Friend: one attached to another by respect or affection. Respect is something that I will always have for Greg, but it took time for my affection to develop. My affection for Greg has nourished over the years because I began to look toward Greg as a mentor.
The first time I began to look toward Greg as a mentor was in ninth grade. One day when we were in his room, I told him, "I'm a little afraid of attending High School." Greg simply asked, "why?" I replied, "Because High School is a time when your suppose to set goals for yourself and develop your future plans and I have no clue what I am going to do." Greg said with a slight smirk on his face, "you don't know?" So I asked, "well do you have any clue what you're going to do with your life?" Greg said with certainty, "I'm going to start my own record label!"
Music is something that Greg loved and cherished and he shared this love with me. Greg introduced me to a type of music called EMU and the thrill of live performances. Without Greg I would have never known who Jeremy Enigk was, I would have never seen Jeremy Enigk's band called Sunny Day Real Estate live, and I would've never heard the beauty in Jeremy Enigk's solo album called Return of the Frog Queen. Greg loved to go to an alternative coffeehouse downtown called the FoxFire. The foxfire also has a stage were they give concerts. Greg took me there to go see Dilinger Four a popular punk band. We were listening to one of the cover bands called Lifter Puller and we both adored their new type of music. Lifter Puller soon became Greg's favorite band but my love was retained to Jeremy Enigk. Greg's favorite song came from Lifter Puller, "it's the first song of their old album", he said. "This is the song that I wake up to every day, it's the only song that can get me out of bed."
Greg has taught me so many things. He taught me how to play guitar, he has taught me how to listen to music opposed to just hearing it, but the most important thing Greg has taught me is the skill of making friends, something that Greg has never lacked. I know that I will always have friends, but Greg will always be my Best Friend.
MUSIC
Entertainment & Arts, by Lifter Puller
Craig Finn
THANKS
Friends and family
Support means so much
Prayers, help have lifted us up at this hardest of times
GREG'S DISEASE
Talk about Greg and cancer
Was an important element of his life last few years
It was the battlefield where he was able to demonstrate his strength and courage
Never let cancer define him
Wouldn't be a patient, a victim
Greg always defined the role cancer would play in his life
An obstacle to be overcome, a detour, a temporary setback
Each time cancer appeared in his life, Greg would size up the situation, get that
"steely-eyed" look of determination, then go to work at getting past it and
back to his "real" life
Shoulder surgery, he was concerned about playing golf and his electric bass
2 months later he was playing both again (golfing better than me!)
the doctors marvelled at the function that he regained in his left arm
In January, brain hemhorrage left his right arm (good arm) almost useless
Dove into OT and PT
Peg exercise-28 seconds left arm, couldn't complete at all with right
6 weeks later, did the pegs with right arm in 26 seconds
There are so many other stories like this
Greg faced cancer, never let it beat him the person, even now, feel he escaped
from it
I learned courage from watching Greg, and I am so proud of him
GREG-THE PERSON
I'm sure Greg doesn't want us to focus too much on his cancer and on his death
He wants us to think about him living, having fun, playing the many roles he
played in our lives
In some ways, Greg was a typical teenager. He liked rock music, hanging out
with his friends, driving his car and, of course, girls. He went to high
school, worked part time, and fought with his parents, and brother and sister.
In other ways, Greg was an exceptional human being. He seemed to attract people to him. He
had friends of all ages, all races, all walks of life.
He was a teenage boy, with all of the hangups and concerns that a teeenager
has, but he was never ashamed to hug and kiss his mother in public
He could be stubborn and argumentative, especially about getting to stay out
late, to go to that special concert
We joked that he'd make a great lawyer, a prospect which really frightened
me
Greg was a student…he enjoyed classes like European history and business…last year we
talked quite a bit about the rise of modern Europe and he was able to
connect what was going on in Bosnia and Kosovo to what he'd learned. He
missed many weeks of school over the last 2 years, but he worked diligently
with tutors and on his own to make up virtually every class
Greg was our technical and computer expert…he was the guy who could get the
12:00 to stop flashing on the VCR. He spent a lot of time patiently explaining
(and reexplaining) to me how to download MP3 files off of the internet
Greg was a competitor. No matter what the sport or game, Greg loved to play and he played to win, to set the high score
He was the master of our arcade-style hockey game in the basement…once he figured it out, we never had a chance
I wouldn't call him a gracious winner…he loved to needle his opponent,
especially when it was me, pointing out his successes, chuckling at my
mistakes
Last week, in the hospital, we found a checkers game
After defeating his sister, he set his sights on me
What developed was a clash of titans, a contest of wills
The game lasted over an hour (Sharon Smith was there, and it drove her from the room!)
When the game ended, Greg had won
CLOSING
Greg was, and is, all of these things
Though this is a memorial service for Greg, we're not saying goodbye for
good
He's gone on ahead of us, to a better place
He'll watch over us (and probably laugh a good deal of the time)
And he'll continue to touch us throughout our lives
Until we meet up with him again in that glorious place.
So we won't say "goodbye" today, just…
We love you, Greg, and "we'll see you later, dude"
This is a poem by Wendy Paur. Greg used to joke that "Everyone loved Pearl Jam,
a grunge band from Seattle. She read this at the service.
Everybody Loves Pearl Jam
(Or Ode to Stewart Pidd)
Steel guitar strings or is it a harp
Visions of heaven conflict with punk
How is the music up there
Or where they send angels like you
Is it Bach or Lifter Puller
Tell us where to send the notes
Of songs you loved to hear
Tell us: Does everybody really love Pearl Jam
Lighting of the Candle "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" Romans 8:18
We have come together today to remember and celebrate the life of
Greg Hundt-both temporal and eternal, as a son, a brother and a
friend. We release what was and make room for what shall be and
through the Grace of God- the promise of eternal life we rejoice for
the day when we will be reunited in God's hands and God's House.
Let Us Pray
Invocation: Lord, we ask that your presence be felt here today as we
stand before you in our humanness and our sorrow.
We pray for the spirit of our loved one, Greg and that you take him oh
Lord and bring him home to your safekeeping.
Let your Angels draw near to us and bring your peace. So that we
might be eased in our grief. Help us Lord come to the understand
and acceptance that Greg is free and help us rejoice in that freedom,
in the knowing that this young soul, Greg will now join your choir
of Angels in singing to the world.
Amen.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us
In a time where the emphasis is on our youth but more out of fear, it is all to easy to overlook the many examples of our children and youth who are the unsung heroes.
Greg Hundt is one of those heroes. Greg was a young man of today who had no qualms of expressing his feelings. He thought nothing of demonstrating his affection by giving his Mom a kiss or taking her hand regardless of where they were or who was present. A youth of today who accepted & understood the power of that love.Psalm 121: A Song of degrees
I wanted so much to find the words that would ease the grief and
soften the blow for Sharon, Fred, Evelyn and Lowell. But instead I
was humbled. Humbled by what in other circumstances might escape
us. Humbled by the life of this young person. The easement, the
softening comes not from words but from Greg, himself and the way
he touched all of us, through each of us, through his music, through
his laughter and through his passion for life.
The cure, the softening, the easement is in knowing and remembering Greg.
A young man who faced his challenges with the desire to make a
difference. Greg didn't give up. He didn't focus on the end but rather
embraced each day as a new beginning.
He didn't stop playing his music or game of Frisbee Golf
Instead, he seized each moment and left us with a message to
continually remember and ask, a message of personal responsibility.
"What do we do next-where do we go from here?"
Looking to the promise of a new tomorrow. He didn't think about what
he didn't have or couldn't do but rather what could be and what
possibilities there are.
"The eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the
heart of man felt, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him." Corinthians 2:9.
Greg is free now to experience the things that God has prepared for
us. He's free to sing and play as often as he'd like, whatever
he'd like and however loud he chooses.
In Spirit are all the expansive feelings-love, happiness, and joy.
To go toward Heaven is to expand - not to limit but to become free.
The family & close friends would like to share now with you their
thoughts and feelings.
Rememberings:
Evelyn(sister) & Michelle
Lowell(brother) & Friends
Song- CD (Lifter Puller)
Fred (Father)
Song - CD (See You in Heaven)
Greg has touched all of us- whether in knowing him personally or
knowing him through others. We all carry with us that love, that
warmth and encouragement Greg shared.
Nothing and no one can every take that away. I would like to invite
those of you who would like to share thoughts or feelings about Greg
to do so at this time.
St. Francis Prayer for Peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may seek
Not so much to be consoled, as to console
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
Announcement - Joining family in the Reception area
Let Us Pray:
Benediction
Lord deliver us today to our passion and our brilliance. Deliver us to
our depth and beauty. Deliver us Lord to our power to heal and to
you.
May God bless you as you leave today. May you know the sweet
assurance of the guidance of the Angels. May the shadow of sorrow
be lifted from your hearts and the peace of the Creator forever be in
you. Amen.
Song - CD "Like A Child"
Another friend who spoke at the service, was Jarick Losey, who alternated between
being a best friend of Greg, and a rival. You know how teenagers are.
Greg has been a close friend ever since I met him four years ago.
He was easy to get along with and always willing to talk, since we shared
many common interests.
We started a band together shortly after we met.
The band went through changes with several guitarists and music styles, but
Greg and I were always part of those bands.
We both loved listening to and learning about music.
The greatest gift Greg ever gave to me was an appreciation for playing and
listening to music, and he is still my inspiration to keep playing.
Please send any comments to me.
