I was trying to think of the right word to use. I wasn’t “surprised,” really, nor was I “thrilled.” That’s not the right word either.
It should have been obvious, the sheer number, if I had sat down to think about it ahead of time. But when over two hundred people showed up at the graveside service on the coolest fall morning we’d had last October, overcast with a biting wind, I knew Beau had been loved by many, by all who knew him.
Men, women, families, all dressed for mourning, and wearing black because it’s what Beau favored, gathered at the cemetery in Palmdale, first several knots of people talking quietly, remembering Beau, hugging, and then more came, joining the others until there were a hundred, then more, then over two-hundred. And the area was filled with people. Family from around the world, friends from across the nation, people joined with the purpose of remembering and honoring Beau.
It was a solemn, prayerful, difficult service with tears for the loss of someone so loved and tears for those left behind. Beau had made the world he lived in a better place, a place where he called everyone “Friend” and was always ready to help or was down for some fun and video games. He had a way about him, at first strong and tough, but at the same time gentle and kind, and he could draw you in because he cared. He loved. And everyone loved him.
It showed. It showed in his life and in his death. It showed at the cemetery and the memorial service after. It showed in the stories told by family and friends and in the love he had for his nephews and they for him. Beau’s love showed.
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.'” – Matthew 22: 37-39
We can learn from Beau, from a life shortened by illness yet lived fully, and fully loved. In the Bible the people asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is. His answer? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Simple: Love God, love people.
We’ll remember Beau. His legacy lives on in all of us. May we all remember to love, first loving God and then loving each other.
“Every man dies, not every man truly lives.” ~ Braveheart
