In my book, The Barefoot Eulogist, I included the eulogies I gave for 15 beloved people, either during my tenure as pastor of Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland, or after I retired. Family members gave me permission to include the eulogy for their loved one in the book.

Chapter 11 in the book is titled, “Mother of a Friend.” It includes the eulogy for Agnes Cheri, who was the mother of our friend, Beverly Sabol. I began the chapter with these words:

“Beverly lives across the street from Linda and me. She has a key to our house. Whenever we are going to be away on travel, we give Beverly a copy of our itinerary. We stop the newspaper delivery and the mail, but Beverly keeps an eye on things. She is a trusted friend.”

After her mother died in 2021, Beverly asked me to conduct the funeral at a local funeral home and the committal service at a cemetery in the county. I was honored to do so. Beverly provided me information about her mother which I included in the eulogy.

After The Barefoot Eulogist was published in 2022, Beverly secured copies of the book from me to give to family members and friends. It was a way for Beverly to honor her mother.

Last spring Beverly told me that she had been diagnosed with a serious disease. She had scheduled a consultation with specialists at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and soon began treatments. In the following weeks and months Beverly and I had several heart-to-heart conversations about her condition. I assured her that she would remain in my prayers.

I was hopeful when I heard that Beverly had gone with her sisters on a vacation trip to Delaware. Then I heard that Beverly suffered another medical crisis and had to be hospitalized. We talked several more times after she was able to come home. Then she suffered yet another medical crisis and had to be hospitalized again.

Sadly, Beverly died in the hospital about two weeks ago. She was only 62.

Two of Beverly’s sisters asked me to conduct her funeral, which was held last Friday at the same funeral home where I had given her mother’s eulogy. Beverly’s remains were interred at the same cemetery where her mother is buried, near her mother’s grave.

Over the years I have conducted many funerals for people I loved. In Chapter 10 of my book, Preaching for the Long Haul, I began, “By far the hardest part of being a long-term pastor is saying goodbye to people you love.” Beverly never attended our church, but in way, I suppose, I was her pastor (as well as her friend). We were neighbors for 22 years, and our friendship deepened over time.

I was honored to give the eulogy for Beverly at the funeral home and some words of committal at the cemetery. Now every time we look across the court from our house we remember Beverly.

In Preaching for the Long Haul I wrote, “Conducting funerals was one of my most important ministries. It is a ministry that will continue after retirement. My goal in each eulogy is to remember the person with honesty and love, and to lift up our Christian hope.”