Memorial Welcome

What I said at the beginning of my Mom's memorial:

From all of the family, I'd like to thank you all for coming. It means a lot to us and it honors my Mother, Carol Hershey's memory that you are all here to celebrate such a precious life. Throughout the service we'll be speaking of my Mom a lot, but for now I want to give thanks for all the support we got the past week from all of you here. The flowers, food, and, more importantly phone calls, visits, expressions of love, and friendship, have all made this more bearable for us, especially for my dad who lost his soul mate of 38 years. Having our extended family in our tiny house (16 or so of them) the weekend after my Mom died made a big difference and having them (and others) back in the house this weekend is great. Having so many people that remember Mom together almost makes her seem alive.

Though it will be impossible for us to put our grieving aside for a long time to come, we want this memorial to be more a celebration of her life and a token of appreciation for her wonderful presence in our lives. I would like to thank in advance all of our friends who will provide so much beautiful music throughout the service.