“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
-Thomas Campbell 

It is said that two things in life are certain: Death and Taxes. One of these I cannot hope to ever understand, so let us instead focus on the simpler of the two, death. It isn’t a fun subject to think about, probably because we are faced with it all too often. Still, as we see those we love, friends and family, pass around us we begin to realize how important remembrance is. Often, a person’s impact on our lives is not fully understood until after they are gone. 

César Franck is known, among many other incredible organ compositions, for a collection entitled Pièces posthumes. The pieces were taken to a publisher by Franck’s son after he had died. His son didn’t want the beauty of these works to be lost, but instead wanted them to be shared for all to hear and enjoy. Thus is the legacy one can leave in the minds and hearts of others. 

In order to remember and commemorate our neighbors and loved ones passing, I have set up a binder in the villa lobby and the Ambassador library in which I am placing Obituaries or simply notices of the deaths in our community. If you ever have one you’d like to add, present or past, please give or send it to Chaplain Paul and it will joyfully be added to the book. 

Let us remember that those we love and remember never truly leave us. 

-Chaplain Paul Hart Cochran