Shelbyville Central High School
Class of 1968
"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." -- author unknown
Reunion 2015 Memorial
--Words delivered by Gerald Baker--
CLASS OF 1968 MEMORIAL SERVICE
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
FEBRUARY 21, 2015
Good evening everyone and thank you all for coming,
Before we begin, we would like to thank Judy and Brent Day for the wonderful job they have done in preparing and maintaining our memorial board – unfortunately, they are unable to be with us this evening due to the weather.
I know everyone is excited and looking forward to gathering once again to renew old friendships and share memories from a happy time in our lives. But before this, we wanted to set aside a time to come together and remember those of our classmates who are no longer with us, but were a large part of our lives during our school years, and in many cases, long afterwards. We are especially honored to have family members of some of those we celebrate this evening.
Our class is now thirty-nine fewer than when we said our good-byes after graduation. Thirteen of these have been lost to us just since our last reunion. Several of you were here for the first memorial service we held a few months after the reunion. For those who did not attend, the cast seal you see on the wall was purchased with contributions from our class and was dedicated to the memories of our fallen classmates. The beautiful table and the arrangement were recently purchased from those same funds and likewise donated to the school in their memories. Principal, Whit Taylor, asked me to convey to our class the school’s deep gratitude and appreciation for these gifts.
Over the past few days, I have been looking over the annuals from our four years at CHS. I took my time over a few nights, and not only looked at the photographs, but read the information and captions below the pictures, messages from classmates, and even the advertisements. How many remember the home of the 15 cent hamburger? Of course this was Burger Chef! As looking over my yearbooks did for me, we have only to look upon the faces of those on our memorial board to unleash a flood of memories. With some of these classmates we enjoyed close relationships - many lasting to the days they were taken from us. With others, we may have only shared occasional conversations in the hallways or classrooms. But from the most casual to the deepest relationships, we shared the bond of friendship --- and each of these friends we remember this evening is forever a part of who we are.
I have heard it said that it is not so important to know God’s plan for your life, but just to know that God HAS a plan for your life. One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. If we believe this, we know that each tear and every joyous moment of our lives is a part of this plan, and that one day we will see the pieces together as the completed mosaics of our lives.
While driving down the road in my truck a few weeks ago, I was listening to some of the “old tunes”, as I often do. One of the songs played was, “This door swings both ways” by Herman’s Hermits”. Most of the time I don’t pay a lot of attention to the lyrics of the songs, but on this day I listened as the DJ explained the writer’s underlying meaning of the song and its title. According to him, the writer wanted to convey that life is bittersweet and that no man can really understand his life (the door) until he has seen it from both sides. One line of the song reads, “make the most of livin’ if you’re not prepared to die”. To this end, every day that we are here is intended by God to be used in the preparation to pass through and see the door from the other side. Those we remember and honor here can now clearly see all of the individual pieces, skillfully placed by the Master Craftsman to form the beautiful pictures that were their lives while on His earth. For these, the journey is over, but we remain here for a time in order to work God’s plan and finish our own pictures.
In a little over three years from now we will come together again to celebrate our – dare I say it? – 50th class reunion. By then, in all likelihood, there will be others of us who have joined these on our memorial board. So when we leave from this service, for the next few hours, let’s pretend that it has not been 47 years, but rather that we are at the Cellar on a Saturday night giving little thought to Monday’s homework.
Finally, after this evening, try to stay in touch with each other---remember those we honor here this evening---and plan to be back here in three years.
We are now going to honor the memories of our fallen classmates by lighting a candle for each of them. If you are a family member and would like to light the candle for your loved one, please let us know by coming forward when your loved one’s name is read.
--Each Name read followed by a bell rung--
Now, please bow with me for a moment of silence, after which Randy Carroll will pray, followed by Stephen Decker who will lead the singing of our Alma Mater.
Reunion 2008 Memorial
Thanks to Brent Day and Judy Stewart (Day) for setting up this the Memorial Wall at the August 2008 Reunion
The memories of each deceased classmate are precious. If you have a precious memory of a deceased classmate please go their profile in the "In Memory" section and share the memory by entering it as a Response.
To read a precious memory of Charles Napper written by Pasty Reese Stovall, please click here.
If you are aware of a Classmate who should be added to this page please let us know.