Greetings McSweeny Diaspora,
We missed all of you at our small but heartfelt reunion last weekend, and wanted to catch you up on the some of the highlights of our time together.
The McForce gathered at the Homewood Suites in Beaverton--where the suites were sweet and the fires were burning. The cozy atmosphere allowed for the clan to gather, disperse and regather whether in the dining room, the library area or the workout room where Hannah first ran into Sheila and Jim--naturally--where else would you meet them?
After an ample Saturday morning brunch (see Figure 1), we met several hours later at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, high up in the hills of Portland. Set in a green glade, the surroundings made a perfect place to say Goodbye to Bob. Bare trees and conifers surrounded the church as geese flew overhead in V formation.
Shortly into the proceedings, we discovered that Bob had crafted every aspect of a "no holds a barred" requiem service. Led by a priest, who was an old friend of Bob's who'd come out of retirement for the occasion, included was a full honor guard by the military and a presentation of the flag to Jean.
Rob and Mike both gave readings from the Bible, Rob from Psalm 107 (Some went down to the sea in ships...) and Mike from Romans (All who are led by the spirit of God are children of God...). A good friend of Bob's got up and gave a moving eulogy about his work in the non-profits. It amazed us to hear of the abundance of good that Bob had done. It turned out that until the day before his death, he continued to provide legal services to the non-profits that he supported.
The service closed with a gorgeous and, per Bob, "jazzy" rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Tears came to our eyes and we all filed out into the cold, bright day and down into the small and intimate church garden. There, a hole had been dug beside a yellow rose bush and as the priest spoke, he seemed to almost throw the bag of ashes in the hole. Jean, Mike, Rob, Alex and Rowan (Rob's sons) picked up the shovel and each in turn, threw a spadeful of earth into the ground.
Looking up we saw the sun peeking out of a cloud and a flock of geese flew overhead as we made our way back into the church for a mountain of snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies baked by Mike. Circling around, people reminisced about their times with Bob. It was such a tribute to him that people from all walks of life had come to say goodbye; friends, neighbors, colleagues, people who had benefitted from his good works. All were there, singing his praises.
It was here that the clan parted ways. Some went to a good old fashioned Irish wake and others chose to honor Bob with margaritas, salsa and all the trimmings.
To cap it all off, we met once more on Sunday for brunch at Jean's. Mimosas, strata, coffeecake and Mike's island punch were savored as we continued to reminisce, hover over Bob and Jean's wedding pictures and stitch together the memories that all of us had carried.
We wish you could have been there--we hope this gives you a small taste of our time together--we know you were there in spirit.
