Herb's Funeral

Our sweet friend and amazing neighbor from Syracuse, Herb Scovel, passed away and his funeral was held on July 17th.  It was so great to be able to watch it remotely, but sad to not be there to mourn with our friends and his family.  His wife, Bev, had passed away several months ago and it is sweet to think about them being together again. They were a sweet and loving couple although very different for each other.  She was a refined, gentle English school teacher and he was a happy, social outdoorsman who worked as an air traffic controller after getting out of the service.  She loved to travel and go to the theatre, he loved hunting and fishing--they both loved their neighbors and things will not be the same without them.

One of our friends sent a picture of the program which was so kind.

Our friends, Craig Pessetto, and Bishop Allen both did an excellent job in sharing about Herb and his kindness and love for us all.  I knew when I hugged Bev goodbye in March of 2023 that I would not see her again.  Her health and heart had been failing for a few years and I felt a strong impression that this was goodbye although we were able to send a few cards and things over the past year until her death.  But I thought that I would see Herb again.  Grieving comes because of loving.....

(And as I write this on August 4, I just got a text that one of our sweet sisters from our zone in Salt Lake passed away yesterday.  Sister Karin Smith was a loving and warm person.  She got diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her mission in Salt Lake and had to shortened her time and service.  Oh, how we loved her and were grateful that our lives were connected.  She was just a great example of being positive in difficult circumstances and trusting the Lord.)

See you later, Herb.....thanks for your friendship all of these years.

One of my Herb stories:  When we started our Little Library, Herb called me one day and asked me if he could donate some books about aviation to the library.  I said of course and then he asked me if I thought he should black out his name on the inside cover of many of the books.  I told him that was up to him.  He brought the books and I added them to the library.

A couple of weeks later, he called me again so excited.  A young boy in the neighborhood had started reading some of the books and saw that Herb's name was in them so he asked Herb if he could talk to him about aviation.  They had just spent a great afternoon together talking about aviation, how it works and also about Herb's experiences.  He was so glad that he had left his name in the books so that this young man would talk to him about it. Herb loved people and he loved aviation so it was a perfect afternoon for him.  Glad our little library added to his life as well.