Hal "Milton" Chauncey Jr.
Notes
Transcript
*Family and friends, we are gathered here today in celebration of the Life of Hal “Milton” Chauncey Jr.
Born September 23, 1928 in Mayo, Florida
Passed into the arms of Christ September 14, 2021, at the age of 92.
He is preceded in death by: his parents, wife: Sarah, son: Donald, grandson: James and brothers: George, John, Lyndon, Harry, Willie & Claude. He is survived by: his son: H.M. (Cindy) Chauncey, daughter: Felynda "Sissy" Chauncey Krell, grandchildren: Britany (Alex) Ammerman, Courtney (Arron) Krell, Melissa (Sullie) Herron, Timothy J. Chauncey & Victoria Krell, great grandchildren: Tye, Parker, Evan, Ricky, Charlotte & Olivia, siblings: Patricia (JR) Hingson, Sam (Susie) Chauncey, Jerry (Claravella) Chauncey, Janell (Sonny) Starling, Mary Rose (Walter) Fike and many nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews and friends.
I know that it seems odd that I would call today a celebration
We are standing in this place where no one wants to go and where all of us will arrive
All of us know that our days are numbered
You never know when your time will come, and when we say that, we’re never talking about ourselves
Your hearts are heavy as we pause to focus on saying farewell to a man that you loved dearly
Living 9 days short of 93 years is a longer life than most of us will have the privilege of living
And yet, today it seems like all to short a time
But despite the way that we may feel, today is a day of celebration
Today, we celebrate because of the greatest truth in Milton’s life
I didn’t have the privilege of knowing your father, brother, uncle, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend
But from what I have learned about him over the last few days, he seems like a man I would have liked knowing
It is often said, on days like today, that the celebration is in the dash
That little line that fits between your birthday and your going-home day, that represents your life
From the things that you all have shared with me, Milton did a lot of living in that dash
Anyone that lived almost 93 years would should have some things worth celebrating in their dash, and Milton certainly does
In fact, there is more to share about him than what we could share today, but I will tell you that
Milton was a farmer
Milton was a farmer
He grew up on a farm, as the oldest of 12 children
He lived in a house that was the first in Mayo to get electricity, but still had no indoor bathrooms
It was a 2 mile walk to the Riverside school, and the chores were waiting when he got home
Milton grew up growing and raising everything that he ate
He graduated from Lafayette High School
Farming is what introduced him to his wife
It gave him a love of animals and caring for things that could be seen his whole life, even as he took up the hobby of raising Basset hounds
It also gave him a strong love of hard work, which would serve him well in everything that he did
He was a farmer, but also,
Milton was a soldier
Milton was a soldier
He was drafted into the U.S. Army October 17, 1950, during the Korean War
He served in Virginia, and then in Germany before the end of the war
While serving in the Army, he did have a harrowing adventure at sea
he was on his way home on a ship, when they got word of a hurricane
They tried to go around it, but ended up sailing right through the middle of it instead
The ship felt as though it was being torn completely apart, but they survived and made it home
After the war, Milton returned from the army and went back to the farm, where he proved that
Milton was a dedicated & hard worker
Milton was a dedicated & hard worker
While farming in Mayo, Milton also worked at the Mayo block plant
But in 1956, work slowed and that wasn’t going to pay the bills
Milton moved his family to Mulberry, to work for the Atlantic Coastline Railroad
From the Railroad, Milton moved to the Polk County Road Maintenance Department
He started as a laborer and worked his way up to retire as the superintendent for districts 1 and 3
Around the house, he was a jack of all trades, doing his own plumbing, carpentry, and furniture building.
He found time to dig wells and put in septic tanks with his grandfather.
He was not a man that sat with empty hands
Milton was a family man
Milton was a family man
This is something that all of you seem to agree on, regardless of your generation
He married Sarah Mae in 1955, and never looked back through their 60 years of marriage
you know, they are together today
He lover her and cherished their wonderful years together
He never missed a mother’s day in sending her flowers
I’m told that he was a firm father and grandfather, who kept the kids in line
On the outside, he was tough, but his heart was as big as this world
He helped care for his younger siblings, some of which thought of him like a second father
He was a dad that was present and active in the life of his family
Helping out in scouts, FFA, and the church activities they were in
H.M. told me about a shepherd’s cane he made by hand
He had a lifelong love of fishing
It started as part of life on the farm,
It echoed through raising his kids
and became a past time with his grandkids
What he lacked in affection, he gave you in himself
In trips to the zoo and visits with family
In the dollhouses, furniture, and playhouses he built
In car rides from the bus stop, with a Spanish cassette that no one understood
In surprise cartoon time instead of Dukes of Hazard
In his little gifts of money just to make you feel special
All of these things are true about Hal “Milton” Chauncey Jr.
All of these things are memories that you hold
They are things that you will continue to talk about, cry through, and laugh over in the days and months ahead
but none of these things are what we are here to celebrate this afternoon
You see, as wonderful as all of these memories are from within Milton’s dash, there is something far greater we have yet to discuss
You see, the greatest truth of Milton’s life is that
Milton is a follower of Jesus
Milton is a follower of Jesus
Milton was a man of strong faith in Jesus
He raised his family to follow after him, and did his best to teach his children the way that they should go
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul writes
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Today, you are suffering grief, and it is right to do so
You miss Milton and you wish that he was with you
You remember the good times that you had together, and you wish for more of them
You are constantly reminded of his absence among you
But if he were able to do so, Milton would remind you that
Today is not the end- it is the end of the beginning
The dash of your time here on earth is a small blip in a life that will last an eternity
TODAY, MILTON IS NOT SAD TO BE IN HEAVEN
HIS ATTENTION IS FOCUSED ON THE LORD
HE IS FULL OF JOY AND LIFE AND PEACE FOREVER
And he is waiting for the day when all of us can join him there
Milton knew that he was not a perfect man
He knew that he sinned, and that he didn’t measure up to God’s standards, Even as Romans 3:23 tells us
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
He knew that, like all men, he deserved death for his sin, but that God loved Him enough to send His One and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for Him
He believed that Jesus is the Son of God, who has defeated death, and that One day Jesus will return to destroy death forever
And because He believed these things, because He lived His life in faith,
As you and I grieve we can also celebrate. Because Milton called on the One Name under heaven whereby you must be saved,
We can celebrate that Milton is in the presence of the Lord
We can celebrate that he is fully restored, in a place where there is no more pain and no more death
We can celebrate because God’s Word promises that Jesus is coming again, and one day you and I will have the opportunity to worship God side by side with Milton, if we have chosen to believe ourselves
You see, the truth of it is that each and every one of us will live forever
Those who have not trusted Christ will live forever to suffer for eternity,
Those who put their faith in Christ will enter into His eternal Kingdom to live forever as coheirs with Christ, even as the Scriptures say
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
And as we close our time together today, I would honor Milton by asking you this simple question:
If today was your day to enter eternity, could we celebrate at your funeral?
Would your service be one of both grief and celebration, or merely one of grief?
I know that Milton wants everyone of you there to worship the Lord with Him
If you have yet to put your faith in Jesus, I could think of no greater honor to remember Milton with, than to do so today
It isn’t how long or full your dash is, but whether your dash belongs to the Lord.
Milton’s did! And he is waiting to celebrate with each one of us that put our faith in Jesus.
PRAY