Recently, someone very dear to me and all the other in my Girl Scout Troop passed away. She was dear to us and many many other in the area that she headed. We were not allowed to attend the funeral/wake, but my dear friend Adrian wrote this wonderful, beautiful epitaph in honor of her:
A Special Thanks by Adrian Gergler
In my lifetime, I have only been to two funerals. One was for my mother's mother; I was about six years old at the time and spent the whole ceremony playing with the water fountain. One was for a good friend's father; instead of sitting with her mom or her brother or her sisters, she somehow sat between Laura and Gabbers and me. I'm not sure I was as comforting as I should have been.
During both of those instances I didn't feel the same level of loss as everyone else present. It wasn't my mother or my father that had died. It was easy to distance myself and not feel anything.
A few weeks ago a very important woman in my life died. The one funeral I have ever wanted to attend wasn't open to the friends half of "family and friends." I don't blame them for making that decision; this woman was genuinely friends with over two hundred individuals.
Her name was Judi Dallon. She was the Girl Scout Service Unit Manager for Plymouth, Terryville, and Thomaston. She has been the manager for longer than I am years old, and during all that time she never forgot the name of a scout, the name of a parent of a scout, and, usually, that scout's birthday. Every one who knew her was awed by her dedication, her perseverance, and her love for what she did.
Although I identify as male (for those of you who don't know as this will end up pasted everywhere, I am an FTM transgendered person), I was a Girl Scout for the full twelve years and never considered stopping. Although I sometimes didn't like all of the girls in Troop 4090 (we used to have a very large troop), it was still a place that, despite having the word "girl" thrown about willy-nilly, I felt more okay with myself than most places.
I've known Judi for about fourteen years. She helped me grow up, and she always believed that I would do great things. She encouraged me to participate in charity events and to plan awesome field trips to awesome places. She encouraged me to participate in town-wide events and to get up and perform even if I didn't want to. She encouraged me to complete the Silver Award, which I greatly appreciate. She encouraged me to lead a Daisy troop, and when a junior troop needed leadership help, she recommended me to the leaders.
A lot of things changed in town between my first year as a Brownie and my last year as a Senior, but she kept all of us together through it. Once, when she was too sick to run one of the functions, we gathered together for a group picture of over two hundred scouts to cheer her up.
She was a cancer survivor, and was often beset by illness during the fall-winter changeover. She was a chronic smoker, but a very considerate one and often dispensed advice to everyone about not smoking.
Because so many of us wanted to pay our last respects to Judi and Sharon is a really amazing daughter who understood that, she arranged a memorial gathering for her mom in the Plymouth Center School gym this afternoon. All of Judi's family and many of her friends attended. Her husband brought her ashes to the gathering for us, which was an amazing act for someone in so much grief over the loss of his wife.
A few leaders spoke about Judi and one of the closest leaders to Judi had her troop do the Flag Ceremony. We recited the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law for her. One troop sang the song that they had written for Judi a few years ago. When all the talking and remembering was over, we formed a circle and sang Judi's favourite song.
It's such a silly song to be crying to, but I managed to do it. I really don't think anyone's cried to "Mrs. O'Leary" before. I mean, the Chicago fire was awful, but interactive children's songs are supposed to be happy.
At first, neither Gabbers nor I could really sing, but I think pushing through and finishing the song loud and clear really helped sort through the feelings left over from the speeches and the letters and the memories. I felt better having sang that song. I thought Judi would have appreciated it.
I'm sad that she's gone, but I am so grateful for what she did with her life.
Thank you, Judi. We'll miss you.
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