The YW celebrated the lives of three tenants at the Lincoln Road Supportive Housing residence who passed away.
On Wednesday, Sept 30, a service was held at the Lincoln Road Chapel to honour Shannon MacLeod, Elaine Reid and June Edwards. Margaret Nally, who is a Spiritual Director in Community in the Kitchener region, officiated the service. Family members and friends shared heartfelt personal memories of each woman, revealing a common thread of the strong bond between so many women at the residence. A light reception and tree dedication for each woman followed the service.
Cathy Middleton, former YW Director of Homelessness and Housing Programs, gave a beautiful eulogy; this is a part of that eulogy:
“It’s fitting to plant a tree in their honour. Trees can certainly be emblematic of our lives. A person long ago named Hermann Hesse wrote beautiful letters to trees. To paraphrase a quote about trees, he said, “In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity, but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only, to be themselves. Nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, and the storms endured. And so when the trees rustle in the evening, listen to them and be reminded of the fond memories of June, Elaine and Shannon.”
