The Funeral of John and Marilyn Wright

INTRODUCTION Thank you all. My name is Clay, and I’m blessed to serve as a pastor at a church in Ohio where I live with my wife and two kiddos.

We’re here this afternoon to remember and say farewell to John and Marilyn—but to me, they were Grandma and Grandpa Wright.

EULOGY

John Dowell Wright, age 90, of Wildwood, FL, passed away on March 30, 2023, with his loving wife of nearly 70 years, by his side. John was born in Lockport, NY on December 30, 1932. He lived in Jamestown NY from 1968-1995 and resided in Wildwood, FL from then on.

He was a Korean War veteran having served in the US Army from January 1953 to December 1954. While in France, John was one of two individuals selected to transfer to the new position of IBM Operator. This is where he began his 40+ year career in the information technology field. John worked information technology jobs at Harrison Radiator in Lockport, NY, Crescent Tool in Jamestown, NY and Struthers Wells Corporation in Warren, PA where he was the IT Director. At Struthers Wells, in the late 1970s, he was credited with designing and implementing the company’s first automation of their manufacturing and accounting processes.

Known for his infectious smile, and wit, John was mainly known for sharing the gospel with everyone he met. A father of six, he always made time to be involved in his children’s activities such as baseball coach and Scout Leader. Quotes like, “Do you want a super single or lousy double?” when referring to ice cream cones will always make us smile.

John and Marilyn married the day before he left to serve in the Korean war. He enjoyed a lifetime of adventures and love with Marilyn. John was a member of a gospel singing group, The Jericho Singers, for several years while residing in Jamestown. He was a diehard Buffalo Bills fan.

John worked until the age of 86. His last employment was with the Florida Turnpike as a Toll Collector where he loved greeting people and was even known to pray with people on occasion as the Lord led him to.

He was preceded in death by: his parents Adelaide (Sutton) Wright and Frederick Wright, and his 8 siblings, in birth order, Fred, Dorothy, Adelaide, Flora, Lillian, Ruth, Helen and Wesley and his son-in-law Daryl Perdue. He leaves behind his six children, twenty-two grandchildren, twenty-four great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild.

Marilyn Irene Wright, age 89, of Wildwood, FL, and most recently of York, SC, passed away on September 18,2023. Marilyn was born in Lockport, NY on June 10, 1934. She was preceded in death by John, her husband of 70 years, who passed away on March 30, 2023. Marilyn was a loving wife, daughter, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, great, great grandmother, and friend.

Marilyn was a stay at home mom for many, many years before going to work at the Jamestown Stamp Company. She also worked as a volunteer with the Compeer program, a mentoring program. She worked at the Stamp Company until moving to Florida in 1995. Marilyn and her husband attended First Baptist Church in Leesburg, FL where they sang in the choir, and led singing before their Sunday School class. They also sang duets together for years at church and for a radio Gospel Hour program in Jamestown, NY.

Marilyn kept us all laughing with some of her favorite sayings such as," I'll snatch you bald-headed", "I'll squish you like a bug", or "I'll run your finger through the pencil sharpener." She loved to garden, and read, and enjoyed working on the genealogy of her family. She also loved watching Lifetime movies, Jeopardy, and Judge Judy. She never passed up a good craft show or garage sale, and she enjoyed participating in Red Hat Society. Most of all, she loved the Lord, and spending time with her family.

She leaves behind a brother and sister in law, her six children, twenty-two grandchildren, twenty-four great grandchildren, one great, great grandchild, and many nieces and nephews. She was cherished by all.

HOMILY

We’ve heard already so many stories and memories; and the sweetness of the memories can make the pain of loss more pronounced. We loved John and Marilyn, and so our hearts ache at their loss. But in times of grief and sorrow, we find that the Scriptures contain many words of comfort. Through them God speaks to us directly and brings healing to the terrible pain we experience at the loss of those we love.

2 Corinthians 5:1–4 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands…For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

There’s a quote along these lines from an old preacher named D. L. Moody from Chicago, and I’ve editted it for this occasion—but it goes like this:

“Some day you will read in the papers, ‘John and Marilyn Wright of Jamestown, New York are dead.’ Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment, I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tent into a house that is immortal—a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto Jesus’ glorious body. I was born of flesh long ago; after that I was born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh may die. But that which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”

As believers, Grandma and Grandpa did not go into the dark night of death. Rather, they were swallowed up by the light of life, and they are celebrating that life right now in the presence of Jesus and all his glory.

And now no one will take their sunshine away. (MEMORY)

I want to spend just another minute to celebrate the lives of Grandma and Grandpa, and to consider their testimony.

Grandma and Grandpa liked things in a particular way. They liked…

the bills in the super bowl, their tea with lemon, their TV showing the price is right, their companion at their side, and their Bibles close at hand.

In life, they loved to serve their country. They loved to serve their family. They loved to serve one another. But they lived to serve their Lord. The smile and inviting sense of humor that we read about was a reflection of their love for their Savior. And that love simply couldn't keep quiet.

Their love came out in prayers for passersby at the turnpike; in Facebook posts, digital cards, and private messages to remind us that we’re loved; and as beautiful hymns sung beside loved ones to God. For John and Marilyn, the joy of the Lord was their strength.

I’m so proud to be a member of the Wright family. We’re loud. We laugh. We love life. We serve God. We smile. We give hugs. And as I looked back, and as I consider the memories shared today, it’s easy to see that so much of what we share in common as a family has come from the legacy of Grandma and Grandpa Wright. Together, they led a life of faithfulness; and we would all do well to strive to leave such a legacy of faith with the life we have left.

One of my favorite moments as I prepared for this day was looking through pictures of Grandma and Grandpa’s well-loved Bibles. And I believe that if John and Marilyn were here today, they would want to hand every one of us a Bible and invite us to know the Savior that walked with them, and that talked with them in these pages. If you haven’t had a chance, I encourage you to ask the family to leaf through one of their Bibles with you, because you’ll find it marked up and annotated the whole way through, with favorite verses written in the margins and in the front and back covers. These were folks who walked with God, and who believed they heard from God as well.

In this room we might not all agree about the Bibles they left behind, or about their Savior. But we can all agree that whatever is out there, on March 30th, and on September 18, Grandma and Grandpa found out. Just seconds after they died, they came face to face with ultimate reality. And if they could come back and tell us, I believe there are a few things that they want us to know—many of which are highlighted in these old books as precious truths to be remembered.

The first thing is that death is common. The death of those we love forces us to face our own mortality. Death is real. Death is terrible. In the midst of a world that God called “good,” Death is not good. And yet every person who has ever lived dies. There’s no guarantee about when it will be, but the Scriptures say that it has been appointed for men to die once, and after this comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). God made us to be precious to one another. And Grandma and Grandpa were a precious gift to many of us. And when we’re separated by death there’s an ache left in us, pointing us to the fact that this is not the way it should be. Even though they are no longer struggling or in pain, it’s like that pain gets passed along to us to carry for a little while.

And actually, that ache that we feel is the tension at the center of the story of all creation. We were created to know and to be known in community. We were created to belong to God and to each other. But a long time ago, at the beginning of Creation, sin entered into the world through one man named Adam, and death entered the world through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:13). So death is common to all men; and, we read, death is caused. Sin is the cause of all the death, the separation, and the brokenness in our world. And one day, it will be the cause of our death as well.

There’s this book called the Jesus Storybook Bible that I love reading to my kids, and at the beginning when they’re talking about sin, they say, “In any other story, it would all be over, and that would have been the end.” And the page ends with a period. No hope; No light; No escape; Just sin and death. And this is where many people believe the story ends.

But when you turn the page, the story of all creation continues:

“In any other story, it would all be over, and that would have been the end. But not in this Story. God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan—a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back. One day, he would make the world their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes.

You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children—with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. And though they would forget him, and run from him, deep in their hearts, God’s children would miss him always, and long for him—lost children yearning for their home.

And in that moment, God whispered a promise to Adam and Eve: ‘It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you! And when I do, I’m going to do battle against the snake. I’ll get rid of the sin and the dark and the sadness you let in here. I’m coming back for you!’ And he would. One day, God himself would come.”

The stories we tell matter. I read this story to my children for the same reason I believe Grandma and Grandpa would want me to read it to you today: Because God did come back! And death may be common to all of us, and death may be what we deserve because of sin, but death has been conquered by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And today and every day, John and Marilyn found all their hope, and all their comfort in the cross of Jesus Christ. And by His grace, they have found their way home.

And so as the Scripture says, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because “the wages of sin may be death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What is a present reality now for Grandma and Grandpa is our great and living hope. And it can be your hope starting today. Like John and Marilyn, we will all die. But there’s one man who came back. And if you put your trust in Jesus, death does not have to be the end of your story either. I stand here today knowing I will see Grandma and Grandpa again in glory. And I only pray that I’ll see you there too.

This is how I’ll remember Grandma and Grandpa: singing, arm in arm, smiling broadly, eyes fixed on heaven.

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river, I'll fight life's final war with pain; And then, as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!

PRAYER

Our loving father, we come to you today sensing deeply our loss. We lay up on you today our burden, the pain of death. Yet father, we would pause to give you thanks, thanks for your many blessings in our lives, and the life of these dear departed: John and Marilyn. Thank you for the blessing of family, loved ones who cared in life and remember in death. Thank you for your grace and for loving us through Jesus Christ Our Lord. And thank you that Grandma and Grandpa knew Christ and now enjoy a wonderful home in heaven.

We pray that in your grace, you would minister comfort to those left behind, a comfort that springs from a hope, and a hope that springs from knowing life eternal in Jesus Christ. We pray that we might know the intimacy of your presence, and in your presence, peace. We thank you that you are ever near us and ever able to minister to our deepest hurts. We thank you that you walk with us through this valley in your love. Shed Your love abroad in our hearts today for it is in Jesus name that we pray, amen.