There has been a certain amount of
sadness in our home with the loss of Teresa’s mom a short time ago. But now, our feelings are compounded by the
untimely passing of our good friend Bertram
Merrell. He has not been healthy for
quite some time but it was still unexpected for him to leave on such short
notice. Thankfully, there are loved ones
around (in droves) to buffer the experience for his sweet wife.
The funeral for Bro. Merrell was attended
by many of his old friends and a passel of family members. Each of his children spoke and shared
memories of their dad while the congregation reached out with their hearts and
hands to strengthen Victoria in her sorrow.
She’s pretty tough, but the loss of her sweetheart has been a great
strain on her feelings.
My hope in this post is to
express gratitude for the strength that has been evident in a wonderful man and
a righteous brother in the Gospel.
Bro. Merrell would never claim
perfection in anything he did. He understood
his limitations and did what all good men do – worked to overcome them and
developed skills to counter his failings. Weakness is part of mortality but to allow
shortcomings to control life was not the way Bertram Merrell worked.
He has had more than his share of
sorrow – more than I think a person should bear – but his attitude never wavered
and his faith in Christ was apparent in every circumstance. Often times I wondered if he might succumb to
sorrow or exasperation. After all, his
experiences were such that he could easily have broken down and drowned in the
misery of despair. Yet, his smile was
always clear, he looked everyone in the eye and greeted them with love, and his
enduring affection for Victoria served as a beacon for his children and all else who
knew him.
I will miss the loving guidance of
my friend and mentor.
Let me share one incident that has
had a lasting effect on my life.
Shortly after we moved to West
Valley City, I was called to serve as counselor to a good bishop. The other counselor and the bishop were
considerably older and more sedate than I so it became my goal to liven things up
in our meetings. During one sacrament
meeting I was conducting and, in a flippant manner, made some comment that was probably
not appropriate (thankfully I don’t recall what I said but I’m sure it was
out of order). Sitting in the
meeting, on one of the front benches, was the Merrell family, quietly watching
this young ‘whipper-snapper’ butcher another meeting.
Immediately after I made whatever
comment I made, my eyes caught a slow but steady headshake from the personage
of Bertram Merrell. At first I was a
little annoyed but when I sat down and considered my own actions, I was
mortified with what I had done. No one
ever came to me and chastised me or called me out for my silliness, but that
headshake from my friend was enough to remind me that I was not to act in a way
as to detract from the meetings I was called to conduct.
These may years later, I still
need the likes of Bertram Merrell to counsel and guide me so I don’t wander off
the path. Men of the Bertram type are needed
to guide others because they correct with a love that comes from the
heart. It’s good to have people like
that in our lives.
I will miss Bro. Merrell.
But I will see him again and he can
guide me once more so I can be better.
Thank you Bertram for being my
friend.
1 comment:
Wonderful!
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