Take Time to Smell the Roses

Don was like a father to all of us, someone that we admired and loved. We all feel blessed to have had him in our lives for over 30 years. Each of us can recall memorable moments with Don. One of those memories for me was during a visit to Mom and Don’s home in Medina. I shared with them all about my busy day. As I was getting ready to leave, I gave them each a hug “goodbye”. As I hugged Don, he quietly said, “Don’t forget to take time to smell the roses, Ruth”. Don was that individual who took time to smell the roses and reflect on nature. This story was just one of many that the three of us shared when we sat down to prepare for today’s service. In picking our stories for today, we came up with a way to organize our thoughts, by using the meaning behind each color of a rose. So the memories we share today match the symbolism of the color of the rose. The rose was one of Don’s favorite flowers.

CHERYL: Purple is the color of enchantment, love at first sight.

It’s not often that you get to see the start of love, especially that of your mom. There isn’t a word in the dictionary that can describe the all-encompassing love that my mom experienced when she fell head over heels for Don. A nurse at the hospital that I work at once described this love as Twitterpated. When you area twitterpated you cannot think clearly, you read poetry, smile a lot, and gaze into the sunset holding hands and talking on the phone for hours. No matter what is happening in the world, it is ok because you are with the one you love. This is the word I would use to describe Mom’s feelings when she fell in love with Don 30 some years ago. I saw a new side of my mom, a side I had never seen before …and yes I think I liked it.

RUTH: Orange is the color of passion and excitement

Don possessed a true passion for travel. From safaris, to villages, Don and mom traveled the world and brought glimpses of foreign treasures back through the infamous Sutherland slideshows that we all anticipated upon arriving at their house.

Mom and Don also had a passion for the desert. Our family was lucky because we spent many days in Palm Springs with Mom and Don. Don’s love of the sunshine, date shakes, hot tubs and handpicked grapefruits. This love of the desert was contagious. We soon bought a place in the desert where we could celebrate holidays and birthdays together. Because my birthday fell during the holiday break, we were able to celebrate my birthday with them. One of my favorite birthdays was dinner at the Falls in which Don acquainted me to my first watermelon martini.

HUGH: Yellow is the color of friendship, joy and happiness

In the eighties I went to the San Juan’s to see Shaw Island. It was the first time that I would see the beautiful property that Don had purchased for his future home and the property he

shared with some of his doctor friends. I remember my immediate reaction “Wow… this is heaven on earth”…. I felt it was a privilege and an honor to visit this unspoiled treasure. Over the years I made sure to always join my mom and Don during the second weekend in July. This was their traditional family gathering that we called "the Salmon Bake." With each visit I was awed by a beautiful ferryboat ride from Anacortes to Shaw. I was charmed by the Little Portions store, which for years was run by the sisters of Benedictine. For me, and later for my family, going to Shaw each year was a highlight of our summer. This annual event showcased Don's meticulously prepared, delicious salmon. It was also a time of squirt gun fights, badminton, ping-pong, long walks, and long talks with the extended family. One of my favorite things to do was to go out in the little boat with Don, his dog, and tour the islands. There we would spot eagles, otters, whatever wildlife was out there. For a city slicker, it was like opening the pages of the national geographic, in real time.

CHERYL: Pink is the color of admiration, happiness and joyfulness

Being a nurse I had the unique opportunity to see the many faces of the man we are honoring today. I worked at Overlake Hospital on the FBC and in the nursery. I got to see Don as not only a father figure, but as a Pediatrician in this clinical setting. He had a unique ability to always listen to what the nurses had to say about their patients and formulate his plan of action around it. He was kind, polite and put those that he worked with ease. A moment that stands out during my time there: I was in the nursery coming around the corner walking to the floor. It was dark. I was the only one in the hall. From the opposite direction I heard a unique sound. It was a whistling Doctor Don on his early morning rounds.

HUGH: Peach is the color of gratitude, appreciation, and sincerity

I am grateful for the opportunity that I had to share in Don’s life, and to have experienced his love of nature. I specifically remember one of my first walks with Don. Our destination was Neck Point and I was thinking another walk, good exercise.

Halfway through our walk, Don was about 20 yards behind me, at the side of the road looking at the bushes. My immediate thought was “come on Don, I thought we were on a walk.”

Don called me over, “Hugh, he said, look at this… look at the dew and how it highlights the spider web. He had me looking at every intricate line of this web. It really was breathtaking…

…And then he had me look around… there were hundreds of these woven masterpieces.

Over the years, Don introduced me to the artwork of snowflakes, the beauty of many sunsets and the grace with which the Washington State ferry quietly glided by, with its lights twinkling and reflecting off the water, as it passed through WASP passage and exited to the right.

Through my experiences with Don, I learned to have a greater appreciation for beauty and nature and so many things that we often rush by without taking time to appreciate.

RUTH: Red is the color of love – a way of saying “I love you”

When they moved to Emerald Heights, Mom and Don moved closer and I was privileged to spend time with them after work and weekends. I witness first hand Mom and Don’s love for one another. One of my fondest memories happened this past December when I look them on a little evening trip to Molbak’s. They both were excited to be outside, admiring the Christmas lights. When we got to Molbak’s I helped Mom get into her wheelchair and Don pushed Mom into Molbak’s admiring all the poinsettias. I got a little ahead of them and looked back to see that Don and Mom had stopped at the counter. As I looked back, I could see that Don had grabbed a piece of mistletoe and was holding it over Mom, giving her a kiss. It was so sweet.

RUTH: Last is the color White which is symbolic of honor, reverence and new beginnings

Honor and reverence are certainly what we have for Don. We have lost a great man, father figure, and husband to our mother. Because of Don we have learned to appreciate the little things in life. Don’s life lessons and guidance are a part of us all now, reminding us to live and love. So when you leave today, we ask that you take a rose home with you and remember and reflect on one of Don’s life lessons, “Take Time to Smell the Roses”.