Thank You from Jennifer Beauford
I am incredibly gracious to all of you for the many gifts and kindness bestowed upon my family and me.
Dear Family, Friends, and Parishioners of Tenth Presbyterian Church,
It is with sincere requests for your acceptance of my apology that I convey that I am very sorry for the following: First, for not sending thank you cards for the beautiful gifts, cards, and kind words afforded my now deceased husband Philip and me for our wedding ceremony; and second, for not sending thank you cards for the cards and kind words relayed to me upon Phil’s death and throughout his memorial service. Between a very short time span many events occurred. Phil and I were married in a wedding ceremony on November 28, 2009. One week later, my one and only grandchild, Alina, was born on December 6, 2009. As joyous as those occasions were, Phil began to experience the troubling signs and symptoms of the return of stomach cancer—which he once fought and beat in 2007! Amongst many medical visits, it was confirmed that Phil did again have stomach cancer. Not long after, my husband left this Earth on June 13, 2010. I can picture Phil as he went home to be with the Lord. Phil, staring at GOD in awe with a huge smile and saying, “I am home Father.” Phil was my mentor and best friend for eleven years and husband for nine months and I miss him ever so much. Sitting down to complete my thank you cards became very difficult for me in light of Phil’s health and death, yet not thanking everyone has bothered me greatly.
While I do not wish to make excuses for my seemingly rude behavior, please understand that I am incredibly gracious to all of you for the many gifts and kindness bestowed upon my family and me. In particular, I would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance with Phil’s and my wedding ceremony: Pastor Philip Ryken for performing the ceremony; Vivian Dow for coordinating all facets of the wedding; all of the volunteers (I am afraid to mention all by name for fear that I will miss one) who volunteered their time, talent, and effort to cook and serve the meals and decorate Reception Hall of the Church for the reception; Johnnie Smith for being a wonderful host and speaker during the reception and her husband, Ronald Smith for serving as Phil’s best man; my sister, my sister Jeanette Francis for serving as my matron of honor; my brother Bill Maddox for walking me down the aisle; Dot Boersma for creating the wedding program; Paul Jones for coordinating the music; and my four daughters Selena, Dorothea, Tina, and Jacqueline, and two sons-in-law Eric and Mark for supporting our marriage unconditionally.
For my dear Phil’s memorial service, I would like to give special thanks to: Pastor Philip Ryken for delivering a beautiful service and his homily on the “Amen’s” of the Bible (particularly since Phil was known as the “Amen” man at Tenth); Carroll Wynne for the excellent hymn selections, particularly “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “It is Well With my Soul;” Paul Jones for coordinating the musical components of the memorial service; Thomas Eliot and James Hala for contributing their talents with their trombone and horn respectively throughout every musical selection; Dot Boersma for writing and publishing such a beautiful program for the memorial; Ruth Floyd for singing a solo for Phil (Phil loved to hear Ruth sing); the then-sixth grade Sunday School students—the last class of students Phil was able to teach—for reciting Chapter 8 of Romans in such an exemplary manner, just as Phil had taught them; Popeng and Tom Eliot for being there with and for me before, during, and after Phil’s death to provide support; and my daughters and sons-in-law for being with me with every step of the way.
I must also thank a few more people for their generosity in five other matters. First, my daughters and colleagues at Tenth Presbyterian Church threw a surprise Wedding Shower for me, held at Tenth over the 2009 summer. It was a great surprise and exciting event for which I am ever so grateful. Shortly thereafter, Mildred Stockdale—one of my dearest friends—arranged another Wedding Shower for me with members of Tenth’s Lower Merion Parish. To Mrs. Stockdale and all of those attendees who made me feel so special that day, thank you! Next, there were all of the individuals (way too numerous to name)—family, friends, and even some individuals I have yet to meet— who donated their money for Phil’s and my honeymoon. This effort was spearheaded by Thomas and Popeng Eliot who deserve a great deal of praise and gratitude for the idea and legwork to make this happen. With Tom and Popeng having raised approximately $5,000 through donations, Phil and I were able to take an all-inclusive, fully-paid, seven-day cruise to Bermuda with spending money—just two weeks before Phil’s death. The words “thank you” seem insignificant with this knowledge in mind, but I will say thank you to Tom, Popeng, my daughters, and all of those individuals who donated their money for our honeymoon. To my supervisors, Patrick Canavan and Carl Staico—thank you for your understanding for my need to miss so many days of work to care for Phil while he was ill and after his death to cope. You have proven to be compassionate and fair employers to whom I am thankful.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who assisted in painting the home Phil passed on to me. There were also friends Phil spoke of very highly, those friends being: Ronald and Johnnie Smith, James and Nancy Hala; Frank Pulcini; Popeng and Tom Eliot, and our deceased pastor James Boice. Thank you for being true friends.
As a parting note, let us remember that whenever we see each other at Church or other places, to show love, and smile and speak to each other. That is what Phil always did; as a matter of fact, even if you did not speak to Phil, he still spoke to you as a gift to our Lord. Why? According to John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Let us all truly be children of GOD in our thoughts, words, and actions.
Graciously,
Jennifer Maddox Beauford
Dear Family, Friends, and Parishioners of Tenth Presbyterian Church,
It is with sincere requests for your acceptance of my apology that I convey that I am very sorry for the following: First, for not sending thank you cards for the beautiful gifts, cards, and kind words afforded my now deceased husband Philip and me for our wedding ceremony; and second, for not sending thank you cards for the cards and kind words relayed to me upon Phil’s death and throughout his memorial service. Between a very short time span many events occurred. Phil and I were married in a wedding ceremony on November 28, 2009. One week later, my one and only grandchild, Alina, was born on December 6, 2009. As joyous as those occasions were, Phil began to experience the troubling signs and symptoms of the return of stomach cancer—which he once fought and beat in 2007! Amongst many medical visits, it was confirmed that Phil did again have stomach cancer. Not long after, my husband left this Earth on June 13, 2010. I can picture Phil as he went home to be with the Lord. Phil, staring at GOD in awe with a huge smile and saying, “I am home Father.” Phil was my mentor and best friend for eleven years and husband for nine months and I miss him ever so much. Sitting down to complete my thank you cards became very difficult for me in light of Phil’s health and death, yet not thanking everyone has bothered me greatly.
While I do not wish to make excuses for my seemingly rude behavior, please understand that I am incredibly gracious to all of you for the many gifts and kindness bestowed upon my family and me. In particular, I would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance with Phil’s and my wedding ceremony: Pastor Philip Ryken for performing the ceremony; Vivian Dow for coordinating all facets of the wedding; all of the volunteers (I am afraid to mention all by name for fear that I will miss one) who volunteered their time, talent, and effort to cook and serve the meals and decorate Reception Hall of the Church for the reception; Johnnie Smith for being a wonderful host and speaker during the reception and her husband, Ronald Smith for serving as Phil’s best man; my sister, my sister Jeanette Francis for serving as my matron of honor; my brother Bill Maddox for walking me down the aisle; Dot Boersma for creating the wedding program; Paul Jones for coordinating the music; and my four daughters Selena, Dorothea, Tina, and Jacqueline, and two sons-in-law Eric and Mark for supporting our marriage unconditionally.
For my dear Phil’s memorial service, I would like to give special thanks to: Pastor Philip Ryken for delivering a beautiful service and his homily on the “Amen’s” of the Bible (particularly since Phil was known as the “Amen” man at Tenth); Carroll Wynne for the excellent hymn selections, particularly “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “It is Well With my Soul;” Paul Jones for coordinating the musical components of the memorial service; Thomas Eliot and James Hala for contributing their talents with their trombone and horn respectively throughout every musical selection; Dot Boersma for writing and publishing such a beautiful program for the memorial; Ruth Floyd for singing a solo for Phil (Phil loved to hear Ruth sing); the then-sixth grade Sunday School students—the last class of students Phil was able to teach—for reciting Chapter 8 of Romans in such an exemplary manner, just as Phil had taught them; Popeng and Tom Eliot for being there with and for me before, during, and after Phil’s death to provide support; and my daughters and sons-in-law for being with me with every step of the way.
I must also thank a few more people for their generosity in five other matters. First, my daughters and colleagues at Tenth Presbyterian Church threw a surprise Wedding Shower for me, held at Tenth over the 2009 summer. It was a great surprise and exciting event for which I am ever so grateful. Shortly thereafter, Mildred Stockdale—one of my dearest friends—arranged another Wedding Shower for me with members of Tenth’s Lower Merion Parish. To Mrs. Stockdale and all of those attendees who made me feel so special that day, thank you! Next, there were all of the individuals (way too numerous to name)—family, friends, and even some individuals I have yet to meet— who donated their money for Phil’s and my honeymoon. This effort was spearheaded by Thomas and Popeng Eliot who deserve a great deal of praise and gratitude for the idea and legwork to make this happen. With Tom and Popeng having raised approximately $5,000 through donations, Phil and I were able to take an all-inclusive, fully-paid, seven-day cruise to Bermuda with spending money—just two weeks before Phil’s death. The words “thank you” seem insignificant with this knowledge in mind, but I will say thank you to Tom, Popeng, my daughters, and all of those individuals who donated their money for our honeymoon. To my supervisors, Patrick Canavan and Carl Staico—thank you for your understanding for my need to miss so many days of work to care for Phil while he was ill and after his death to cope. You have proven to be compassionate and fair employers to whom I am thankful.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who assisted in painting the home Phil passed on to me. There were also friends Phil spoke of very highly, those friends being: Ronald and Johnnie Smith, James and Nancy Hala; Frank Pulcini; Popeng and Tom Eliot, and our deceased pastor James Boice. Thank you for being true friends.
As a parting note, let us remember that whenever we see each other at Church or other places, to show love, and smile and speak to each other. That is what Phil always did; as a matter of fact, even if you did not speak to Phil, he still spoke to you as a gift to our Lord. Why? According to John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Let us all truly be children of GOD in our thoughts, words, and actions.
Graciously,
Jennifer Maddox Beauford
posted by M Clark at 2/14/2011 11:56:00 AM
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