Beautiful View
Lightning, thunder, and torrential rain the night of July 9 seemed to prohibit the ceremony from being held outdoors on the west shore of Big Stone Lake the following day. When we arrived the next morning it was cold and rainy with a stiff breeze. The decision was made: The entire event, to begin at noon, would be held inside. Then at 11:30, a few patches of blue sky appeared, and soon the sky was clear. Bob, Mike, and Patrick scrambled to empty the canoe—two-thirds full of water—but it was impossible to clean it in time, so Patrick would have to paddle a pontoon while Bob did the honors later.
It was too late to move the indoor set-up, so the memorial service and luncheon were held in the lodge’s dining room.
Pastor Barbara McKewin of the Tabor United Methodist Church in Big Stone City opened with prayers and a wonderful remembrance of Helen. Even though the two had never met, Pastor Barbara had done her research by previously talking to members of our family and reading the entire memoir, Lost Without the River. When she spoke it seemed as though she’d known Helen for many years.
Then I read my eulogy, Bob gave a short talk about how he and Helen had bonded while traveling thousands of miles together, and Bill explained the Hoffbeck and Chaussee genealogies. John, who wasn’t able to attend, had written a poem in Helen’s honor which Bill read.
Fresh in many of our minds was the beautiful serenity of our sister Patt’s service that had been held in the same place several years earlier. On that day doves flew above the small raft that carried her ashes down the lake. Helen had asked for her service to be similar to Patt’s, a violinist playing the same songs and the same hymns being sung.
On this day, noisy fishermen vacated the adjacent dock only moments before the lakeside ceremony. As it began, a group of pelicans resting on the lake to the south paddled toward us. There was only the sound of nature as Pastor Barbara gave a blessing and Bob scattered the cremains following with ninety-two rose petals. As he did this, doves circled above. Then Mary released scores of butterflies that flew out as the violinist played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”