![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thegatheringcincinnati.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/kraynik10981-300x200.jpg\" "\\"kraynik1098\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nMemorial Services are never easy to conduct or to attend.\u00a0 We use them as a way to say goodbye and to remember a beloved friend or family member.\u00a0 Everyone feels a sense of loss and emptiness in their lives \u2013 a void once occupied by a vibrant, happy and significant person.\u00a0 In many respects, we tend to focus on the loss instead of on the gain.\u00a0 We see death in terms of its finality and as a reminder that we too will one day take its journey.<\/p>\n
For me, however, it does not matter the faith or spirituality we practice \u2013 or don\u2019t\u2019 \u2013 to see death as an occasion to celebrate a beautiful and wonderful life.\u00a0 And I believe that should precisely be the case with Jean May Hodil.\u00a0 Gracing this earth with her presence for over 84 years, Jean was a gift, a joyful presence to friends and family, and a vital contributor to the well-being of her community and world.\u00a0 Because of Jean, this city and each of our lives are richer and better off.\u00a0 Yes, she has passed into an eternity of peace and she will be deeply missed.\u00a0 But we also have ample reason to celebrate, laugh, sing and deeply appreciate her life, her presence with us and the large and small legacies she created.\u00a0 I cannot begin to imagine the sense of loss her family, multiple associates and close friend Arlene now feel.\u00a0 Nevertheless, as someone who counts it an honor and a privilege to have known her, I stand here today in a celebratory frame of mind.\u00a0 Jean lived a long life.\u00a0 She impacted so many.\u00a0 She loved family and friends well.\u00a0 She added her intelligence and her diligence to improve life for others.\u00a0 Hers was a life wondrously led, on her terms, and for that we can all be very happy.<\/p>\n
Born just outside of Pittsburgh in 1926, Jean experienced at an early age the kind of loss we all feel today.\u00a0 Her mother died when she was only eight and her father passed when she was just a young woman of twenty.\u00a0 But she shared her long life with two siblings \u2013 Helen who was born when Jean was beginning college, and Earl, eight years her junior.\u00a0 Attending Grove City College at a time in our history when many women still did not, or could not, aspire to such education, Jean early on established herself as a smart and sophisticated woman.\u00a0 Helen\u2019s earliest memory of Jean is of her wearing one of those stylish, large brimmed hats that all of the chic and trendy women wore in the thirties and forties.\u00a0 She was a confident, interesting, fun and educated woman who, as Helen says, always seemed really \u201ccool\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Jean did not patronize her younger sister and instead treated her like an adult.\u00a0 For Helen, it was always exciting to see Jean and she remained the role model of her life.<\/p>\n
As a young woman, Jean was going places.\u00a0 A music major and vocalist in college, Jean moved from being a vocal teacher to work as a musical instruction supervisor to beginning her lifelong career with the YWCA as a youth director in Beaumont, Texas.\u00a0 And from there, she climbed the ladder of success \u2013 moving to Ohio where she served, successively, as the YWCA Executive Director in Springfield, Youngstown, Columbus and Cincinnati.\u00a0 During her years in Columbus, she earned her master\u2019s degree in social work at Ohio State.\u00a0 Once again, Jean was a cultural trendsetter through her work in the Executive suite at a major organization.\u00a0 The YWCA has historically empowered women like Jean to assume positions of influence and impact. \u00a0Its history tells the story of social progress in the twentieth century and Jean was an integral part of the YWCA as it advocated for immigrants, factory workers, child labor laws, racial equality, and more recently, for the rights of battered and abused women and children.\u00a0 Across the state of Ohio, Jean\u2019s legacy of leadership and work for the marginalized is woven into the lives of countless women.\u00a0 That is one big reason to joyfully celebrate her life.<\/p>\n
It was in Jean\u2019s 1978 application to be the Executive Director at the Cincinnati YWCA that she met Arlene who was on the search committee for that position.\u00a0 And thus began a 33 year beautiful friendship.\u00a0 Jean had a wry sense of humor which Arlene remembers.\u00a0 An example of which was when Jean playfully teased Arlene \u2013 who was serving mostly as an unpaid volunteer within the local YWCA \u2013 by sending her a letter indicating that the organization could only afford to give Arlene a small raise that year but, if she worked really hard and well in the coming year, she could expect an even smaller raise the next!\u00a0 As someone who faced Jean in salary negotiations for my position as Pastor, I knew her to be a kind, caring and very serious business woman \u2013 who also had a wry and funny sense of humor!<\/p>\n
In the late 70\u2019s and early 80\u2019s Jean skillfully transformed the YWCA to meet a new mission and purpose.\u00a0 No longer a place where young, single and proper<\/span><\/strong> young ladies found independent and safe living accommodations \u2013 since that was no longer in demand \u2013 the local YWCA, under Jean\u2019s leadership, became a place of protection and safe shelter for battered women and their children.\u00a0 Jean reordered the organization\u2019s finances by transferring ownership of their residential facility – thus reducing maintenance costs \u2013 and she was instrumental in opening a Clermont County branch shelter of the Y for abused women.<\/p>\nPartial retirement came in 1988 when Jean and Arlene, no longer at the YWCA, joined forces to become entrepreneurs by opening a pet sitting service appropriately called \u201cCritter Care.\u201d\u00a0 As successful businesswomen they even hired staff and thus met another longtime friend, Linda Tong.\u00a0 Jean and Arlene could never be far away from social outreach and they donated the services of their business to assist AIDS patients who could no longer care for their pets.\u00a0 Jean\u2019s love for animals \u2013 and particularly cats – spanned her lifetime.\u00a0 Her two cats, Charley Brown and Lilly, attest to her love for them with the sense of loss they now very clearly feel.\u00a0 Jean was also a longtime volunteer at the Cincinnati Zoo and a regular docent with the Taft Museum of Art.<\/p>\n
And this small, diminutive, sophisticated woman was passionate about the Opera; she thrilled to her favorite opera, “Rosenkavalier”; she attended faithfully every Opera season, along with the Cincinnati symphony and the May Festival.\u00a0 She included in her love for music many trips to see the Chicago Opera.\u00a0 She was a true<\/span><\/strong> aficionado of great classical music.\u00a0 But Jean was also, surprisingly, an ardent Cincinnati Reds baseball fan!\u00a0 She\u2019d never attended a game in her early years and knew very little about the sport but, after attending one game many years ago at the invitation of Arlene and other friends, Jean became hooked.\u00a0 She followed the Reds, attended numerous games and was looking forward to this summer when she hoped to attend again.\u00a0 Famously, Arlene and friends often laughed and teased Jean about her early unfamiliarity with baseball and one particularly amusing incident.\u00a0 At one of the first Reds games Jean attended, and perhaps reflecting her concern for animals, Jean asked fans seated near her about the bulls in the pen!<\/p>\nIt is nearly impossible to reflect a life like Jean\u2019s in the few minutes we have today.\u00a0 Suffice it to say that Jean, in a gentle but determined manner, was passionate about life.\u00a0 But the sum of any life is not measured by deeds we have done \u2013 good or bad.\u00a0 If we are each here to help build heaven on earth, then it is our impact on the lives of fellow people and fellow creatures that is the measure of our brief passage across this mortal coil.\u00a0 In that regard, Jean was a bright comet across each of our universes.\u00a0 And she shone most brightly in the lives of those who knew her best.<\/p>\n
To her family, Jean was and still is: sister, Aunt, sister-in-law.\u00a0 The legacy of her love for them is right here today \u2013 from Cleveland, Maryland and Florida \u2013 Helen, Tom, Alison, Whitney, Molly, Earl, Beth, David and Earl Jr. \u2013 their presence today testifies to Jean\u2019s loving impact on their lives.\u00a0 She was, as her sister Helen explains, really<\/span><\/strong> close to each of her three nieces and two nephews.\u00a0 She followed their lives, their growing up and their becoming contributing members of society and parents in their own right.\u00a0 Helen tells me her daughters became Jean\u2019s daughters \u2013 their grand moments in life giving Jean happiness and pride.\u00a0 As we will all see from pictures in a short while, Jean stood and posed proudly between the very tall Earl Jr. and David.\u00a0 She loved them both with all that she could pack into her petite frame.<\/p>\nFor Tom and Beth, Jean\u2019s brother and sister-in-law, she was like another sister.\u00a0 Arlene commented to me how poignant it was for her to see the depth of sorrow and anguish Tom felt during Jean\u2019s last days \u2013 he too was faithfully by her side, offering prayers, hope, comfort and love.\u00a0 And for Helen and Earl, Jean was truly their BIG sister.\u00a0 Almost a second mother to them in their early years, Jean later became their equal \u2013 their great and glorious sister to whom they looked with pride.\u00a0 The many weeks Helen has spent in Cincinnati over the past few years \u2013 helping Jean recover from various surgeries and, just recently, sitting by her side and assisting in medical decisions for over three weeks \u2013 testify to a sibling love that crosses sixty years.\u00a0 Helen and Earl, we should all be so fortunate to have you as a sister and brother.\u00a0 Most assuredly, we should all be as lucky as BOTH of you are, to have Jean for a sister.<\/p>\n
To Jean\u2019s friends, she was a great and caring and fun-loving person.\u00a0 To the many who knew her at the Gathering, we cannot begin to think of our congregation without her. \u00a0Indeed, she was a founding member and her choice to support Steve Van Kuiken, in his time of trial, showed her courage and her commitment to justice and equality.\u00a0 She served the church faithfully over these last eight years \u2013 working with our finance team in countless ways that help a small church remain stable and vibrant.\u00a0 I was honored to serve her as Pastor for over a year and it will not be the same to look out on Sunday mornings and not see her.<\/p>\n
After my first several messages as a new Pastor, Jean knowingly smiled at me and said, \u201cDoug, that was ok.\u00a0 You\u2019re getting there.\u201d\u00a0 Finally, after a few months, she told me at the end of one message that I had done a good job.\u00a0 From Jean, such praise was hard earned but it still means a lot.\u00a0 A few months ago, as I said earlier, I sat across from Jean as we discussed my salary for this year.\u00a0 She was a calming presence.\u00a0 She wanted to give me a nice raise but she also knew her duty, from years as a seasoned Director of the YWCA, that she had to look out for the interests of the Gathering.\u00a0 In the end, we concluded our discussion mutually happy and I, with a deeper appreciation of her strong but gentle approach.<\/p>\n
For one friend in particular, Linda Tong, Jean was like a sister and wise mentor.\u00a0 \u00a0For young Vivian Tong, Jean was a grandmother and inspiring force.\u00a0 Jean knew young Vivian from her first moments on American soil \u2013 greeting her and holding this gift of a child in her arms \u2013 so proud and so happy for Linda.\u00a0 To my partner, Ed, who serves as Vivian\u2019s youth Pastor, on the day before Jean died Vivian could not keep from .sharing a sense of loss coming at her young age.\u00a0 I know for both of you \u2013 Linda and Vivian \u2013 Jean will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n
How do I begin to capture the meaning and love and friendship that Jean and Arlene shared for 33 years?\u00a0 It is impossible.\u00a0 From their collaboration at the Y, to their business partnership with Critter Care, to shared hours at the Cincinnati Zoo, to Opera arias mutually appreciated, to common Sundays at the Gathering, to knowing moments each morning commenting on the day\u2019s newspaper, to laughter and joy each evening at 5 o\u2019clock sharp as they sipped a martini together, to the final three weeks of Jean\u2019s life as Arlene watched, waited, and prayed next to her best friend \u2013 these are the precious times of a deep and close relationship.<\/p>\n
Arlene, my dear, we cannot know or fully appreciate how much you must miss Jean.\u00a0 To many of us, she was a friend.\u00a0 To you, she was the BEST of friends \u2013 one with whom you shared common likes and with whom you shared many remarkable and beautiful life moments.\u00a0 We celebrate your friendship and the joy it brought both of you.\u00a0 When any of us, in the future, want to be around Jean, we will meet her in you \u2013 in ways that only the best of friends change our lives for the good.\u00a0 You are loved by so many who also love Jean and we will honor her life and her legacies by continuing to support you.<\/p>\n
As I said at the beginning of this homily, we are here to celebrate Jean\u2019s life.\u00a0 Yes, we each feel the sorrow and pain of her loss.\u00a0 But, I hope we do not focus here or in the days ahead on how much we lost<\/span> with her death but in how much we gained<\/span><\/em><\/strong> with her life.\u00a0\u00a0 Each of us hope to depart this earth having left behind changed lives.\u00a0 Few of us may know \u2013 perhaps even Jean did not know \u2013 the many lives of young YWCA women she helped save and change for the better.\u00a0 How many of our fellow creatures \u2013 from giraffes at the zoo to our cats and dogs \u2013 have been touched by Jean\u2019s caring hands?\u00a0 How many unknown ways do any us reflect her influence, her counsel, her strength, her wisdom, her sense of fairness, equality and justice?\u00a0 Most importantly, how many of us were touched by her affection, her pride in us, her inspiring example to lead a life of integrity and grace?<\/p>\nIt does not serve the memory of anyone to cloak them in sainthood and absolute perfection.\u00a0 Jean was human like any of us.\u00a0 But she lived life well.\u00a0 She lived it with purpose.\u00a0 She lived it with generosity in time, love and resources.\u00a0 Jean may have been small in stature but she looms large in how she influenced each of us and the world at large.\u00a0 Let us each joyfully<\/span><\/em><\/strong> remember and celebrate the many ways she touched our lives for the better and let us give thanks that we knew her and that we counted her as a loving friend, sister, aunt, confidante, and co-worker.\u00a0 Jean, we will never forget you.\u00a0 We know for a fact you are still here \u2013 still counseling young women, still laughing with Arlene, still spending unforgettable moments with your family.\u00a0 Thank you, dear Jean, for all the many ways you made us – and still make us<\/em><\/strong> – better people.<\/p>\nPhoto album of Jean’s life: please click here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Delivered by Pastor Doug Slagle, The Gathering UCC, \u00a0May 5, 2011 Service-Program, 03-05-11, Jean Hodil Memorial Services are never easy to conduct or to attend.\u00a0 We use them as a way to say goodbye and to remember a beloved friend or family member.\u00a0 Everyone feels a sense of loss and emptiness in their lives \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}