my Great Uncle 'Jerry' Southwick. Born April 30th, 1918 and passed away August 18th, 2012. He was 94 years old; his wife Ruth who was also a powerhouse of a different nature, passed away just a few years ago; they had been married for 68 years. They have many children, grand-children and great-grand-children!
At a recent family picnic over the memorial day weekend, there were four generations in attendance. He was loved by all of his family, and all of his family loved him.
One of his grand-daughters was moved to write a poem about/for him, and one of her brothers read it at the memorial service. A few family members played/sang music, which was very memorable, as many of them are musically talented.
Uncle Jerry was a true Christian, and lived his whole life serving others. He was remembered as being fairly stern to misbehavior, but almost never lost his temper or yelled. Often when a child would misbehave, his countenance would resemble a gathering thundercloud, but he wouldn't yell. After a period of prolonged silence, the child would end up begging to be yelled at, since the waiting was agonizing! He truly loved everyone, and pretty much everyone I knew loved him as well. He would minister to the needs of people in his church, including neighbors and the pastors of these churches, who were always very thankful for his help. Often I would see younger (and not so young) (including myself) men and women approach him and take him aside, and ask his advice about many different life subjects. I remember from family gatherings where he was present, noticing that there was 'something different' about him, and I knew that whatever that quiet presence and light was, I wanted to have that. Almost nobody else I had ever met had that presence, but I have been told that many who are true Christians and have a very strongly held belief, often have this quality about them. I wanted to be like him, and as I came to learn later on from the witness of others, many wanted to be just like him. We all agree that we all fall far short, but are very thankful that God let him be in our lives, and the many many people that he met and helped throughout his very long life. If there were more true Christians in the world today (not the ones who claim to be 'so' in today's society and are often worse than those who proclaim no belief) like he was, it's likely that more would seek out what it was that filled his life, and want to become Christians themselves. I have heard it said by non-believers that 'why should I try to become Christian, if most of them are hypocrites and are more worldly than the nicest non-believers?'. This is sad, but true that most who call themselves Christians today know nothing about what it really means to be one, including many pastors and priests; taking your body to church is meaningless if your mind and heart are more concerned with bank accounts, or filling pews and things like this. It is true that there really are very few true Christians, and I can't blame those who want nothing to do with it, based on what they have seen in the population today. Anyone having met Uncle Jerry could never say that there was anything unkind, unloving, cynical or insincere about him, even if they tried. I and many others will miss him very much.
There were family and friends who couldn't make the memorial service, so I took pictures of the handouts that were given to us at the beginning
josh southwick (one of the people listed on this page) is an
accomplished musician. He sang a different song than listed here,
which was wonderful. family, neighbors and friends all stood up to
share their remembrances
the above rules were the things taken from the Bible that both
Ruth and Jerry lived by, that their lives were based upon and
supported by
Lee 'Jerry' Southwick
after the service we all had southwick food, which was very good! and after this, we gathered at the home/farm of David Southwick, who had a very large planted willow tree that was invading their well. with the help of all (children included), they pulled and cut down and hauled away this very large tree. it was a very memorable event; I wish that I had been able to stay and visit with family more, but as usual I had to go back to work at the greenhouses in the evening to finish up my 'weekend duty'
thank you Uncle Jerry! take care and God Bless
At a recent family picnic over the memorial day weekend, there were four generations in attendance. He was loved by all of his family, and all of his family loved him.
One of his grand-daughters was moved to write a poem about/for him, and one of her brothers read it at the memorial service. A few family members played/sang music, which was very memorable, as many of them are musically talented.
Uncle Jerry was a true Christian, and lived his whole life serving others. He was remembered as being fairly stern to misbehavior, but almost never lost his temper or yelled. Often when a child would misbehave, his countenance would resemble a gathering thundercloud, but he wouldn't yell. After a period of prolonged silence, the child would end up begging to be yelled at, since the waiting was agonizing! He truly loved everyone, and pretty much everyone I knew loved him as well. He would minister to the needs of people in his church, including neighbors and the pastors of these churches, who were always very thankful for his help. Often I would see younger (and not so young) (including myself) men and women approach him and take him aside, and ask his advice about many different life subjects. I remember from family gatherings where he was present, noticing that there was 'something different' about him, and I knew that whatever that quiet presence and light was, I wanted to have that. Almost nobody else I had ever met had that presence, but I have been told that many who are true Christians and have a very strongly held belief, often have this quality about them. I wanted to be like him, and as I came to learn later on from the witness of others, many wanted to be just like him. We all agree that we all fall far short, but are very thankful that God let him be in our lives, and the many many people that he met and helped throughout his very long life. If there were more true Christians in the world today (not the ones who claim to be 'so' in today's society and are often worse than those who proclaim no belief) like he was, it's likely that more would seek out what it was that filled his life, and want to become Christians themselves. I have heard it said by non-believers that 'why should I try to become Christian, if most of them are hypocrites and are more worldly than the nicest non-believers?'. This is sad, but true that most who call themselves Christians today know nothing about what it really means to be one, including many pastors and priests; taking your body to church is meaningless if your mind and heart are more concerned with bank accounts, or filling pews and things like this. It is true that there really are very few true Christians, and I can't blame those who want nothing to do with it, based on what they have seen in the population today. Anyone having met Uncle Jerry could never say that there was anything unkind, unloving, cynical or insincere about him, even if they tried. I and many others will miss him very much.
There were family and friends who couldn't make the memorial service, so I took pictures of the handouts that were given to us at the beginning
josh southwick (one of the people listed on this page) is an
accomplished musician. He sang a different song than listed here,
which was wonderful. family, neighbors and friends all stood up to
share their remembrances
the above rules were the things taken from the Bible that both
Ruth and Jerry lived by, that their lives were based upon and
supported by
Lee 'Jerry' Southwick
after the service we all had southwick food, which was very good! and after this, we gathered at the home/farm of David Southwick, who had a very large planted willow tree that was invading their well. with the help of all (children included), they pulled and cut down and hauled away this very large tree. it was a very memorable event; I wish that I had been able to stay and visit with family more, but as usual I had to go back to work at the greenhouses in the evening to finish up my 'weekend duty'
thank you Uncle Jerry! take care and God Bless
