My Remarks

A number of years ago, my dad asked me to speak at his funeral..after all, he said, I have known him the longest.  As the oldest child, I guess that is true although my brother Todd was only 16 months younger than me which isn't much in the scheme of things. I wasn't sure I wanted to do that, but over the years as I saw more and more children speak at their parents' funeral, I decided that I wanted to.  Even with that advance warning, I didn't prepare my remarks until shortly before we left for Texas.

Here they are:

Thoughts from Judy Hall

Dad’s funeral 10/6/22 in Amarillo, TX

On September 21, 2022, at 89 years and a few months, my father passed away in his sleep. I want to start by sharing the words I posted on social media the next day:

“Although he has been declining over the past few weeks and his passing was expected, it still feels unexpected. Even though we did not want him to suffer one more day, we still wish for one more day or week or year. While I want the perfect words to share about my dad, I am only left with the usual ones--he was a good and faithful person who worked hard, played hard, and loved much. He was a research chemist by profession and a game player/creator by passion. He taught us to love games, books, trains, the theatre, each other, friends, ping pong, and most of all, our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a young 20-year-old and never "looked" back. His devotion was part of who he was.”

Today, I still wish to speak the “perfect words” to both remember my dad but also to testify of the truths that were dear to his heart—but again I am just left with the ordinary ones and fortunately the scriptures.  I have chosen three examples from my life with my dad to illustrate glimpses of the man that he is—

When I was about nine years old, we got a ping pong table for Christmas.  We were so excited.  It was set up in our unfinished basement in our home in Richland, WA and Todd, age 8, Mike age 7 and my Dad spent hours learning to play ping pong together between Christmas and New Year’s.  He taught us the rules—of course, and how to make a proper serve.  We practiced volleying back and forth—slowly at first and then a bit faster. We missed more than we hit, but we were all equally bad and we loved learning it together.  There was lots of laughing as we pinged and ponged together.  And we got better.  Any of you who spent time with Gibersons maybe have played ping pong with us, especially famous Rotation Ping Pong, a game that we have shared with friends wherever we have lived.  Gibersons like ping pong.  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that my dad taught us by playing with his LEFT hand.  He thought it would be too hard and discouraging for us if he played right-handed.  All those years, I thought he was learning to play just like we were.  That is a sample of the type of dad he was trying to be.

In D&C 64:33 it reads: “… be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”  Playing ping pong left-handed is a “small thing,” but my dad understood that by sharing something he loved to do with us, he was strengthening our love for each other and for our parents—it was part of building a family and that is one of the greatest works any of us can be involved in.

In 1971, a dramatic and I would say at the time a traumatic event happened to our family.  We moved from Richland, WA here to Amarillo, Texas for my dad to take a job at Pantex.  Moving eight children ages 16 down to 2 from the only place they knew was a big task for my parents and we were often not the most joyful about the whole thing.  A few months after we arrived, my dad and mom gathered us together—I don’t remember now if it was a family night or just around the dinner table, but my dad shared the following thought: “Your mom and I took this job because we knew that Heavenly Father wanted us in Amarillo, Texas.  But it wasn’t just the two of us that God wanted in Amarillo, but it was all eight of you as well.  He needs you here.”  I am not sure what else he said, and I don’t even know if my other siblings remember this conversation at all, but this was a revelation to me. My attitude had been--I only had 2 years until I would leave for BYU—missions were two years—I could do hard things for two years, but I am not going to like it!! Now, I had to figure out why I needed to be in Amarillo, Texas, and make sure that I was doing what I needed to do.  By my dad’s words and their example, I was taught the words in 1 Nephi 3:7: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  I can’t speak for why it was important that all of us were planted here in Amarillo, Texas—but for myself, even two years later when I made it to BYU and was surrounded again by my many friends from Richland, I could see ways that my life had been changed in positive ways and that my testimony had been enhanced and grown in ways staying in Richland might not have done.  While we all may admit that the panhandle of Texas might not be the most scenic place in the world, we are so grateful for the people of the Panhandle and especially those in our wards and stake.  We love you and so grateful that we were sent here to be blessed by you.  And I am confident that my dad would say the same.

One last experience:  As was mentioned, my dad was adopted as an infant after the passing of his biological mother from Scarlett fever. In 1986, we visited my parents here at Christmastime to introduce them to our new son, Scott, who had joined our family a few months before. Scott was about 2 1/2 years old at the time. I was walking into the living room when I noticed Scott sitting on my dad's lap having a conversation. I stopped to listen in in time to hear my dad say, "Scott, you are going to be adopted. You don't know what that means now, but I do because I was adopted. Anytime you have any questions the rest of your life, you can always talk to me about it. No matter where you live or how old you are." It brought tears to my eyes (and if we had had cell phones with cameras, I probably would have taken a picture.) I don't know if Scott ever took my dad up on that offer, but nothing is better than seeing your parents love your children. Moroni 7:47: “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

Dad loved his grandchildren and his great grandchildren more than they know and will forever and ever!

My dad was very blessed to love and to be loved by two special women--my mom, Eileen who died in 1995 and then by Karla. Thank you, Karla for loving and sharing your life with my dad and our family! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

My dad asked me to speak at his funeral and other than the fact that he loves you all and is so proud of you, the only other thing I think he would want to share would be his testimony of Heavenly Father, our Savior, Jesus Christ and the restored gospel found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In his autobiographic poem entitled “Games” the last section reads:

The Game of Life

The Game of Life

leads to riches

or to the poor house,

so they say.

But that’s not the game I play.

I’ve played lots of games . .

Learned lots of rules.

But the rules I like best

are the only ones that count,

because

they are God’s rules

for His game . . .

You know:

Eternal Life.

I add my testimony to his.  Families are forever because of Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness for us.  The way is made possible due to the life and death of Jesus Christ and His Atonement in our behalf. Through the restoration of the gospel in these latter-days, we can all “learn the rules” to the only game that matters—Eternal life. We will embrace him once again as we join him and our other family members who have gone before us. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.