Eulogy for Mass--12-22-11

Greetings and May God's Grace be with you today.

Thanks to each and every one of you here today who touched a part of Mai's

life. Each of us here today shares a common bond in that we will all carry

forward special memories of Mai in our Hearts and Spirits.

Mai was a Unique, special one-of-a-kind person,--she was probably actually a

real angel disguised as a loving Mom while she was here on Earth. She was a a

very special angel who spent her whole life bearing gifts for her Family and

Friends and even total strangers.

We all know that Christmas Season was when Mai really shined. Christmas

was easily her favorite time of year. She gave all kinds of gifts--tangible and

intangible--all year long--but at Christmas it was if she carried a license to give

unlimited gifts. So it is fitting that we are gathered here today to celebrate the

Gifts of Life of Mai Parsons.

I have but a few moments to speak of Mai today in this beautiful Cathedral so

love so much. I wish to speak of each of her gifts--The Gifts of Life of Mai

Parsons.

As the Holy Day of Christmas draws near, I wish to draw an analogy about Mai

in our minds. Think of Mai as a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree covered

with twinkling lights and adorned with wondrous ornaments. The tree is a

reminder of her beautiful life and she would be that special angel on top of her

own tree.

Under Mai's Tree of Life lie her Gifts of Life. You can imagine them all piled

high all around the bottom of the gorgeous tree. There are all kinds of boxes

large and small, each wrapped in gilded paper with a perfect ribbon bow on

top. Imagine each of those boxes contains a special Gift of Life from Mai.

Those beautiful boxes in our mind's eye represent the gifts

of:

respect--reverence--devotion--faith--faithfulness--

belief--loyalty--adventure--determination--

Some other boxes contain the gifts of:

dedication--friendship--generosity--compassion--

understanding--reading--creativity--all things

possible--positive attitude--appreciation--

And look! those boxes are filled with the gifts of:

thankfulness--honesty--spirit--humanity--

tolerance--dreams--youthfulness--vibrancy--

smile--tenacity--

And, gee, here's boxes that hold The gifts of:

courage--caring--thoughfulness--remembrance--

encouragement--humanity--appreciation--love

Together, the total of Mai's Gifts of Life is far

greater than the mere sum of their parts.

Our challenge today and each future day of our lives is to find a way in our own

hearts to carry forward Mai's Gifts of Life. Mai's legacy will live forever if we

may learn how to also give those same gifts that were such a special part of

her life.

Thank you once again for being here. Your kind wishes and warm thoughts

mean the world to me. God Bless You for caring about Mai. I love my Mom

and I know you all loved her deeply as well.

In closing, I wish to pass on a couple of words from Mai herself. I know you

have all heard her say these words many a time in your life. She had a special

tone of voice for these two words that I can't duplicate. She delighted so very

much in saying these two words. I love these two words and will think of Mom

and remember forever the Spirit in her voice every time I hear them:

Merry Christmas!