Dave Smith Memorial Service

Service Outline

Officiant: Rev. Dr. Brandon Morrow

Estimated time: <40 minutes

Processional Music

Sharon Linton

Welcome

Good morning, my name is Brandon Morrow, and today I have the honor and privilege of celebrating the life of Dave Smith and to encourage us with the hope of resurrection only supplied by our Lord, Jesus. On behalf of the family, I want to say thank you for being here. Today is a day of immense joy as we celebrate Dave’s life, sharing in the same joy that our God graciously gave him.

Opening

We gather in God’s presence to remember and give thanks for the life of William “Bill” Wagner to affirm God’s love for us, and to support one another in a time of need. Let us acknowledge our grief and be open in our love, affirming the meaning and mystery of life, confident in the hope of the resurrection through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let’s open our time together with a word of prayer.

Prayer

God our Comforter, you are our refuge and strength, a helper close at hand in times of distress. You forgive what we have done and what we have left undone; your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Help us to hear the words of our faith that our fear is dispelled, our loneliness eased, and our hope reawakened. May your Holy Spirit lift us above our natural sorrow, to the peace and light of your constant love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Special Music

In The Garden, Diane Ngo Accompanied by Sharon Linton

Scripture Reading

John 11:25, Brogan Rattary, Grandson

John 14:1-4, Megan Hales, Granddaughter

Isaiah 41:10, Brogan Rattary, Grandson

Remembrances

Testimony from Children of Dave and Ann Smith

David Smith, Son

Patti Hales, Daughter

Pamela Rattary, Daughter

Song

Great is Thy Faithfulness (Congregational Song)

Scripture Reading

Philippians 4:4 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Eulogy/Brief Message on Philippians 4:4

As Paul has just said, we must always rejoice in the Lord. Today we rejoice in the gift of Dave Smith, and to give you a short snippet, I want to read the obituary as it was posted in the East Bay Times.

Dave was born in New York City on December 7, 1942 to Mayo P. and Ella Marie Smith, where he spent the entirety of his childhood. He attended St Helena’s Grammar & High Schools before studying accounting at St Francis College in Brooklyn, and was a proud alumni and glad to call himself a Terrier.

Dave was also a proud Marine as well as an accomplished businessman, splitting most of his career between Levi Strauss & Co. and the InterPacific Group.

Dave was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Mayo, Kevin, & Gary, and is survived by his wife Ann, son David, daughters Patti and Pamela, and 9 grandchildren; Stephen, Joshua, Elizabeth, Megan, Elias, Lindsey, Brogan, Molly, and Jack.

What I just read you was a brief, very brief, glimpse into Dave — but that doesn’t tell the story we all know, doesn’t it? What a challenge I have today to cover, with honor and grace, the life of Dave.

Dave was a special part of our community here at Moraga Valley, and special to me. Not long ago, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Dave in a back corner of the Lafayette Park Hotel, and I left that lunch so grateful for Dave’s life and Dave’s immense gift of wisdom.

I have been marked by Dave’s joy, his wisdom, his affection for Ann and his family, and his deep, unwavering trust in the Lord.

I have yet to come across anyone in our community who knew Dave who does not share my same sentiments.

It would be easy to spend our time talking about all of Dave’s incredible accomplishments: his business acumen, his athletic feats including a 195 mile race on his 60th birthday — but I want to spend our time on a man deeply transformed by joy, and I believe, and hopefully you will too, that joy has a source, and that the source of all great joy is Jesus Christ. To speak of Dave and his immense joy for life, is to speak deeply of Jesus.

Several weeks before Dave’s health began to really decline, I was sitting at his dining table with he and Ann, and we were talking about his health diagnosis, the unknowns about the origin of his illness, and what the plans going forward were, and Dave goes, “I’m not going to do anything, I’ve had a good run.”

I think there are pockets of people in society today who think that a comment like that might resemble something like “giving up,” but I believe that a comment like that is a triumphant response to a life lived in surrender of Jesus, informed by a life of Christ-informed values, someone who see’s the course that God set before them, and knows they’ve done everything they possibly could to the glory and pleasure of their Creator.

It may have been one of the most wisdom filled things I’ve ever heard.

For those of you who’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dave for decades know that the man who can’t sit still, who was the human embodiment of the Energizer Bunny, who lived out the value of excellence, then you already know that Dave wasn’t going to make a decision that would hinder the presence and gift he could provide his friends and family. Again… a wisdom filled response from Dave.

I think Dave’s wife, Ann, summed this idea up nicely to me the other day. She said, “Dave had a good sense of himself.” Incredibly self aware… because if you can wear yellow bow ties for fun, paint closets bright orange, or paint whatever you want outside, and do a well choreographed synchronized swim with your brothers — I think you have to be pretty aware of who you are and who God created you to be.

You’d think that growing up in New York, being the strong New Yorker that he was, could affect you differently. New Yorkers are known for their hard shells and tough personalities… but that’s not Dave’s story, that’s not the man God set aside in Dave.

I would say, anything but. Instead, a lifelong encounter with Jesus, gave us something different. We were blessed with a humble, hilarious, full of life friend, and brother, and father, and son, and neighbor.

I think when you have an awareness of who you are in Christ, you can choose to not take yourself seriously. The implications of this are massive: it gives you the gift of being present, and real, with others. For Dave, it gave him the gift of being present with his children, of attending so many of his grandkids activities, to being a man just present to talk with his wife. Ann told me that’s what she thinks she’ll miss the most: “just talking.”

I also think an awareness of who we are in Christ, not taking ourselves too seriously, is an invitation to experience the beauty of the life that God has given us, and when we cherish the beauty of the life that God has given us, we are left to embrace the deep, deep joy of the Father.

In talking with Pam, Patti, David, and Ann about Dave’s life — I pointed out to them that in the last decade of working with families in moments like these, I don’t think I’ve encountered a level of joy like theirs. Laughter and more laughter and more laughter, and I think there’s a direct correlation there to somebody who lives their life in knowledge that they’ve had a good run because they’ve done the things that God has called them to do, and they partnered with God to become the kind of person, who could handle the wonderful gifts that Dave had: his life, his family, his work experiences.

The Apostle Paul’s invitation for us today is to continue to rejoice. If you find yourself without much joy today, might I say, that you may be missing Jesus, who is the source of all joy. And when you meet Him and give your life to Him, which can be today, you’ll experience the freedom of not having to take yourself seriously, in learning of your true identity as one who is deeply loved and known by God, and you’ll encounter a joy that will change and affect the lives of others.

To the immediate family, I will say this:

TLS, CP, Pamza, Double D: Mr. Wonderful, Himself was so incredibly proud of you, and loved you all deeply. God has given you the gift of Dave’s cleverness, his humor, his joy, his humility, and his wisdom.

And to all in attendance today: May you continue to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ, who will give you every reason to rejoice, and may you know, the best sense of yourself, the very men and women God created you to be, and may your lives be marked by an immeasurable joy.

Video Remembrance

Video on Screen

Commendation

Let us pray. Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Dave. Acknowledge, we pray, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Comfort us, fill us with your joy, remind us of your never lacking grace. We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Conclusion of Service (Instructions)

The family would love to greet you and have you enjoy food and friendship as we celebrate our memories of Dave.

Postlude

Stars and Stripes by John Phillip Sousa

Processional

Sharon Linton