The late Jean Erion, with her granddaughter Jessica, at her grandson Graham's wedding, June 26, 2010 (Toronto).
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Jean Erion Dies on Ed's Birthday
My mother, Jean Erion, passed away on July 28th, at her retirement residence, Queenston Place, in Niagara Falls. She was 84.
Her death followed a diagnosis of a bowel obstruction on July 23 at Greater Niagara General Hospital. She refused surgery and chose this as her time to die and be reunited with her beloved husband. Unlike the sudden deaths that have been the rule in our family, this time we had almost a week to share with her. My sister Connie had had daily contact with her since Jean moved to Niagara Falls last October. She and I took turns staying overnight at mom's bedside in the final week. All five of her grandchildren visited while she was in hospital, and Connie's grandson, Logan (age 18 mos.) was a frequent visitor to her bedside. Also I was able to set up phone conversations with several of mom's friends and relatives in that week.
The funeral took place on Saturday, Aug.31st at Lundy's Lane United Church, our family's home church, in the Falls. A memorial service will follow for the Sudbury region on Sunday, Sept.12th at 2pm at Copper Cliff United Church.
It was touching and meaningful that Mom died on dad's birthday. What a heavenly birthday present!
Her death followed a diagnosis of a bowel obstruction on July 23 at Greater Niagara General Hospital. She refused surgery and chose this as her time to die and be reunited with her beloved husband. Unlike the sudden deaths that have been the rule in our family, this time we had almost a week to share with her. My sister Connie had had daily contact with her since Jean moved to Niagara Falls last October. She and I took turns staying overnight at mom's bedside in the final week. All five of her grandchildren visited while she was in hospital, and Connie's grandson, Logan (age 18 mos.) was a frequent visitor to her bedside. Also I was able to set up phone conversations with several of mom's friends and relatives in that week.
The funeral took place on Saturday, Aug.31st at Lundy's Lane United Church, our family's home church, in the Falls. A memorial service will follow for the Sudbury region on Sunday, Sept.12th at 2pm at Copper Cliff United Church.
It was touching and meaningful that Mom died on dad's birthday. What a heavenly birthday present!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Cliff Plant, close friend of Ed & Jean, dies June 16th.
Cliff passed away at 1 a.m. Wednesday at Stratford Hospital. He had been in much pain and announced that he was going to die, requesting to be taken to the hospital from their retirement residence. He died later that evening.
Cliff began his working career as a veterinarian in St. Catharines, before entering the United Church ministry, a few years before my father did. He served at Lion's Head, in Kitchener, and as director of personnel for Manitou Conference, based in North Bay. He and Isabel retired to Stratford in the early 90s but continued as marital therapists and Tai Chi instructors.
Cliff and Isabel were my second parents during university. Our two families met at Family Camps at Five Oaks in the late 50s-early 60s. I would hitchhike from U of Guelph to Kitchener and fill in on the organ at Christ the King. Their son, Ross, and I roomed together for a semester or two at Guelph. I took courses at Interfaith Counselling Centre in Kitchener with Cliff and Isabel in 1970. In going through my dad's papers, I recently noticed that he officiated at my brother Brad's funeral in 1979.
My wife and I took mom to the funeral At Central United in Stratford on Sunday, June 20th. A rich and muscial celebration of his life.
So.. our elders are dieing and the mantle of patriarchy passes down.
Cliff began his working career as a veterinarian in St. Catharines, before entering the United Church ministry, a few years before my father did. He served at Lion's Head, in Kitchener, and as director of personnel for Manitou Conference, based in North Bay. He and Isabel retired to Stratford in the early 90s but continued as marital therapists and Tai Chi instructors.
Cliff and Isabel were my second parents during university. Our two families met at Family Camps at Five Oaks in the late 50s-early 60s. I would hitchhike from U of Guelph to Kitchener and fill in on the organ at Christ the King. Their son, Ross, and I roomed together for a semester or two at Guelph. I took courses at Interfaith Counselling Centre in Kitchener with Cliff and Isabel in 1970. In going through my dad's papers, I recently noticed that he officiated at my brother Brad's funeral in 1979.
My wife and I took mom to the funeral At Central United in Stratford on Sunday, June 20th. A rich and muscial celebration of his life.
So.. our elders are dieing and the mantle of patriarchy passes down.
more passages
It's been some months since this blog was updated. Ed and Jean's home at 1041 Delwood in Sudbury was sold in May to a young professional couple. There were several trips there to empty it out. The final thrust took place Mar 16-19 with Jean, Connie and myself, and lots of help from neighbors and St.Stephan's (dad's old church) members.
Mom has accepted the sale of the house and while nostalgic for all the years they spent there, has adapted well to her new home at Queenston Place in Niagara Falls.
Dad, and mom, were pack rats and so I had boxes of photos and memorabilia to sort through. This process continues but I will try to post some of the best.This one shows my late brother Gord with Ed. The album Gord is viewing is from a trip the four of us (Ed, Jean, Gord, Chuck) took to BC in 1958.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Connie's Eulogy
It's now more than four months since Dad's funeral, but I'm finally able to share my sister's eulogy from that service. It was "buried" on dad's computer, which I recently moved from Sudbury to my home.
Thank you all so very much for coming to share with us in the celebration of the life of our Dad…He was Grandpa, Great grandpa, Uncle, Great Uncle, wonderful friend, minister, colleague and of course an absolutely wonderful Husband to my Mom Jean.
He was an incredible man…, so sweet and kind, so generous with his time, ears to listen always and a voice to give you advice, a story, an analogy, one of his memories, or a sermon (and the ones you heard were a little different the ones we got as kids!) He was such a source of encouragement. Knowledgeable, and understanding, but most importantly it was his willingness to share his Love…
I’m sure there is not a one of you that didn’t experience some Love from the “Rev” (as teenagers, Brad and I and our friends called him that) it wasn’t til his retirement at Copper Cliff that his new name of Marryin’, Buryin’ Erion was coined and put on a T-shirt and song lyrics! But, all kidding aside, my Dad was all about Love. There were no borders, no limits, and no conditions to his Love. It was genuine and generous. An absolutely beautiful soul….
Others have talked about his professional life but I’d like to share a couple of personal facts you may not know about Ed:
When I was 4 or 5 I realized I could get some special time with my dad if I’d eat red onion and blue cheese sandwiches with him. Yup they were one of his favorites!
He did love to eat, especially sweets, and until his 1st heart attack 15 years ago, when my Mom changed his diet to heart smart, he was totally in the right profession for finding the desert table… what baptism, wedding or funeral doesn’t include the best deserts! Last night at the visitation, Gerry Lougheed gave us Ed cookies and asked us to share them with someone and tell an Ed story… and please go on-line on their site and share those stories with all of us.
Dad wasn’t what I would call athletic, though he is the raining ping pong champion of the Erion Clan! Not bad at 82, as second runner up, I should have challenged him to a rematch this year; I might have had a slight advantage, as his cane would have got in the way!
But he was a role model for staying fit for all of us… he got up everyday except Sunday at 6am, he would stop over for coffee and toast with the boys and staff at Gloria’s [coffee shop]. And then head down to the gym for a work out. This past year he and my Mom went to the “Y” together every day...
Dad was also a fan of Hockey Night in Canada. I’m not even sure he had a favorite team… he just loved the game. On Saturday nights when we lived in Batawa, he and his 4 kids would head over to the Cranstons' arena for the entertainment. This gave my Mother some much need time alone, but for me, I went along for the pop and chips and a chance to hang out with the boys!
Now this fact might surprise you… our Dad was an addict. No, not to food or drugs or alcohol, okay, I'll give you a clue, our bathrooms always had the daily newspaper and a pencil in them, these papers were also on his desk, the coffee table or kitchen table… they involved words, puzzles, clues… you know it, my Dad was a CROSSWORD junkie!!! And a master to boot! He told me recently that he thought “Memory FX” helped, but for sure the crosswords were keeping his mind sharp!
Another thing about Dad, this one I call a gift and I’m so fortunate to have inherited… Dad could, at the drop of a hat, or better yet the drop of his eyelids be asleep! Standing, seating, leaning, lying, even sometimes while you were in conversation with him! Boom he was out! He probably saw a few of you do that during his sermons too!
Now Dad didn’t watch much TV, but when the series MASH came out, it became his soap opera! And over the last couple of years whenever possible, everything stopped at 4:30 and he and Mom would watch the back-to-back reruns before going up to make dinner.
Dad loved a bowl of cereal before bed… a little warm milk and Quaker shredded wheat.
One more, dad could never whistle or sing very well for that matter, but he always had a little hum, we all knew he was happy and content when we heard that “little hum”.
He liked the odd glass of port or sherry, maybe a glass of white wine for a special occasion dinner, a cold beer on a hot day, even crown and ginger now and then. So the next time you’re having a beverage outside, take a moment and share a little libation to the ground in honor of a truly, truly fine man. The Ghanaians taught us that the spirits of our ancestors are beneath us to support us. So give a little toast by pouring the first sip of your drink onto the ground and know his spirit and memory will live on forever, his genes will continue for generations and his legacy of loving, sharing and caring will never die…
Thank you all for being apart of Dads life…you gave him purpose and reason…
We will all miss him incredibly…
In closing
A little lesson from my dad. When you look in someone’s eyes see God in them and when they look in your eyes be sure they see God in you. May God Bless you and keep you safe and smart.
Thank you all so very much for coming to share with us in the celebration of the life of our Dad…He was Grandpa, Great grandpa, Uncle, Great Uncle, wonderful friend, minister, colleague and of course an absolutely wonderful Husband to my Mom Jean.
He was an incredible man…, so sweet and kind, so generous with his time, ears to listen always and a voice to give you advice, a story, an analogy, one of his memories, or a sermon (and the ones you heard were a little different the ones we got as kids!) He was such a source of encouragement. Knowledgeable, and understanding, but most importantly it was his willingness to share his Love…
I’m sure there is not a one of you that didn’t experience some Love from the “Rev” (as teenagers, Brad and I and our friends called him that) it wasn’t til his retirement at Copper Cliff that his new name of Marryin’, Buryin’ Erion was coined and put on a T-shirt and song lyrics! But, all kidding aside, my Dad was all about Love. There were no borders, no limits, and no conditions to his Love. It was genuine and generous. An absolutely beautiful soul….
Others have talked about his professional life but I’d like to share a couple of personal facts you may not know about Ed:
When I was 4 or 5 I realized I could get some special time with my dad if I’d eat red onion and blue cheese sandwiches with him. Yup they were one of his favorites!
He did love to eat, especially sweets, and until his 1st heart attack 15 years ago, when my Mom changed his diet to heart smart, he was totally in the right profession for finding the desert table… what baptism, wedding or funeral doesn’t include the best deserts! Last night at the visitation, Gerry Lougheed gave us Ed cookies and asked us to share them with someone and tell an Ed story… and please go on-line on their site and share those stories with all of us.
Dad wasn’t what I would call athletic, though he is the raining ping pong champion of the Erion Clan! Not bad at 82, as second runner up, I should have challenged him to a rematch this year; I might have had a slight advantage, as his cane would have got in the way!
But he was a role model for staying fit for all of us… he got up everyday except Sunday at 6am, he would stop over for coffee and toast with the boys and staff at Gloria’s [coffee shop]. And then head down to the gym for a work out. This past year he and my Mom went to the “Y” together every day...
Dad was also a fan of Hockey Night in Canada. I’m not even sure he had a favorite team… he just loved the game. On Saturday nights when we lived in Batawa, he and his 4 kids would head over to the Cranstons' arena for the entertainment. This gave my Mother some much need time alone, but for me, I went along for the pop and chips and a chance to hang out with the boys!
Now this fact might surprise you… our Dad was an addict. No, not to food or drugs or alcohol, okay, I'll give you a clue, our bathrooms always had the daily newspaper and a pencil in them, these papers were also on his desk, the coffee table or kitchen table… they involved words, puzzles, clues… you know it, my Dad was a CROSSWORD junkie!!! And a master to boot! He told me recently that he thought “Memory FX” helped, but for sure the crosswords were keeping his mind sharp!
Another thing about Dad, this one I call a gift and I’m so fortunate to have inherited… Dad could, at the drop of a hat, or better yet the drop of his eyelids be asleep! Standing, seating, leaning, lying, even sometimes while you were in conversation with him! Boom he was out! He probably saw a few of you do that during his sermons too!
Now Dad didn’t watch much TV, but when the series MASH came out, it became his soap opera! And over the last couple of years whenever possible, everything stopped at 4:30 and he and Mom would watch the back-to-back reruns before going up to make dinner.
Dad loved a bowl of cereal before bed… a little warm milk and Quaker shredded wheat.
One more, dad could never whistle or sing very well for that matter, but he always had a little hum, we all knew he was happy and content when we heard that “little hum”.
He liked the odd glass of port or sherry, maybe a glass of white wine for a special occasion dinner, a cold beer on a hot day, even crown and ginger now and then. So the next time you’re having a beverage outside, take a moment and share a little libation to the ground in honor of a truly, truly fine man. The Ghanaians taught us that the spirits of our ancestors are beneath us to support us. So give a little toast by pouring the first sip of your drink onto the ground and know his spirit and memory will live on forever, his genes will continue for generations and his legacy of loving, sharing and caring will never die…
Thank you all for being apart of Dads life…you gave him purpose and reason…
We will all miss him incredibly…
In closing
A little lesson from my dad. When you look in someone’s eyes see God in them and when they look in your eyes be sure they see God in you. May God Bless you and keep you safe and smart.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
more wartime memories
I'm grateful to Bob Schimmell for this outline of Ed's wartime chronology - I knew of most of its parts but did not have the sequence of events clear.
Bob Shimmell reporting in. I was a Radar Mech with your Dad starting in May 1941, getting on the train at Hamilton, bound for Yarmouth N.S.. I went to UNB in Fredericton, while Ed went to another University in the Maritines. We went Overseas in the same convoy, and went to different Radar School in the U.K. We met up again at Gibraltar in 1942. Both on RAF Coastal Command Squadrons, Ed on 48 Sqdn and I on 233 Sqdn, sharing the same runway, half-mile-square Airfield, and similar deplorable living conditions. One bright light -- I joined up with the 2 "Reds", and two Canadian Radar Mechs from 79 Sqdn., I think, and we won the Basketball Championship of Gibraltar!!!!!
Our squadrons returned to U.K. and switched to Transport Command for the coming D-Day invasion. We were located in almost adjacent Airfields and when Canada decided to have its own Transport squadron, those of us who had been at Gib applied for relocation to 437 RCAF Squadron , and were accepted.
We spent the final 12 months of the War and our overseas service together. We had a great and congenial time under those conditions. Ed and I were good pals, even going out on double-dates with WAAFs, and the odd low-budget pub-crawl. (We weren't all that great as drinkers). Ed, Lofty Goodmanson and I were the three Flight Corporals, looking after about 33 Dakotas (with help from LAC Radar Mechs). We came home on the same Convoy--------------- after a few years of getting our separate lives straightened out, I located Ed up at Lively, and have kept in touch ever since. So, that's my introduction.
Ed was a great guy, and I wish to submit my most sincere condolences to Jean, Connie, You, and the grandchildren etc., etc. Ed obviously made his presence felt in the religious, and other, commmunities in the Sudbury area.
I will miss Ed because he is so wrapped up my memories of WWII, and the people I met under sometimes adverse conditions. There aren't very many of us left. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Bob Shimmell reporting in. I was a Radar Mech with your Dad starting in May 1941, getting on the train at Hamilton, bound for Yarmouth N.S.. I went to UNB in Fredericton, while Ed went to another University in the Maritines. We went Overseas in the same convoy, and went to different Radar School in the U.K. We met up again at Gibraltar in 1942. Both on RAF Coastal Command Squadrons, Ed on 48 Sqdn and I on 233 Sqdn, sharing the same runway, half-mile-square Airfield, and similar deplorable living conditions. One bright light -- I joined up with the 2 "Reds", and two Canadian Radar Mechs from 79 Sqdn., I think, and we won the Basketball Championship of Gibraltar!!!!!
Our squadrons returned to U.K. and switched to Transport Command for the coming D-Day invasion. We were located in almost adjacent Airfields and when Canada decided to have its own Transport squadron, those of us who had been at Gib applied for relocation to 437 RCAF Squadron , and were accepted.
We spent the final 12 months of the War and our overseas service together. We had a great and congenial time under those conditions. Ed and I were good pals, even going out on double-dates with WAAFs, and the odd low-budget pub-crawl. (We weren't all that great as drinkers). Ed, Lofty Goodmanson and I were the three Flight Corporals, looking after about 33 Dakotas (with help from LAC Radar Mechs). We came home on the same Convoy--------------- after a few years of getting our separate lives straightened out, I located Ed up at Lively, and have kept in touch ever since. So, that's my introduction.
Ed was a great guy, and I wish to submit my most sincere condolences to Jean, Connie, You, and the grandchildren etc., etc. Ed obviously made his presence felt in the religious, and other, commmunities in the Sudbury area.
I will miss Ed because he is so wrapped up my memories of WWII, and the people I met under sometimes adverse conditions. There aren't very many of us left. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
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