So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumberable caravan which moves
To that Mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, Like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged by his dungeon; but, sustain'd and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
-ercerpt from Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant
Welcome, my name is Kathy Burns and I am honored to serve as your Funeral Celebrant today. It is an important day when we stop to bear witness to a person's life and times among us, the difference their living and dying made among family and community and to take the time to express our grief, our hope, our wonder and our memories.
We come to stand with Bruce Harkin's family, his wife, Grace, his children & their spouses...
On behalf of the family, thank you for being here for this important moment. You are here because either Bruce touched your life or he touched someone you care about. You will bear witness to Bruce's time among us and your presence helps the family to begin the process of turning tears into comforting memories.
We will begin our time together watching the video the funeral home prepared which captures moments from Bruce's life.
Video Tribute
In 1934 the fight over little Gloria Vanderbilt and her trust fund was being waged in the courts; Henry Ford was paying his workers an extravagant $5 per day; Al Capone was locked up in Alcatraz, and Bruce David Harkin was born. I thought it important to include a little history since there was no one who loved history more than Bruce.
He was especially fascinated with the Santa Fe Trail which was a route in the 196h century which connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico and later to parts beyond. Cloth, needles, thread, knives, files, axes and tools were taken to Santa Fe and silver coins, wool, and a great number of mules were brought back. Missouri became known for its mules, but they really came from to Missouri along this trail. The Santa Fe served as a commercial and military highway until the coming of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.
I thought we would pay homage to Bruce's love of the Santa Fe Trail today by exploring his life by "Traveling the Harkin Trail". There are many points of interest along this trail. There are highs and lows, but one thing we know is that wherever Bruce was, there was laughter.
First Stop: Childhood
Cyril Connolly said, "No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning." Well, that was not a problem for Bruce on our first stop along the Harkin Trail, his childhood. Bruce and his siblings, Ted, Noma & Bill, grew up in BeeBee Oklahoma where there was no concern about the city being too large. They grew up in the country. Their social life was going to the Pentecostal Holiness church which they liked because the singing was loud and had a good beat. Noma said she doesn't think they ever listened much but they enjoyed getting together with friends and singing.
Bill remembers they had to walk about half a mile to tend their garden and that in summer, the roads would be so hot from the oil that was used on them that he and Bruce would run from one bit of shade to another.
As Noma said, their life was not plush but there was a lot of love in the home and Bruce always brought plenty of laughter.
Second Stop: Teaching
Speaking about teachers, Dan Rather said, "The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a shard stick called 'truth.'"
Bruce believed that the subject of history was vital, that you were not well educated if you didn't know history. That is why he was such an outstanding history teacher...