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Sympathy is defined as: an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other or a mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it .

” Some who seek sympathy, clearly only seek to be understood.”

Writer: Henry Springs

Chicago Mourns Maggie Daley 1943 – 2011

I must admit I didn’t know much about Mrs. Maggie Daley other than she was married to the former Mayor of the City of Chicago, Richard M Daley. I knew She was being treated for some form of cancer. Maggie Daley had been diagnosed with breast cancer more than nine years ago. Her story reminds me of one of those people in your congregation or connected circle of people who you only wish you knew more about after they died. You are privy to glimpses. You see why she achieved more notoriety, a much more individual presence after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and underwent chemotherapy. Maggie Daily remained “strong and positive” and was a guiding light of hope for many cancer survivors who refused to let the disease take everything that was their life away from them. A funeral is the perfect time when a Funeral Note or a will honor her and her family’s memory in the most respectable way.
Maggie Daley’s plight with cancer inspired many. She was ” seen as a woman who fought the battle with dignity and grace” never letting the illness eclipse her bright spirit. She inspired cancer patients locally and nationally. Her way of life and commitment for women to explore “as many options” as they could prompted the establishment of the Maggie Daley Center for Cancer Care Women at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She was one of those boundless personalities that continued to give through the examples and standards she set as well as with financial contributions. Her daughter Elizabeth’s wedding was moved up a few months . She was present for it on Nov. 17 and died at 68 on Nov.24th. She was said to have been at peace with herself and the disease. A perfect thought to mention in a Funeral or Sympathy Note to let the family know you wish to send something comforting in their time of loss.
Much of Mrs. Daley’s Life was spent in the shadow of Richard M Daley. Ironically much of his formative years were spent in the shadow of Richard J Daley who held the office of Mayor of the city of Chicago from 1955 to 1976, until he died. It was amidst all of these larger than life personas and historical political logistics that the name Maggie Daley was born. It appears many Chicagoans and Americans felt she had a particular bond to their lives. She was diagnosed and battled breast Cancer and its return. She was a mother , a wife and a political activist just as she moved many mothers, husbands and families trying to make sense of a city, a country that sometimes didn’t seem to be changing for the better with a zeal for life and a knack for beating the odds. She was a voice and a figure whose actions could matter and did. She was a champion of numerous other programs: After School Matters, the Chicago Cultural Center, additional education programs and Cancer awareness programs in general. If she could let her light shine with the examples of her life you surely can with a Sympathy or Acknowledgment Note and let them be reflective of them in yours.

“Life is eternal and love is immortal; And death is only a horizon, And a horizon is
nothing save the limit of our sight.”

Writer: Rossiter W. Raymond

Whitney Houston : August 9, 1963 t0 February 11, 2012

On Saturday Feb 11 , 2012 a voice was silenced. A voice that had risen for so many monumental occasions, so effortlessly, so uniquely and so memorably was suddenly silenced and will rise no more. Whitney Elizabeth Houston was announced dead to the world this Saturday on the eve of the 54th Grammy Awards.
A void has been left, an empty space. Many have sought to emulate it and few have come close. Ms. Houston’s three octave range, sometimes coy, sometimes regal delivery of material few attempted and few achieved. Her track record of awards speaks for itself. She has been cited by Guinness “as the most-awarded female act of all time.” She won two ‘Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards , what becomes a total of 415. Sadly Whitney’s light had not shone so brilliantly as of late and her death was the final chapter for the comeback that many had hoped for, her final moment in time that she and the world so richly deserved. Whitney who was born in Newark, New Jersey had been performing since age 11. She died at age 48 in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton after drowning in her bath tub from what is said to have been a mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol. It may be weeks before authorities know exactly what occurred.
Ironically fans left flowers and candles for Houston outside the Beverly Hilton after her death Saturday. Her last album was released in 2009. It sold over 305,000 copies in its first week of release. During her Good Morning America Performance in 2009 she was not the ever consummate Whitney her public remembered and complications continued to plague her world tour. Most have attributed her continued pitfalls to her drug abuse. Even after to confessing to “abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills” there was little her public held against her. She had been redeemed by her public even before she sought outside help with her problem. She had already accomplished the unachievable and the fans, her worldwide audience wanted more. They are still asking for more but she is no more..
Ms. Houston’s claim to fame were her impeccable deliveries, one of a kind performances where she did things with her voice some people still only attempt. On her last concert tour her voice became “raspy and hoarse.” She struggled with high notes. It belied what fans had watched her deliver so many times before in earlier, happier, less complicated times. Whitney Houston made her debut to the world on the Merv Griffin Show in 1983. She previously spent years touring with her mother Cissy Houston, singing back up for the likes of Lou Rawls, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack, the Michael Zager Band and Jermaine Jackson. Those were the baby steps that led to a track record that made her a bigger star than anyone would ever imagine. Her first solo performance was at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, ” Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah was the first song she performed publicly and ironically “Yes, Jesus loves Me” was the last song she performed with Kelly Price at a pre Grammy party the day before she died.
Ms Houston’s first number one song was “You Give Good Love”in 1985 and it was followed by (“Saving All My Love for You”; “How Will I Know”; “Greatest Love of All”; “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”; “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”; “So Emotional” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”) that tallied up a string of seven consecutive number one songs. I Will Always Love You the theme from the Body Guard became her best and one of the best selling singles of all time, over 12 million worldwide. More music and movie sound tracks followed in Waiting To Exhale, The Preacher’s Wife, the albums My Love, Just Whitney, The Holiday Album and I Look To You.
Ms Houston had sold over 170 million albums and records worldwide over the course of her career. For many her voice had been eternal, just like “hopes springing high.” Throughout her career she had moved people to stop, think, hope, believe and dream. She inspired many and many inspired her. Perhaps if there is one last thought, one last action to take or sentence to write this is the best time to offer it up, your own personal condolence in a Funeral Note or Sympathy Card for the memories and the inspiration she now leaves us with. Many have been haunted by the sudden death and then the barrage of airplay and video rotation for Whitney who sings ” And I will always love you.
I will always love you. You, my darling you.” We have not even contemplated the question regarding the Whitney the world fell in love with. The Whitney for who so many of her fans grieve. Send a Funeral Note with Thoughts. You’d be surprised who might be listening.

Roger Ebert : In the Blink of An Eye, The Span of A Lifetime………

June 18, 1942, Urbana to April 4, 2013

” Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. ”

Writer : George Eliot

For most movie magic is an elusive thing. It takes a bit of talent to combine a quality production and a comparable cast into an exceptional film. Often it is a mixture that comes about by the combined efforts of filmmakers: directors, casting crews, producers, writers and special effects people. A movie critic is usually never mentioned but Roger Ebert was one critic that surely hung heavy on many a filmmaker’s mind. At one time he was touted as ” the nation’s most prominent film critic” or “the best known film critic in America.” He died last Thursday April 5th. He had been diagnosed with cancer, had two surgeries to get rid of it and had just announced its unwelcome return.
Roger Joseph Ebert was a screenwriter, journalist, a film critic a film lover and an indefatigable supporter of what he classified as good films. It is even more ironic how the only child of Annabel and Walter Ebert of Urbana , IL. nurtured his writing interest as a teen to achieve worldwide notoriety. Before he graduated from high school his penchant for writing sports and science fiction articles blossomed into an appointment as Editor and Chief at his high school newspaper. Believe it or not at the time of his death Ebert’s career as a critic spanned over 52 years. His last printed review appears in syndication this week. In 2005 he was the first movie critic to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. A timely Funeral Note sent in respect and gratitude would surely honor his memory and his life.

Siskel and Ebert’s original show captivated audiences. It went through a couple of incarnations: Sneak Previews and At The Movies. Their “thumbs up” classification would become his and Siskel’s trademark long after he died. Their contrasting personalities and points of view seemed to offer something for everybody, conservatives and liberals. The 1978 pairing of the two critics produced what was at the time the most highly rated show in PBS’ history. In 1999 their show went off the air only to be replaced by Ebert and a new found partner Richard Roeper,” At The Movies with Ebert and Roeper. ” It aired from 2006-2011.

Mr. Ebert could be identified by his passions that shaped and molded his career. He liked to write and he liked connecting with people, whether it was something trivial, mundane or surreal he found a voice. He found a voice that answered many questions his readers wanted answered. He realized there was a time to laugh, to cry, to think and to stand and readers merely wanted to know the who, what, where and why. He felt most at ease providing that vital function. He said his newspaper job was his”identity.”Throughout his lifetime he connected with audiences on various levels through that identity. He won a Pullitzer Prize for that type of dogmatic belief in 1975. The syndicated movie review shows followed. He never lost sight of the simple principle of speaking to his audience and getting them what they wanted.
Roger Ebert was a “work horse.” He was at his best when he wasn’t working and reviewing. At the peak of his career he reviewed as many as 306 movies a year. He worked as a film critic for the Chicago Sun Times from 1967 until he died. His recent bouts with cancer and surgeries robbed him of his ability to speak, eat and drink in 2006. Cancer in his salivary glands and jaw forced him to use a feeding tube but he continued to write and review. He refused to let his misfortune rob him of his wings. He continued to write, read and breathe life into movies as they had done for him until he died. He still produced his syndicated column for the Sun Times and 200 newspapers until he died. He also published more than twenty collections of film reviews.
Mr. Ebert truly believed by continuing to do what he did he could change how people viewed films, how films viewed the world and all of those little connecting points and sockets in between. He relished the reality that what he said and did, did make filmmakers more attentive to the standards of their craft and the stories that they told. His wife laments, “we were getting ready to go home” last Thursday, April 5th when he just “smiled and passed away.” “There was no struggle, no pain.” Maybe he felt he had finally written enough, maybe he had endured enough. The only honorable thing for his audience to acknowledge is how they have been affected by his life, work and his relentless undertaking. A Funeral Note as a thank surely is in order. Let your conscience way heavy in your decision.

You can never do enough for someone when they have lost someone close. Sympathy cards are sometimes the only thing you can do if the person is in great despair. We use them and find that they always are appreciated.

Wow, I can totally relate to this post. The only way I handled my best friends loss was by wrting a sympathy card an I only put “So sorry, I love you man”. Not much but I just went with what my heart had at that moment. These are really important to do for people you care about, he needed me.

Oh thank for this post, I wasn’t sure what to write and want to make a kind and sincere impression since I do feel horrible but don’t know them very well. Thank you, thank you, thank you!