A FUNERAL SERVICE

based on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

A Celebration of Life MARIAN RUBINO NESSI [1920 + 2005]

at The Chapel of the Chimes, Hayward, CA - January 2, 2006

INTRODUCTORY MUSIC

The Priest: The Lord be with you.

The People: And with thy spirit.

The Priest: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The People: Christ, have mercy upon us.

The Priest: Let us pray

Into thy hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend the soul of thy servant, now departed from the body. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech thee, a sheep of thine own redeeming. Receive MARIAN RUBINO NESSI into the arms of thy mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the Saints in light. Who livest and reignest, world without end.

The People: Amen.

The Priest: Let us pray

O God who hast bidden us to honour our father and mother: of thy mercy have compassion on the soul of this mother and wife, forgive her sins, and grant that we may behold her in the joy of eternal brightness. Through thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

The People: Amen.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

A. A READING OF PSALM 23

B. THE BENEDICTUS

[recited by the People in two choirs:]

1.   Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people;

2.   And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, in the house of his servant David;

3.   As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been since the world began;

          that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hands of all that hate us.

4.   To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

5.   To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, that he would give us;

6.   That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies that might serve him without fear;

7.   In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

8.   And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

9.   To give knowledge of salvation unto his people for the remission of their sins,

10. Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;

11. To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death,  and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

12. Rest eternal grant unto MARIAN O Lord. And let light perpetual shine upon her.

C. THE GOSPEL: LUKE 15/4-7

MEMORIES AND TRIBUTES

D. HOMILY by Fr. Ariosto Coelho

E. "TRIBUTES" by Anyone Who Wants

PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS

The Priest: The Lord be with you.

The People: And with thy spirit.

The Priest: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The People: Christ, have mercy upon us.

The Priest: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Priest: Our Father,

The People: who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

[The Priest may sprinkle the body with holy water and say] O Merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life; in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though she die; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in him, shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us, by his holy apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for those who sleep in him; We humbly beseech thee, O Father, to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him; and that, at the general Resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight; and receive that blessing, which thy well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all who love and fear thee, saying, Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this, we beseech thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer.

The People: Amen.

The Priest: The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant; Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

The People: Amen.

The Priest: Rest eternal grant unto her O Lord.

The People: And let light perpetual shine upon her.

The Priest: May she rest in peace.

The People: Amen.

The Priest: May the Angels lead thee into Paradise; and the Martyrs receive thee at thy coming and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.

The People: May the choirs of Angels receive thee, and mayest thou, with Lazarus once poor, have everlasting rest.

The Priest: May her soul, Z and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

The People: Amen.

CONCLUDING HYMN:/MUSIC

Salve Regina sung in Latin by Fr. Coelho

Marie Elvidge at the Inspiration Chapel in Napa, CA

meditates by the coffin  of Marie Katevecs [1910 + 2004]

A TRIBUTE TO A WONDER OF LOVE

MARIE LYMAN ELVIDGE [1913-2007]

Crosby-N. Gray & Co Funeral Chapel

Burlingame CA. December 16, 2007

The Third Sunday of Advent

Marie, welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven,

"for whatsoever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did that to me"

says the Lord. [Mt 25/35]

THE HOMILY by Fr. Ariosto Coelho

Dear Family, Friends and Neighbors of Marie,

Thank you for responding to the invitation "to attend a prayer and a blessing" [San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 15, 2007, B5] for Marie Lyman Elvidge. I’ve prayed for Marie in the company of her dearest family and friends every October 29, her birthday, since 1994. As we pray for her today, I want to remind all of us what "a prayer and a blessing" Marie has been to all.

A Prayer

Very simply I define prayer as breathing with attention and intention. Marie has breathed over five hundred million breaths since her first breath at Farmersville, IL on October 29, 1913. As I traveled with Marie over the years, I’ve heard her describe to me and share with me many of her breaths: • learning from her parents as a child: breaths of fun and freedom; • graduating and serving as a nurse: breaths of accomplishment and service; • marriage to James David: breaths of love, romance and sacrifice; • raising Larry, Ollen, Wanda and Kevin: Best Breaths of acceptance, responsibility, commitment, surrender and happiness; • retirement: breaths of further fun and freedom with grand children, especially Vernee and Karina, and all who came in contact with her • cooking: breaths of nurturing care, dedication and presence • traveling: breaths in Alaska [‘99], Mexico [‘00], Italy [‘02], Sicily, [06], ... • shopping: breaths of curiosity, generosity and anxiety; • gardening: breathing with and sharing plants, bulbs, flowers, seeds, pots, insects, experience, expertise, ... Consciously or not Marie breathed God’s Breath/Spirit seventeen thousand times every single day. She was attentive to God’s ways and her intentions were always the best. What a Prayer!

A Blessing

If grieving River, her last faithful canine companion since 1993 who along with Charo witnessed her last breath in Burlingame on December 12, could speak, I wonder what he would say to us! I know what my wife Vivian has said: "It’s been my honor to have Marie as my best friend from the day my son was born 27 years ago. I do not know how I’m going to live without my girl." I’ve read a number of email messages my wife has received from people who met Marie in Italy, Sicily, and elsewhere. They all shared that Marie was an amazing 94 year-old woman who lived life to the full. My sister Sylvia, who visited Marie in 1997 and with whom she continued corresponding over these years, called me from Goa, India, last night and said "Marie was very special. She was a wonderful woman" and, if I may add, A Wonder of Love!

Terry, a skillful carpenter but homeless and without a steady job, experienced first hand Marie’s care. It did not matter to her whether Terry was a criminal, an addict, or in and out of jail. She genuinely loved him. She continued to send him cigarettes wherever he was, simply because she loved him. Marie accompanied me all over the Bay Area as we ministered in convalescent homes and reached out to people with or without a religious affiliation. Marie had no difficulty in communicating and showed a genuine interest in their needs. Little wonder then that Walter Marston, who participated in my wedding to Vivian as the Best Man along with Marie as the Maid of Honor, wrote "She was such a lovely lady. I always admired her. She was old, but she was young at heart. Always with a smile, and always with a word of encouragement. Always ready to be of help to others. Oh yes, if anyone deserves the welcome words of Our Heavenly Father, it is Marie. Welcome my good and faithful servant, enter into the kingdom prepared for you." What a Blessing!

Today, may the wonder of Marie’s love be reflected in our faces and in our lives. May she reach out to us in our sorrow and offer consolation. Please allow me to conclude this homily and eulogy by sharing the concluding verse from the Epistle of today’s liturgy according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which Marie prayed while at St. John’s Anglican Catholic Church in Hayward since 1997. "Now, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost," Spirit or Breath. [Rom 15/13]