Ardis's funeral
Jan. 24th, 2010 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingThe funeral service was scheduled for 11am, at St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church in St. Paul.
The format of a Lutheran funeral service is fairly standard, with a number of set readings, which I think is helpful because after a death is no time to be throwing huge numbers of open-ended questions at family members. What my dad and Aunt Jan did was choose the hymns, and also three scriptural readings, from a list the pastor (the Rev. Glenn Berg-Moberg) suggested. They picked one hymn that Ardis had chosen for my grandfather's funeral in 1994, and then Dad tried to craft a service that omitted, as my mother put it, references to Jesus as a physical, bleeding, tortured body, feeling that that was not the image they wanted to create.
So. First there was a standard gathering reading, and then a thanksgiving for baptism. Then we sang "Abide with Me," which was followed by a prayer with a congregational response. (I would like to point out here that the hymnal/book of service had the funeral section written out in full, so everyone could follow along appropriately, which I think is extremely considerate.)
Then five people spoke about Ardis: Aunt Jan; Konrad M. (a friend of the family); Rev. Hanson (the former pastor of St. Anthony, and a dear friend of Ardis's); Harriet J. (a friend from the University of Minnesota Women's Club); and my dad.
A musical interlude followed: a woman singing "Beautiful Savior." Then we had three scriptural readings. Rev. Berg-Moberg spoke to the family before the service to say that he usually asks the family if they want to do the readings, but he had forgotten to raise the issue earlier. I decided it would be very appropriate for us to participate in that way, so I read one passage (Psalm 23), and talked my cousin Eric and my cousin-in-law Tanya into reading the others (James 1:17-25, and 1 John 3:1-3, respectively).
Then Rev. Berg-Moberg gave the homily, which was followed by us singing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." We returned to the order of service in the hymnal for the Apostles Creed, another prayer with congregational response, the Lord's Prayer, and then a final hymn: "For All the Saints." The service ended with a commendation and benediction, after which Rev. Berg-Moberg gave a blessing for the meal to follow, since it was served buffet-style and it was easier to say grace preemptively than to wait until everyone was served and seated.
I got thoroughly choked up halfway through "Abide with Me," but managed to recover (and also to sing harmony; the song has a very simple alto/second soprano line, mostly just E, with occasional Ds and Fs by way of variety). I also sniffled through bits of "Beautiful Savior," Konrad M's eulogy, and bits of Rev. Berg-Moberg's homily. But I got through my own reading clearly, which is a small grace.
---------------
Here are links to a couple obituaries:
an article from the Pioneer Press
an obituary from the Pioneer Press
I am now going to copy out the text from the back of the memorial order of service. (Names have been redacted or changed to nicknames to preserve minimal privacy.)
Ardis Hovland was born on September 21, 1921, in Bemidji, MN, the fifth child and only daughter of Elise and Charles Hovland. She grew up in Climax, MN, attended the Lutheran Church, and graduated from high school there. Ardis left Climax to work as a singer for a radio station in Topeka, Kansas. She moved from time to time to other stations as far afield as California.
She became a secretary at the University of Minnesota in the School of Physics and Astronomy in the 1940s. In addition to her regular clerical duties, she devoted countless hours to making the institution be a caring community for hundreds of faculty, students, and visitors over the years. After her marriage, she worked in the University's College of Education until she retired.
In 1969 she married Al Nier, a prominent physicist; it was his second marriage. Ardis and Al traveled widely and spent time each year at their cabin on Cass Lake, though Al also continued his research work despite retirement. Ardis was left a widow by Al's 1994 death following a car accident.
Ardis was an active, long-term member of the St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church. Ardis was also involved for decades in various sections of the Women's Club of the University of Minnesota. She was passionate about the work of the Scholarship Committee in particular and chaired it for many years. She immersed herself in the review and selection process and she enjoyed following the later successes of the winners. Ardis was instrumental in establishing scholarships and a lectureship in honor of her late husband, and she was a significant supporter of many other programs at the University. She also endowed the Meteoritical Society's Nier Prize and each year, unless prevented by health problems, she traveled to wherever the Society met to see the Prize awarded and meet the winner.
Ardis provided everyone with a model of cheerful perseverance, humor, generosity, and love as she maintained her independent, active, and highly mobile life despite years of trial with several serious health problems. She was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Ardis died on Dec. 16, 2009. She is survived by her stepdaughter and stepson, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
---------------
And that is that. The weather was horrible -- freezing rain on top of icy roads -- but attendance was decent. Before and after the service, people offered condolences to the family, and everyone said, as my dad pointed out, some variation on, "Ardis showed people how to live right" -- how to care for people without losing yourself, how to find good humor and faith in the face of trouble and trial, how to be a friend and create families-by-choice wherever you go.
I think that is the best legacy anyone can ever hope to leave.
The format of a Lutheran funeral service is fairly standard, with a number of set readings, which I think is helpful because after a death is no time to be throwing huge numbers of open-ended questions at family members. What my dad and Aunt Jan did was choose the hymns, and also three scriptural readings, from a list the pastor (the Rev. Glenn Berg-Moberg) suggested. They picked one hymn that Ardis had chosen for my grandfather's funeral in 1994, and then Dad tried to craft a service that omitted, as my mother put it, references to Jesus as a physical, bleeding, tortured body, feeling that that was not the image they wanted to create.
So. First there was a standard gathering reading, and then a thanksgiving for baptism. Then we sang "Abide with Me," which was followed by a prayer with a congregational response. (I would like to point out here that the hymnal/book of service had the funeral section written out in full, so everyone could follow along appropriately, which I think is extremely considerate.)
Then five people spoke about Ardis: Aunt Jan; Konrad M. (a friend of the family); Rev. Hanson (the former pastor of St. Anthony, and a dear friend of Ardis's); Harriet J. (a friend from the University of Minnesota Women's Club); and my dad.
A musical interlude followed: a woman singing "Beautiful Savior." Then we had three scriptural readings. Rev. Berg-Moberg spoke to the family before the service to say that he usually asks the family if they want to do the readings, but he had forgotten to raise the issue earlier. I decided it would be very appropriate for us to participate in that way, so I read one passage (Psalm 23), and talked my cousin Eric and my cousin-in-law Tanya into reading the others (James 1:17-25, and 1 John 3:1-3, respectively).
Then Rev. Berg-Moberg gave the homily, which was followed by us singing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." We returned to the order of service in the hymnal for the Apostles Creed, another prayer with congregational response, the Lord's Prayer, and then a final hymn: "For All the Saints." The service ended with a commendation and benediction, after which Rev. Berg-Moberg gave a blessing for the meal to follow, since it was served buffet-style and it was easier to say grace preemptively than to wait until everyone was served and seated.
I got thoroughly choked up halfway through "Abide with Me," but managed to recover (and also to sing harmony; the song has a very simple alto/second soprano line, mostly just E, with occasional Ds and Fs by way of variety). I also sniffled through bits of "Beautiful Savior," Konrad M's eulogy, and bits of Rev. Berg-Moberg's homily. But I got through my own reading clearly, which is a small grace.
---------------
Here are links to a couple obituaries:
an article from the Pioneer Press
an obituary from the Pioneer Press
I am now going to copy out the text from the back of the memorial order of service. (Names have been redacted or changed to nicknames to preserve minimal privacy.)
Ardis Hovland was born on September 21, 1921, in Bemidji, MN, the fifth child and only daughter of Elise and Charles Hovland. She grew up in Climax, MN, attended the Lutheran Church, and graduated from high school there. Ardis left Climax to work as a singer for a radio station in Topeka, Kansas. She moved from time to time to other stations as far afield as California.
She became a secretary at the University of Minnesota in the School of Physics and Astronomy in the 1940s. In addition to her regular clerical duties, she devoted countless hours to making the institution be a caring community for hundreds of faculty, students, and visitors over the years. After her marriage, she worked in the University's College of Education until she retired.
In 1969 she married Al Nier, a prominent physicist; it was his second marriage. Ardis and Al traveled widely and spent time each year at their cabin on Cass Lake, though Al also continued his research work despite retirement. Ardis was left a widow by Al's 1994 death following a car accident.
Ardis was an active, long-term member of the St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church. Ardis was also involved for decades in various sections of the Women's Club of the University of Minnesota. She was passionate about the work of the Scholarship Committee in particular and chaired it for many years. She immersed herself in the review and selection process and she enjoyed following the later successes of the winners. Ardis was instrumental in establishing scholarships and a lectureship in honor of her late husband, and she was a significant supporter of many other programs at the University. She also endowed the Meteoritical Society's Nier Prize and each year, unless prevented by health problems, she traveled to wherever the Society met to see the Prize awarded and meet the winner.
Ardis provided everyone with a model of cheerful perseverance, humor, generosity, and love as she maintained her independent, active, and highly mobile life despite years of trial with several serious health problems. She was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Ardis died on Dec. 16, 2009. She is survived by her stepdaughter and stepson, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
---------------
And that is that. The weather was horrible -- freezing rain on top of icy roads -- but attendance was decent. Before and after the service, people offered condolences to the family, and everyone said, as my dad pointed out, some variation on, "Ardis showed people how to live right" -- how to care for people without losing yourself, how to find good humor and faith in the face of trouble and trial, how to be a friend and create families-by-choice wherever you go.
I think that is the best legacy anyone can ever hope to leave.
