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The Rev. Frank Logue
Wonderful Words of Life Beautiful words. Wonderful words. These are what we need this morning as we lay to rest the mortal remains of Dorothy Bundy. We need wonderful words of life. That Philip Bliss hymn, Wonderful Words of Life, printed on the back of our bulletin was tapped out on the piano 90 years ago, by then three-year old Dot Bundy. This hymn was the first thing Dot ever played on the piano. She sounded it out, recreating the notes she had heard sung in church to play the hymn.
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life, We gather this morning to celebrate Dorothy McCarthy Bundy’s life. We gather to give thanks to God for the gift Dot has been. And so while you may feel loss and sorrow, we don’t need mournful words today. We need wonderful words of life. Life. Dorothy’s granddaughters remember their Gaga as having a lot of life in a little body. At just 4 feet 11 inches, she was never tall. But as the matriarch of her family for more than 35 years, Dorothy leaves behind a huge void. It really is too bad she could not have given me the words for today. Because if I could have gotten a couple of rum and Cokes in her, she we have told me exactly what to say. Don’t be shocked. She was a smart aleck, in a good way that is, and would have probably given a much more entertaining tribute than I will manage today. Her family remembers their mother and grandmother as fun and feisty. She was also generous. Happy. Honest. Caring. Loving. These are the wonderful words that describe Dorothy. But make no mistake. In the brief time we have together this day, I can not sum up her life. I won’t even try. But who could have imagined her life would be so long and full. She weighed less than 4 pounds when she was born. They said she looked like just a dot on the pillow as a baby, hence her name. The doctors advised her parents to take their fragile baby home and love her as long as they could have her, for she would soon die. But they placed their little Dot by their equivalent of an incubator. They laid her by the wood stove and loved her into life. A long full life.
Christ, the blessèd One, gives to all wonderful words of
life; Dorothy played hymns like this all through her life. While music was a constant refrain, there was much more to Dot than playing the organ or piano. She attended Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville. It was while working in that town as an operator at a hotel that she met Dale Bundy, Sr. who she called “Bundy.” They fell in love, were married and went on to raise two children. A child of the depression, Dorothy knew what it was to go without. Dale and Susan remember that many a time when they asked for some unnecessary extravagance, their mother would not say “no,” she would just say, “I cried because I had no shoes, and then I met a man who had no feet.” That was the end of that. Dorothy was a creature of habit. Yes, their were habits like her Joy perfume, a bottle of which rests beside her today in the casket. She also had habits like caring for others and respecting family and tradition. She loved her family deeply and taught that love to her children and grandchildren. Her habits included playing the piano and organ. In 1960, her song Little Miss Snowflake was copyrighted. But Dot developed quite a repertoire. Later, her daughter Susie would volunteer her mother to play the organ at Jekyll Island Presbyterian Church. She played their for pastor Charlie Shedd, beloved by the millions who bought his books Letters to Karen and Letters to Philip. But the famous pastor listened to Dorothy Bundy’s counsel when it came to selecting hymns. Her granddaughters Ashley and Katie remember their Gaga as the cool grandma. She was with it, keeping up with the latest news through Larry King and the latest in trends through Dancing with the Stars. Though today’s styles were not Dorothy’s styles, she wanted her granddaughters to be of their own time and place. As she grew older, arthritis struck her hands, but it never dimmed her playing or her enthusiasm for music. She remained an active participant in life right up to the end. She stayed involved with her family. She stayed active playing the piano for the Sunday worship services in her assisted living facility up until a year ago.
Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life; In the beautiful, wonderful words we read this morning from the 14th chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” From his Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us, “We do not lose heart…for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” These wonderful words from scripture matter so much today. For while we gather to celebrate Dorothy McCarthy Bundy’s long, full life, we also remember those who grieve. While it is the natural order of life for parents to die before their children do, there is no age at which the death of one’s mother or father does not bring with it a special grief. And so in the midst of our thanks for Dorothy, we pray for Susan and Dale and their children and grandchildren and for all who mourn the loss of Dot. This is where the words of life from Jesus own lips come back to bring comfort. Jesus said, In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going. Dorothy knew well the path of life that goes where Jesus had gone before. She had rock solid faith in her savior. This faith she showed so fully this past Saturday. Feeling sure that it would be the last day of her life, Dot called 15 friends and family members to say “I love you” one last time. She knew she was dying. She faced death without the slightest fear, knowing she would be with her Lord and with those she loved who had gone before her in death. She just wanted to get dying right. She wanted to leave this life with words of love and concern for others. Paul tells us in our reading for today, “we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Dorothy knew this with a certainty, that even though her outer nature was being worn away by emphysema, her inner nature was being renewed day by day. As her life began to ebb away, Dorothy could see her grandbaby Brice. She said his name aloud and smiled the biggest smile when her nurse told her to hug the infant grandson, who died so many years before. Now to the wonderful words of life we find in scripture, we add the words and life and witness of Dorothy Bundy. Generous. Loving. Funny. Feisty. A smart aleck in a good kinda way. She had a life that could not go out. Not completely. Though she is no longer present to us, she has risen to the life immortal and is now present to her loving Lord. In the words of Irving Berlin, "The song is ended, but the melody lingers on." Amen.
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