eulogy for Mrs. Marie Brockman Sullivan Eulogy delivered by John Chowning Thursday, November 8, 2012, in Louisville, KY, at the Celebration of of the Life of Marie B. Sullivan, Cumberland Co., KY native (1921-2012). Many members of her family and friends gathered at noon Thursday, November 8, 2012 at the Columbia Cemetery, 315 Campbellsville Street, Columbia, KY, for interment at a spot where Mrs. Sullivan's husband's, W.G. Sullivan's family, lived for a time in the big white house at the top of the hill, before the house was razed and the land became a part of the beautiful old cemetery. Mrs. Sullivan and husband W.G. Sullivan resided in Columbia, KY for a few years, though not at that site. Thursday, November 8, 2012 Friends and family of Mrs. Marie Brockman Sullivan, we gather this day to pay tribute to a very dear lady - one who lived life to the fullest, who was - as her first cousin Jerry Brockman described her a couple of days ago - a "dear, kind, lovely, and gentle lady." All of us, who knew her and loved her, have been touched in multiple ways by her gracious spirit, her love of her family, and her persevering Christian faith. I know that I speak for all who knew her - and especially for those in the Brockman and extended family, that Cousin Jerry's description was an accurate description of the life of Marie Brockman Sullivan. (Psalm 121.) Sandra, Tim, Eric, and your dear families, we all extend our deepest sympathy to you in this hour. We know that you are going to miss her - she loved all of you deeply, spoke often of her dear great-grandchildren and would always update me on you all, Tim and Eric, and your families. The photo collection that is posted on the website of this funeral home speaks to her love of family - Cathy and I viewed that collection of photographs - some with some of us in the extended family - but mostly of her and her immediate family. She and Uncle W.G. were a very striking couple - his quiet strength, her friendly demeanor, and their mutual love for each other and their family and of their strong faith in Jesus Christ - these are what come to mind when I think back through the years of family gatherings and celebrations. Now, let me clarify for all who may not understand the unique dynamics of the Brockman family...Our mother, Elizabeth or Libby Brockman Chowning, and Russell, their younger brother, referred to Marie as Sister. Consequently, Joe Chat, my older brother, and I, and our younger first cousin, Dr. Britt Brockman, all knew her as "Aunt Sister." So, let me henceforward in my remarks refer to her as I knew her - as Aunt Sister. That has been handed down in our families - as our children and grandchildren knew her as their great-Aunt Sister. Others outside the family might find this a bit strange or even amusing, but to us, it is one of those family practices that have become a part of the history and dynamics of the Brockman family. The roots of this family are on Crocus Creek, down in the south-central part of our Commonwealth. It is a very rural area - halfway between Burkesville and Columbia - as rural an area as can be found in America today. Aunt Sister's life was shaped and impacted by the experience of growing up in the Amandaville community - they grew up "across the creek" as we called it - the genes of the Elliott and Brockman clans ran through her veins. She came from an area and an era of history where there were no phones, no electricity, no modern schools - simply the one room rural schools that dotted the landscape of rural America and Kentucky, crossing or fording the creek multiple times if you wanted to travel to either town. But she grew up in an era and community where multiple generations lived nearby, where people helped each other, where babies were born and generations of the family were buried nearby, where the Christian faith was not only espoused but also displayed in deeds and in serving others, and where love of faith, family and community, ran deep. This is not to romanticize and rewrite a history - there were struggles and some hard times - the family was not wealthy - their childhood home was not grand - they didn't inherit wealth - but the family was close. Education was encouraged. Aunt Sister became an outstanding school teacher and received a quality education at Lindsey Wilson College and later at Western Kentucky State Teachers' College - now Western Kentucky University. Mama Dollye was the matriarch of the family who encouraged the children to be education and to pursue their dreams. She met and married Uncle W.G. and lived in Columbia for a few years and eventually moved to Louisville where they spent most of their years together and replanted this rural and small town family into the Louisville metro area. Her teaching career spanned a number of decades and tied together the one room schools of our past to the modern school facilities and teaching methods of the latter decades of the 20th century. I'm not sure how many students she had through the years, but I would estimate that she taught several thousand young people in her career. She was the essence of what is good about third grade teachers - which is the primary level she taught as long as I can remember. And when I say that she was the essence of a third grade teacher, I mean that as a positive affirmation of her. My very favorite primary level teacher was my third grade teacher - the third grade is a transitional year for children in school - it's a crucial year - and there are adults all over Louisville Metro today and beyond who were taught and loved by this dedicated public school teacher. I think it requires a special person to be a teacher - I have been and remain a teacher in a sense - but being a teacher at that level of education requires a very special person - Aunt Sister was such a person. Teaching at that level requires love, patience, kindness, compassion, and concern - and certainly Aunt Sister displayed those Biblical attributes - or "fruit of the Spirit" as Paul speaks in Galatians 5:22-23. There are a flood of memories, Sandra, that come to mind this morning - perhaps not really exciting to many in today's fast-paced and technology-centered culture but nonetheless of great meaning for me -the excitement of traveling to Louisville from Cumberland County during the Christmas season sometimes in the midst of snow as we were growing up, staying with your family to attend Vacation Bible School - what a big deal for a kid coming from the farm and who grew up in a country church where high attendance Sunday reached 30 people, meeting for family gatherings at Russell and Sue's home on Foresta Court in Hodgenville, Sunday meals at Granddad and Mama Dollye's house when you all would be visiting and with our father and Aunt Sister getting into a lively discussion on politics or theology, and then in later years as we became adults with our own children, those periodic gatherings at our house in Campbellsville, or in Berea at Joe Chat's, or back to Louisville at either Aunt Sister's or Britt and Paula's home, or in Hodgenville with Sue and Russell. Those gatherings, those memories, and those solid roots of family, are what have bound this family together. The years go by quickly in retrospect, our children grow up and the blessings of our own grandchildren become primary, the generations pass, and life moves forward. In our fast-paced culture - with our mobility, technology, instant and global communications, advanced knowledge, and the world literally having become a global community - and all of these developments aren't bad things I might add, those of us gathered here today have a unique blessing and legacy that is increasingly absent in the lives of many families and people around our country - we have a strong family legacy that binds us together - yes, we have the genes and DNA of the Elliott and Brockman clans that tie us and future generations together - but also the legacy of roots and family that take us back to Cumberland and Adair Counties to the foothills of our beloved state, to a quaint community called Amandaville on Crocus Creek, a commitment to our Lord and our faith that sees us through the challenging and difficult times that inevitably come our way. No one here today will avoid those challenges of life - our family has been no exception - and the future generations of our extended family will be no different. But may we strengthened by the history of our family, by the memories of Granddad and Mama Dollye and Aunt Sister - Uncle W.G. - my mother and father - and others who have sat at the table of fellowship and family by birth and through marriage. May we remember that there is in fact something beyond this world and this life -there is a God who loves us and who has given us his only Begotten Son for our salvation and redemption. And He has prepared an eternal home for us. That was a reality for Aunt Sister - she knew her Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and placed Him first in her life. And I affirm the words of Paul in II Corinthians 5:6:8: "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; For we walk by faith, not by sight; We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Sandra, Tim, Eric and family, please know of our prayers and thoughts for all of you. You will miss your mother- grandmother -great-grandmother. But be strengthened by the memories and powerful love that Aunt Sister held for all of you, and may we all be challenged by her strong Christian faith, assess our own status with the Lord and our walk of faith, and celebrate her long, rich, and abundant life of service on this day. ("Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Lord Tennyson) - John Chowning This story was posted on 2012-11-09 02:18:00
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