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Funeral Transcript for Katherine Ada Church 1929-2018
Funeral Transcript for Katherine Ada Church May 10, 2018 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2000 Artesia Blvd., Torrance, CA 90504 Scott Nakamoto: Bishop of the Malaga Cove Ward We are gathered here today to reflect and celebrate the
life of Katherine Conley, an extremely special woman to all of us. She has
touched the lives of each and every one of you who are sitting in the
congreation today in a special way. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you
from the Conley family for being here today. As I look out into the
congregation I can't help but feel each of your spirits and how they all add
collectively to the wonderful feeling that we are feeling today. Without a
doubt Sister Conley's love for the Lord, love for her family and friends and
love for life will cause an outpouring of love as we remember her in the
service today. This is a love no doubt all of us will feel. We will start
our service with an opening hymn, hymn number 125, "How Gentle God's
Commands", after which our invocation will be given by Brother Richard
Tingey. 1. How gentle God's commands! How kind his precepts are! Come, cast your burdens on the Lord And trust his constant care. 2. Beneath his watchful eye, His Saints securely dwell; That hand which bears all nature up Shall guard his children well. 3. Why should this anxious load Press down your weary mind? Haste to your Heav'nly Father's throne And sweet refreshment find. 4. His goodness stands approved, Unchanged from day to day; I'll drop my burden at his feet And bear a song away. Invocation - Richard Tingey Ashley Mason: I'd like to thank everyone for coming
today. As Bishop said, my name is Ashely Mason and Kathy was my
grandma. Katherine Ada Church was born on September 28, 1929 in Santa
Monica. She grew up in the Los Angeles area with her two brothers,
Floyd Lee and Kenneth Tennis Church. She had a happy childhood and
often spoke fondly of the memories she had from growing up. I wish I
knew more of those stories. She was married to my grandpa, Arthur Lee
Conley, we called him Papa. They were married for 64 years and they
raised three sons, Kenny, Shane and Lance. My dad is Shane. When
I was talking to my grandma just at Christmas, we were going through some
family history papers and I remember asking her how they met and she said
that when they were dating Papa's family told her it wouldn't last. She
said, you know, we proved them all wrong. They were married for 64
years so that's an amazing example that she set. My grandma was a hardworking woman.
She earned her college degree and she worked in the cosmetology field for
more than 50 years. She loved to be busy. She didn't sit still well.
She loved her work, she loved her friends and she loved her students.
Although she often said she would retire "in a few years," we all knew she
would work for as long as she possibly could. And so she did. After I
graduated high school I went to El Camino College for a year and I got to
work there. She got me a job in the cosmetology department so I got to
go to work with her a couple of days a week and see her. I just
remember that she really came alive when she was at work there. She
really lit up, she was happy, a bright shining light in the room and you
could tell that she was just a happy person. Her students loved her
and she loved them and I think going to work everyday helped keep her young.
My grandma was spunky. I don't think there's a better word to describe
her. She was spunky. I'll always remember her spunky style and
her personality. I remember she would get dressed up to go out and
come over to say goodbye to us before she left and show off her leopard
print leggings and her sparkly earrings and her pink and purple wisps in her
hair. She was just amazing that way. I'll always remember it. She was a woman who could do it all.
She could cook and she could sew, she could shoot a gun and water ski.
Well, she used to water ski, it's probably been a few years. She liked
to try new things and was adventurous but she was also a creature of habit.
Every week she had her hair done, at the salon every Saturday, and every two
weeks she would get her nails done. She went to the Elk's every Saturday for
tacos with my grandpa and her family and friends. And every Sunday she made
us dinner. We had family dinner with her every Sunday. I think
for some people a grandma is somebody they don't get to see all the time.
Somebody that, you know, sends them a card on their birthday or they see in
pictures on the wall. But for the four of us, her grandkids, she was
our neighbor. She lived just right next door, we saw her everyday.
She was a part of our lives and we were so blessed for that. I remember when
I was little I used to go over, just 10 steps from our backdoor to hers, in
the mornings I would go over and steal her cereal. She always had better
cereal than we did- I would go over and she would always say "whatever you
want, help yourself." So I would go over and eat breakfast in the mornings
or if we were ever making cookies and needed an egg we knew grandma would
have one in her fridge. So I didn't really understand how unusual that
was, or how lucky we were. But as a grownup I've learned we were blessed to
have her so close and have her in our lives everyday. I also remember
crawling up on her couch when we would go over to say goodnight to grandma.
Before bed we would walk over and crawl up on her couch and tell her a
little about our day and say goodnight, and give her a big hug. One of
the things I'll always remember, too, was she would take off her glasses and
give me butterfly kisses with her eyelashes-it is a fond memory. I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful
memories with my grandma, but I think that above all I will always remember
that when I was with her I always felt like she loved me, no matter what.
She was a woman who exuded kindness, love and acceptance to all. She
was an amazing woman and she will be dearly missed. She was a very
special woman and I am honored to call her my grandma. Carolyn Cook: I thank you all for being here. My
name is Carolyn Cook and I was Aunt Kathy's favorite niece. There were
two important women in my life. My mother, Georgia Belle Church, and
mothers are always important. And there was Aunt Kathy. Aunt
Kathy, she was my mentor. If I had to say I patterned my life after
anyone, it was after Aunt Kathy. She taught me through her actions how
to treat family and friends and how to be a good friend, and a good grandma,
and a good aunt. She was wonderful. As a special memory, the
family was down at Salt and Sea for a camping trip. Shane was there
and Kenny and Lance and my grandparents were there, mom and pop, and I ended
up bringing two friends with me, which I didn't even tell Aunt Kathy I was
going to do. I just showed up with 2 friends and my daughter, and she never
blinked. She said "well, if they are friends of yours, they are
friends of mine. Come on in." And she took them in and fed them, fed
us, took us water skiing. No matter who you were she took you in.
She was a wonderful, caring, giving woman. I would have to say her
special talent was making you feel that you were really, really important to
her. When I would go down, I would spend a lot of my summers down-we
lived in the LA area also, but she was closer to the beach-so I would come
and stay with her at the beach, and she always made me feel like I was
really, really special to her. That I really was her favorite niece,
no matter what. She made you feel that way, and I know she made my
daughter feel that way-that you were really special. That was her
talent-to make you feel really special. If I had to classify her, I
would say she was a classy, classy lady in every sense of the word. The way
she dressed, the way she carried herself, the way she treated people, the
way she raised her family. She was a class act. She really was, all
the way. I would like to say, Aunt Kathy, say hi to the gang up there.
I know you're up there with them. I love you. I miss you
already, bye. Eli Conley: I know that I loved grandma because she
always made me come to her and let her take pictures. And she gave me hugs
and kisses. She sent me cards on Christmas and Valentine's day and
Halloween and my birthday. I'm sad that she's gone, but I know that
I'll see her again. I love her very much. In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen. Joshua Conley: Hi. My name is Josh, that was my son, Eli. He'll be 5 in a couple of weeks. Eli: Less than a week. Josh: That's right-he's correct. It's in 6 days. Eli: in 6 days Josh: He really wanted to let
everyone know how much he loves his great grandma. He wanted to do it
for his great grandpa, too, back in August. He's definitely loved by
each of them and I'm so lucky to know that they were there and that they
cared for him and that they loved him and that they got a chance to feel his
love too. I was digging through some pictures, looking at memories and
a lot of time has passed from when I was little and when I was around her
all the time and some of the images that you see just flicker and turn on a
memory. One of the ones I saw was a picture of her Z car. I
don't know how many of you remember her z car, but she had a white Nissan
240Z, and I'm sure she knew how to drive it. But on the license plate it had
a license plate frame that said, "To know me is to love me." And just
like that. I think many of us in here can attest that that was true.
Her life was full and wonderful and whenever I picture her in my mind, I
always hear her smiling and I hear her laughing. As my sister, Ashley,
explained. For us 4 grandkids, she was always there-she lived right next
door and that was a huge blessing for us to have her so close. It was
a shock to hear that she had passed. We had seen her recently and it was
just one of those things that we were not ready for. It's hard to say
goodbye. But even though she left us unexpectedly, she did it in one
of the best ways I can imagine. She was out to dinner, she was
shopping, she was getting ready for work. All those things that kept
her going-they helped her live such a long and full and wonderful life.
When I think about her life it is easy for me to see that she knew a secret.
I don't think, for her, she would ever admit that she knew a secret because
it was totally natural, it was just who she was. But she knew a secret
about how to be happy and how to make others feel happy. I think she
also had a technique and a skill to find the moments in life that mattered.
To find a hint of something enjoyable and to tease into something better and
better. And then to cease those moments and savory each and every drop of
joy and adventure and bling and beauty. And to her, I think it was
like a fuel that kept her going, and it was inspiring to watch, even in
retrospect. I think when the tank started to run low, there was always
something new on the horizon. For me, looking back, it's a source of energy
and a source of inspiration and it just comes from the way that she lived
her life. I want to hear her nails tap on our back door with her friendly
greeting of knock knock as she would just come on in. I think
she left us in the most capable and strong fashion that I can imagine.
I know that we share a family bond, we share bonds as friends, and those
bonds bring us together in a unified spirit today. Thank you all for
being here and for helping to uplift us in this time. I recall a story from
my youth, particularly about my youngest sister, Lauren, who had seen a
picture of Kathy's mom, Grandma Pearl, and before being instructed or
knowing who she was, Lauren knew who she was. She said, that's my
grandma Pearl, she used to take care of me in heaven before I came down.
I think the family bond that we share is strong and I think it will
continue. We will know each other forever and we will love each other
forever. And now Kathy, Grandma, she is back with Grandma Pearl, with
her dad, with her 2 sons, with papa, with all her loved ones and I know
she'll be waiting for us. She leaves an empty space-one that I don't
want anyone else to fill. It's a space that I'll keep for her.
But I know that when it feels too empty, I can think of her, I can remember,
and a moment, a memory, and I can invite that warmth, that joy and I can
have it come in a fill that void. I think that if we take a moment
every now and then to reflect on who she was and how she impacted our lives
we can let her love and her warmth come in and wrap us. She had an
infectious laugh-it was great to be able to see her living life and enjoying
it. As I think about her I remember her fondness for several things,
but one that stands out in particular was for her work and for her students.
She loved the kids and the people she worked with and you could see it in
the way that she talked about it. My sister, Ashley, said she was
spunky, and she was. She had a feisty spirit and a zest for fun and
adventure. I would constantly find myself in awe as I would listen to
some of her stories and adventures. As I have come here to be with
family, I've had a chance to look through many photos, I was able to learn a
lot more about her that I hadn't even known before. She loved to
travel and lots of her pictures were from adventures she would go on with
art, with papa and with her kids, her family. She had a timeshare in Maui, a
timeshare in Las Vegas. She talked about trips to Big Bear, to the
high desert in the Sierra valley. Cruises to Alaska or Florida, the
Bahamas. Stories about pismo beach and _____+. She was, as my sister
also mentioned, very capable. She could keep up with anything that the boys
could bring in. Whether it was on the end of a fishing line or the end
of a spear, or from the latest hunt, she knew how to take care of it and it
was something that their family always enjoyed. Sunday family dinners
were also mentioned but I think this is one of my most beloved traditions
that I can remember. There was a parade of food and dessert every
Sunday from her back door to ours-her front door to our back door.
After dinner papa would usually go back to watch his sports program of
choice and grandma would stick around and chat and we would get to talk to
her and laugh with her and usually one of the grandkids would be under the
table, tying her shoes together and she would, of course, pretend that she
didn't know anything about it. Grandma, she always knew what was up,
she knew what we were doing in our lives. She was asking what we did
all the time, and she just loved being with us. Another fond memory I
have was the luxury of having a second Christmas every year. We would
get to unwrap presents at our house and a little while later we would
remember that we hadn't quite seen all the presents that we had peeked at
before in her house, and we would go back over to her house and unwrap them.
She worked in cosmetology for so long none of us really ever had to go
anywhere to get haircuts. I remember fondly sitting in the driveway
with an apron or a cape and getting a haircut in the driveway, or in her
kitchen sink when i was really young. I remember her furs and her bling.
She loved the little luxuries. My son, Eli, mentioned that he would
always get cards from her, and this morning he opened his birthday card that
she had already prepared for him before she passed. She always was
intentional and she planned those things out because they were important to
her. My wife's birthday is today and she got a card in the mail.
My parents forwarded it to her, but it was ready. My brother's
birthday was 2 days ago, his card was ready and waiting for him. She
used to take us to school. After her z car she had a Toyota Supra
Celica. We loved riding to school with her in the morning. We
were really blessed to have her in our lives. She lived a model life.
She's had a lot of fun and she's taught me how to look for it, how to find
it. And as I think of her and as i remember her I'll always think of
her smile and her laugh and how they helped to uplift me, how they helped to
teach me that life is about being happy and having joy. I don't think
that there could have been a better teacher for that. I love my
grandma, Kathy, and I'll fondly remember her and I'll invite her in always
to fill me with love. I thank all of you for your support, for your love and
pray that she'll be there to uplift you and to warm you when you need it. I
share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Jereme Conley: I'm Jereme. As a child I was fortunate to have the unique opportunity to have my grandparents for next door neighbors. This is an experience that I'm sure many children, and grandparents for that matter, would give nearly anything to have. It was a blessing that I'm sure I took for granted on many occasions but one that I would not ever trade. The memories are so many that I can't share them all but there are some that I want to share. When I think of Grandma, there are two words that come to mind, and those two words are unconditional and love. She loved everyone no matter who, no matter what, no matter when and I have never met another person with the same capacity to love as her. She loved everything about life. She loved her pets, she loved her job, especially the young people that she got to interact with. She loved her cars, and she loved adventures. She loved to travel, but above all she loved her family. Her children were her pride and her joy and it showed. She loved my mother like her own daughter and she loved her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren equally. I can't tell you how many times she recounted to me an experience where she got to brag about her grandchildren when I talked to her on the phone or when I would go visit her after school, or when I was home visiting from college or anytime. "I got to brag about my grandchildren today" she would say. Her family brought her joy. Grandma brought us joy too. Only a few months ago I was standing here sharing memories about papa. He loved his adventures and I've been going through photos with Josh and everybody else and you better believe that every adventure that Papa went on grandma was right there too. Ashley mentioned the water skiing, the fishing, shooting guns, or going flying with papa. Anything that he did she was right there and keeping up with him. I remember being very small, maybe four or five years old, when she would come from work she would park her little white Toyota Supra Celica in the garage and I would run out there and sit in the driver's seat and I would pretend to drive the car. I loved to do that. One day she was out there in the garage talking to me and I asked her what the emergency brake was for. It was a little lever down on the side of the car and i didn't know what it did, so i asked her "what does this do?" and she said "well, that's the emergency brake. If you ever need to stop suddenly and your brakes don't work you just grab that and pull it up and you'll slow down." I thought that was pretty neat. The next day I was out playing in that car and I accidentally knocked it out of gear, into neutral, and it started rolling forward, and I remembered that she said "if you ever need to stop you pull this lever and you'll stop." So I did, I pulled that lever up. I didn't crash the car into the end of the garage. And I don't think any of you have ever heard that story before. I tried to think about how many different colors grandma had in her hair. Various shades of red, pink, blonde, a combination of the two, rainbow striped on at least one occasion, blue, green, and I'm probably leaving a lot out. But she had a flare for style and nobody else could pull it off like grandma did. One of my favorite memories of her is from when I was in high school. I was a sophomore in high school and, as Josh said, she used to cut our hair. I was sitting in her kitchen and she was cutting my hair using the clippers and as she got towards the front-I was kind of having a little but of a buzz cut-she was going and she put some pressure right here, and the guard fell off the clippers and it cut me right down to the scalp. The hair was gone for a strip about that big. Being a sophomore in high school, I was devastated, I wasn't going to go to school the next day, I was so upset. And poor grandma, she was mortified. She was more upset than I was. But you know, she apologized and everything was fine. When I went to school the next day, I got teased for my hair. But, you know what, I told them, "you know what? my grandma cuts my hair" and they didn't tease me for very long when I explained what happened. And we all had a good laugh about it. I look back and that is one of my favorite memories. When I was a junior in high school the next year, a couple of friends and I decided that we were going to ditch school one day and go to the LA auto show. None of us had a car that would fit all of us in the car, but grandma had this nice red Cadillac and she let me borrow her car. She actually gave me permission to borrow her car. Now, this red Cadillac had static cling stickers on it that were flowers and little birds and you guys can image. So I drove this red Cadillac through downtown LA trying to get to the convention center to go to the auto show. And we ended up getting lost in downtown LA in my grandma's red Cadillac, in crypt territory. I was happy to make it home that day. I knew that if I ever needed anything I could call grandma. She sacrificed for everyone around her, that was just who she was. Without fail, birthday cards, Christmas cards, Valentine's day cards, or any other holiday, the cards would show up with a beautiful handwritten note and some money. As Josh mentioned, she already had cards made up for us for the beginning part of March. For myself, for Josh's wife, for Elijah. She was just so thoughtful. Grandma marched to the beat of her own drum. With everything about grandma she did it her own was, and her way was a great way to do it. Her sense of style is something I will never forget. The velour tracksuits, the furs, the hats, the makeup, the tattooed eyebrows. Whatever it was, everything that grandma did, she did it her own way and she did it because she loved it. She loved her family. The day before she passed away she was at the cardiologist and she was given a clean bill of health. In the morning, she got up, did her morning routine, got ready for work, laid down on the bed, for maybe a nap, and that's how my dad found her. She must have really wanted to see Art, and Kenny and Lance. She missed her boys. The last time I talked to her she told me how much she missed her boys. I know that I'm a better person for
having known her. I know that I've been blessed by her my entire life.
If I'm ever in a situation where I'm not having nice thoughts about someone
or something, I ask myself, "Now, how would grandma handle this situation?
What would grandma say? What would grandma do?" And that's the part of
her legacy that will carry on for a long time. She helped teach me how
to love everyone, no matter what. I'm going to miss her laugh.
I'm going to miss her smile. I'm going to miss her birthday cards. But
I know that she's happy now, and that we'll see her again. I'm going
to miss her, as I'm sure anyone who knew her will. But if we remember
the lessons we learned from her example, we are going to be better people
and that's very special. There are just a few of my many, many
memories that I have of her. I'm happy to be able to share them with
you today. I share them with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Shane Conley: As you can tell, my mom was something special. I have a few other things to say. Proverbs 12 verse 4 says "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" and I might add, to her family. My mother was a virtuous woman. Things weren't always that good for her. My older brother was troubled, as my cousins know, and caused a lot of strife in our family. When I was in 7th or 8th grade I was a real smart-aleck, imagine that. One day when I was in the kitchen I smarted off to her. She picked me up and threw me against the wall and said you'll never do that to me again. I know you guys can't believe that about grandma, I know you can't believe that about my mom, but she did. She picked me up and threw me against the wall and said, "don't ever talk to me like that again." And I was just smarting off. Kind of contradicts all that love, huh? She was a human being, she was personable, fun to be around. I want to remember to thank everyone who has come. My church family, all you who are members of our church. Gambys, who has been wonderful, who have put both of my brothers, my father, and now my mother. Cousins on both sides, my Church family-my mother's maiden name was Church, so I have a church family and a Church family, and my Conley side, for being here, it's wonderful to have you. People from SCROC, she loved it at SCROC, she really did. ELCO, El Camino College, she was there. She went to school there, she got her cosmetology license there, she stayed there and worked. I used to go there and get my haircut when I was a teenager. Friends here and there. My wife. My wife and her were close. On the way over here we were talking about it and I think she was closer to my mom than I was. 35 years ago we made the plan of being together and it has paid off, as you can tell from my children how wonderful it was for them to be next to their grandparents. To see my parents in action, to be with them. My mom loved some things. She loved Sunday dinners, as you can tell, we all loved them. She loved my dad, despite all of his weaknesses. My cousins know he wasn't a perfect human being, that's for sure, none of us are. She loved pets. My mom had cats, dogs, if we brought home snakes or lizards, she wasn't a fan of that, no spiders, can't bring spiders home, she hated spiders. I always had lizards-I loved the lizards when I was a kid, we had them all the time. She would once in a while hold one, but she didn't like to hold the snakes, that wasn't her thing. We had turtles, that was a part of life, we had to have turtles. Lately she's taken to my dog, Jake, who is like 9 years old. When my dad was still alive, every morning I'd come in from walking the dog and he has to go get his treat from Grandma. I'd tap on the door and Papa would say "your buddy's here! You better get up and get him taken care of him." So Jake would get his treats, and that always made her happy. He would go in after my dad died, and even before sometimes, if she didn't get up right away, she was sitting on the couch watching tv or reading her newspaper or something, he'd start howling at her, wagging his tail and he'd bounce back to the cupboard. "Ok, Ok I'm coming." She didn't get along too well in the last few years, she had trouble getting up and down, but she had to have those treats for him every day. She loved to travel. My dad referred to her as a gypsy. He says, "Your Mom's half gypsy." She just wanted to go all the time. Anytime there was a day off from school we had to go somewhere, it didn't matter. Even when I was a kid we'd take off on a Saturday and just drive. She's been many, many places in the world and looked forward to going to more places. The kids all talked about that. Some of my favorite memories, 1960 we went to Mt. Rushmore with my cousin Carolyn and her dad, and sister and everybody. We had a 1960 Pontiac and we put a trailer behind it and she drove. My dad wasn't along. We took off. We went to Mt. Rushmore. If you've ever been to Mt. Rushmore, there's a tunnel that's cut through the hill and it's not very big. And so here we are, we have these mirrors that are, you know, sticking way out for a trailer and, you were in the car with us weren't you? (Carolyn-yeah) hit one of those mirrors on the side and came in and broke the wing on my dad's brand-new car. She was devastated, "oh papas gonna kill me!" And of course, there's no cell phones, we had to stop and make a phone call, and we shouldn't have ever even been on that. Side note, when I was in college I went on a singing tour and we went through that same thing in the bus, that same tunnel and we hit something going through and everybody screamed. That was an interesting trip, we covered a lot of ground. I got lost in the parking lot at Mt. Rushmore. They walked off and left me, so I went back to the car and stood at the car and waited and they finally came back and got me. We went on the way home from there we stopped at Yellowstone, either on the way home or back, and they left the window down in the car. And if you know anything about Yellowstone in the 60's there was a lot of bears. And this little brown bear cub decided he needed to be in that car. Scrappy-put a hole in the upholstery, and my uncle, Floyd Lee, he walked over and I can still see this, and we're talking 1960, so I'm 6 years old, and I can still see him walking over there and he opens the door, "get out!" and that bear kind of went like this and walked his way on out. That was a fun trip. Also on that same trip, they used to have a lot of grizzly bears in Yellowstone, they still have them back now, but they had one in the big cage that they'd caught it in. and her (Carolyn) mother says, "well, let's go look at the bear. Let's see the bear" and I can still feel the roar that that bear threw. He was at the back of that cage and in one bounce he was at the front and roared and I can still feel that today on my face. I was frozen and of course everyone just laughed, she thought that was the funniest thing in the world. You gotta understand that, my mom was like, "oh yeah, yeah, sure you shouldn't have done that." 1962 we went to the Seattle world's fair. We had a brand-new truck and camper. My mom, she just thought nothing of getting in the car and going. It didn't matter if my dad wasn't along, the kids were in the back, or some of us rode in the front, and we'd lay in the back and sleep, we could watch out the front, we didn't have seatbelts, it didn't matter. We had a grand old time. We came back and met my dad in near Lake Tahoe after that trip. Surfing trips, we'd load surf boards into that truck and camper and take off and go surfing in it. Everybody would go. My older brother wanted to surf and all the guys in the 60's, we had a great time. We never missed time to go to the Indio Day festival, Washington's birthday down in Indio. Flowers. My mother loved plants and flowers. I've still got plants and flowers all over the place that I've got to take care of. She loved bright, colorful things. You saw the viewing, you saw her beautiful, bright dress she had on, she just loved beautiful things. You know, she had three or four earrings-at least 3 or 4 earrings on each side. You know, she's 80 years old and she's got all these earrings. And it's great. What a great memory Holidays. Family and friends. We couldn't get by without having somebody over during Christmas or Thanksgiving. One family or another, there was times when my brother's friends would live with us for a short period of time. We had cousins live with us for a short period of time. A couple of years I think. During the Vietnam war, when she was at El Camino, there was a Vietnamese girl that was there, that was during the Vietnam war, and she came and spent Christmas with us and I don't even remember the girls name but she was Vietnamese, and I thought, well that's really weird, we're at war with these people, why are we having this Vietnamese person here? But my mom loved people. And if someone needed something she was there for them. You can tell. How do you say goodbye to someone that you love so much? Was such a part of your life. Even before we built the houses together we spent every Sunday at their house. Before the kids were born, before we ever built the houses we would go to my mom and dad's house to have dinner and then go to Becky's mom and dad's house to spend the evening, and then come home. We were so blessed to have that there. And that example. I knew that I didn't have to worry about my kids. I knew that I didn't have to worry about anything. That they were there and that love was always there. You felt it when you walked into the house. Friends who've come, I'm sorry I'm a crier, that's the way it goes. I guess the way that you say goodbye to someone you love so much is that you live your life the way that she would have lived. It's a proper tribute to her and as you can tell, my children are doing that. It is a proper tribute to my mother, who was a special lady. And I think that those of you who knew her felt the same way. She always made you feel special, she was always happy. She lost my two brothers in the time we lived there together. When my first brother died she said "You're not supposed to outlive your kids." And when my older brother passed away, we all felt the same way. But she took it as a classy lady, she understood it. It's a part of life. None of us are ever going to get by without passing through that portal. But what matters is how we live our lives today and how we treat our friends and our family and our loved ones. That's what matters the most. I love you all. I appreciate you being here. I love my church family who is here, I love my Church family who is there, I love my Conley family who is here, I'm grateful for you to be here. You mean a lot to us. I love my wife who has done so much. She has out this whole thing together. She has taken care of me and I'm not always the easiest person to take care of. She has been my mother's confidant. I think they planned things behind my back sometimes. (Becky-everyday)-ha! Everyday! Everyday. She's going to miss my mom as much or more than I am. They were that close. I remember after my dad died Becky always made sure my mom was taken care of food wise. She checked on her in the morning, she checked on her in the afternoon, as we all did. I'm grateful to you, sweetheart. I love you. Thank you for being here. Bishop, thank
you. Music people, thank you very much. Music is an important
part of my life, an important part of our church. I want you to know how
much I appreciate all that you've done and I ask our heavenly father's
richest blessings to be upon each and every one of you for having been here,
and known her. And I do so in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ,
Amen. Bishop Scott Nakamoto: Brothers and sisters, I can't think of sweeter comments than those that were shared today. I think we all feel a little bit of comfort and love and renewed strength by the thoughts and memories that were shared today by her family. Just a couple of comments. As each of us grieve, we grieve in different ways over the loss of a loved one. And the Lord provides us tender mercies that help us in trying times. And the Lord's tender mercies that help us are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving kindness, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from, because and through the Lord, Jesus Christ. I think one of those tender mercies that are given to us is in the way of loving, personal, vivid memories of our loved ones as we were able to experience and reflect on today. I think these are the memories we can always remember. These memories will bring us peace and happiness. I'm sure each of us here has a favorite story that can make us chuckle or shed a tear or bring a smile to our face. I think another way the Lord gives us these tender mercies are like the family mentioned, to reflect and to remember those distinct attributes of those who have passed on. Those things that have affected us personally and have made an impact on our lives. Just sitting here, the spunkiness comes to mind, the sense of humor, the kindness and love and the style that Kathy possessed. What impressed me the most was the closeness of family and how important that is. How precious that closeness is. A few months ago my wife and I had the privilege of visiting the Conley home just prior to the passing of Kathy's beloved husband, Art. As we sat in their home I felt of her sweet spirit and extreme love that she had for her husband. She was so welcoming, and so cordial to us, and she repeatedly expressed her gratitude to us for being there, even when it was a real tough time for her. That was the kind of person that Kathy was. She was a kind and loving individual with a heart of gold. This was so apparent by what was shared today. She was truly a beautiful person inside and out. And these are the characteristics that each of us can emulate and reflect on as we think of her wonderful life. As I contemplated again on those tender mercies of the Lord, I am thankful for a special plan, a special plan called the plan of salvation. This is a plan that gives us hope. A plan that started by all of us coming to earth and being given the opportunity to gain earthly experiences, to live and to grow and to progress by decisions in our mortal life. This special plan allows us all to be resurrected and reunited with our loved ones again to live forever, experiencing joy and happiness... This is all made possible by the atonement of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered for all of our sins, giving us the chance to repent and be forgiven. The atonement purifies us and strengthens us in the many trials and challenges we face in life. Though Jesus Christ we can endure trials, sickness and pain, we can be filled with joy and peace and consolation. What a tender mercy of the Lord to have that hope, a hope to see your loved ones once again. Kathy Conley has inspired me, as all of you, to live life to the fullest. To live a life full of unselfishness, kindness and love. Without a doubt each of us are thankful today to have had her wonderful influence in our lives. And for the hope of seeing Sister Conley once again. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. We will close now by signing closing
hymn, hymn #152, God be with you till we meet again, after which our
benediction will be given by Brother Barry Alexander. The Conley
family would love to invite you to join them for refreshments in the
cultural hall, which is just adjacent to the chapel, following the service. 1. God be with you till we meet again; [Chorus] 2. God be with you till we meet again; 3. God be with you till we meet again; Benediction - Barry Alexander |
