{"id":2596,"date":"2022-05-01T01:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T01:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericjbusch.com\/EJB_2022\/?p=2596"},"modified":"2022-11-12T20:15:50","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T20:15:50","slug":"in-memoriam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericjbusch.com\/EJB_2022\/2022\/05\/01\/in-memoriam\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

With my mother\u2019s passing at the end of December, both of my parents are now deceased. Her death was expected, as her health had been deteriorating for years due to congestive heart failure. She was 83. Similarly, my father\u2019s death twelve years prior was anticipated due to the progressive nature of COPD. He was 73.\u00a0<\/p>

My brothers granted me the honor to eulogize each as part of their respective memorial services. It\u2019s an endeavor that involves writing and public speaking\u2014two creative tasks in which I have decades of experience. Although the output was the same for each\u2014an 8-minute speech\u2014the processes were very different.<\/span><\/p>

My dad died shortly after Thanksgiving and his funeral was held five days later. I wrote my full first draft in one sitting with minimal subsequent editing, which proved convenient given the myriad of other tasks and preparation needed that week. My mom\u2019s death occurred<\/span> just before Christmas and my brothers and I decided to delay her funeral until the following Spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus I had months to plan, prepare and coordinate arrangements, which also proved convenient as I struggled with the content and narrative structure of my mom\u2019s story for nearly two weeks before writing the first draft and then spent another week rewriting until I simply ran out of time\u2014literally, as I made one final major edit and deleted a whole paragraph while seated with my family at the start of the service.<\/span><\/p>

In retrospect, the contrast in writing experiences was emblematic of my parents\u2019 relationship. They were very different in personality, and their marriage was largely an \u201copposites attract\u201d dynamic full of trials and tribulations. While their marital effectiveness may have wavered, their commitment never did. It was a privilege to write their epilogues and present them to family and friends. And I\u2019m posting them here because it is some of my best writing\u2014or at minimum, writing I am most proud of.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t