Hell Of A Send Off

[Dave McNeill]

After reaching a certain age you find that you have attended a lot of funerals and memorial services and so you tend to compare one to another. On Saturday the bar was set extremely high. 

The memorial service for Sifu Mark Lord (58) was to put it mildly, powerful, amazing and healing. The church was packed with standing room only. Mark’s wife, Jackie, officiated with great calmness, with the help of their daughter. Jackie’s brother had the whole crowd howling with laughter as he told 3 wonderful stories about Mark, who he called Mr. Rogers. 

Of course there were tears from all the friends and family on more than a few occasions. None more so than when they placed Mark’s trumpet on the alter. A honor song was performed by a talented singer from the Pyramid Lake Reservation in honor of Mark helping Native Americans fight diabetes.

Mark was still teaching when it was told how he always said, “Take care of the 10 square feet around you.” He was talking about how to treat people as well as doing Tai Chi. That’s a lesson I will try to follow.