Ankeny Memorial
The memorial in Ankeny at the Fairfield Inn was a wonderful event. About 75 people came to pay tribute to Pat. Many of them were students of Pat’s and/or clients of Kathy’s. Several stood to tell of how Pat influenced them. This bulletin board of family pictures was on display at the memorial. It was in Pat’s office directly in front of his desk, where he could look at it.
We started with an introduction of the family members that were present. First Pat’s children were introduced – Jim, Mimi, and Carol. They spoke of their Dad and introduced those that were with them. Then Kathy was introduced with here children who were present – Mark, Suzanne, and Chris.
Two musician friends of Pat and Kathy played their flute and crystal bowls. Very inspiring and professional.
Shelley Schmidt, Pat’s daughter-in-law read the 23rd Psalm. I (Bill Schmidt, Pat’s brother) conducted the program. I selected a couple of Pat’s favorite song’s: John Denver’s “On the Wings of a Dream” and Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World”. Here’s a link to Denver’s song.
I read a poem “Death is like the End of a Beautiful Song” by Rev. Carrie Lauer. I am including it here.
A person brings into our life a certain sound
like no other sound we have heard before
We are engaged in the melody, tone and rhythm
we are emancipated from the day to day for
one brief moment in time,
Then the song ends and the depth of silence left behind
leaves a longing in our heart, a ringing in our ears
and a wish for one more note.
After the sharing of stories about how Pat influenced us, we went to a nearby park and released helium filled balloons. This was a wish of Pat’s, as a way to demonstrate our releasing him to his next life.
You can view pictures of the Ankeny memorial by clicking the Photo Ankeny link on the navigation bar at the top of this page.