Joel Hawthorne and I are working with Stacy Clark on the Memorial Service for her parents, Don and Norma Harris, to be held at Montgomery Hills Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland on Saturday, March 16, 2024. Don was the pastor at Montgomery Hills when I was called there as associate pastor in 1977. We served together until I was called to Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland as pastor in 1985. Joel succeeded me as associate pastor at Montgomery Hills, and he succeeded Don as pastor after he retired. Joel’s father preceded Don as pastor at Montgomery Hills, and Joel’s family moved back to Silver Spring and Montgomery Hills after his father died.

So, Joel and I go way back with Don and Norma, and Stacy (and her brother Steve) were in the youth group when I served Montgomery Hills. After Don and Norma retired and moved to Florida, Linda and I would make a winter trip almost every year to see them (and play golf). Our friend Kathleen Rowe often went with us, and she got to know Don and Norma too.

When Don and Norma were living in Fort Myers, Linda and I would often stay with them in their condo. Kathleen sometimes stayed in one of the guest suites in the condo building. Then, after Don and Norma moved to Bradenton, we would visit them there. Sometimes Norma arranged for us to stay in guest suites in their building. Other times, we stayed in local motels. Our last time to visit them was early in 2020, before the covid pandemic. We stayed in touch with them by phone after that.

After Don died in March of 2023, we were hoping that there would be a memorial service for him at Montgomery Hills. We were in touch with Stacy, and she told us that she had decided to delay the service at Montgomery Hills because her mother was not able to travel. They had a simple memorial service at the facility in Bradenton shortly after his death. Then Norma died in December of 2023. Stacy and her brother Steve decided to have a memorial service for both of them at Montgomery Hills next month in March.

We are grateful for the opportunity to remember both of them at the upcoming memorial service at Montgomery Hills. Don had written detailed suggestions/instructions for his memorial service, and he asked that their good friends Joel Hawthorne and Bruce Salmon have part in the service. We are honored to do so.

In my book, The Barefoot Eulogist, I note the importance of rituals of remembrance after the passing of friends and loved ones. During the pandemic, many of those rituals had to altered or delayed due to safety protocols. We learned that there is something important about friends and family coming together to remember those who are no longer with us. That’s why the memorial service for Don and Norma is so important for us. Our grieving their passing has been unfulfilled because we were not able to come together. Now, we can come together to remember them, and give thanks for them.

Don and Norma Harris were important people in our lives. They were among our best friends. We grieve their passing, but we are grateful to have known them, and we will continue to remember them.