Don Froeber Funeral
July 3, 2001
Sympathy to Ginny, Don’s family & friends…
Before I go on, I want to say that I am going to take a little liberty in this homily when I talk about Don’s children and their spouses. Those of you married to the Froeber’s made it clear to me that you don’t consider Don and Ginny a mother-in-law or father-in-law. You consider them to be mom and dad. So when I talk about Don and Ginny’s children, know that you are included.
Ginny, for you and Don your faith in Jesus has always been very important. Don was so happy and proud when you decided to join the Catholic Church in 1998. I had the privilege of being part the RCIA at that time. RCIA is the name we use for the process that welcomes people into the Catholic Church. What I remember more than anything else about the two of you, Ginny, was the quiet, unassuming example you were for all of us who met on those Tuesday evenings. You were an example of a couple of faith. But mostly you were an example for the rest of us of a married couple who were deeply in love with each other after almost 50 years of marriage.
I spent some time on Sunday evening remembering Don with Ginny and their children and grandchildren. We spent some wonderful time sharing stories about Don. We laughed some and we cried some. I heard a lot words that were used to describe what a kind of a man Don was.
When I got home I could not help but think about a scripture reading that is frequently used at weddings. You may be familiar with the reading from the 13th chapter of Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthians. It goes “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, love does not seek it’s own interest, it is not quick tempered… you know the reading. It ends by saying, “love never ends”.
I couldn’t help think of that scripture because this is what Don’s family told me about him: Don is patient, Don is kind. He is not jealous, he is not pompous, he is not inflated, he is not rude, Don does not seek his own interests, he is not quick-tempered, he does not brood over injury, he does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things… Don loved God, Ginny, his children, grandchildren, and all of his family and friends with a love that will never end.
Many couples choose this Corinthians “love reading” for their wedding because they are in love and it all sounds so nice. Don and Ginny lived that love reading for 52 years and after 52 years of marriage that is exactly the way his wife, his children, and his grandchildren described Don.
Don’s life was a life based on love. Don loved God, his church, Ginny, his children, his grand children, and all of his family and friends. And Don loved his country. He was very proud of his time in the navy during WW II and the Korean War.
So that is some of who Don is, but he isn’t here with us anymore. So what do we do now that Don is gone? Maybe we have to remember that Don was the eternal optimist and remember Don’s sense of humor. His children told me that the Twins could be down by 5 runs down in the bottom of the 9th and optimistic Don still believed they could win. And if you remember it was just a week or so against the White Sox that the Twins did rally for 4 in the bottom of the ninth to win by one run. I suspect that if Don the optimist were here today, he would remind us that this funeral is not only a time to mourn, it is also a celebration – a celebration of Don’s life with us. It is a celebration of our love for Don and Don’s love for us. It is a celebration of God’s love for Don and God’s love for us. Most importantly it is a celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ because that gives us the hope to believe that Don isn’t dead. Our faith in Jesus allows us to believe that Don has passed from this life to a glorious eternal life with Jesus, our savior.
Don lived his life based on his love of God and his love of others. This is the time we need to turn to our loving God for strength and comfort. We find that strength and comfort in our prayer. We find that strength and comfort in the love we share with of our family & friends. We find that strength and comfort in our church community.
As difficult as it may be for us to be optimistic today, maybe we need to remind ourselves that if the Twins can pull it out with 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth and lead the division by 3 games half way through the season; then certainly in faith all things must be possible with God too.