Early Sunday morning, our thoughtful, loving Branch President finally succumbed to the affects of Leukemia and passed away. We found out as we arrived for Sunday service in Coromandel town. He had been diagnosed nearly a year ago but had been in remission for several months. About three weeks ago he began complaining of back pain and was not able to make it to Church for the last two weeks. We had visited him last Wednesday though and he was still his usual chatty self. Even on Saturday, he had called Elder O’Neal in the afternoon to be sure we had everything figured out for the meeting on Sunday. That call made the announcement less than 24 hours later quite a surprise! He had been either the president or a counselor for the last 25 years so this will be quite a loss for our tiny Branch. He lived in Kennedy Bay about 25 minutes north of Coromandel and the funeral service was held there. We were invited inside the Marae this time so I could take a few pictures.
Each of the wooden carvings on the wall depicts a different god and each god has a story told about in the woven tapestries to the side of each carving. Above each figure is a small plaque with the name of that particular god. Even the ceiling contains murals ascending from each god to further clarify that personality.
Elder O’Neal was asked to give a small tribute which he did by telling about how “Uncle Eric” had given him a hand carved cane and how special it would always be to him.
And then after the service, his body was taken to the cemetery in his own car. What a great idea!
It was a very special experience.
Kia Ora, Elder and Sister O’Neal
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