Scouts and Funerals
Joanne C. Vogel (VOGELJC@SLUVCA.SLU.EDU)
Fri, 1 Apr 1994 13:39:26 -0600
The recent discussion of scouts at funerals really hits home
for me. During the past few months, I have had to attend the
funerals of two scout leaders, one GS/Cub leader and one BS leader.
Both leaders were in their mid-forties, died after long battles
with cancer and remained active leaders until their deaths. At
both funerals there were scout honor guards and in Jim's case,
the pallbearers were adult scouters in uniform. At the end of
Mass, Jim's 13-year-old son stood in the back of church surrounded
by his fellow scouts who were all in uniform. What a wonderful
sign of support and compassion these boys displayed and what a
moving tribute to their leader.
Elaine was a GS and Cub leader at my parish and all 5 of her
children are scouts--one daughter is in my troop. Her courage
and commitment were amazing. The morning of her funeral, all the
scouts in the school were invited to wear their scout uniforms as
a tribute. What a sight! At her funeral Mass, the troops/dens
of her own children formed the honor guard--2nd grade Cubs, 4th
grade Webelos, 6th grade Juniors, 7th grade Juniors and 9th grade
Seniors. As you can see, Elaine left a young family. Since we
have fairly large troops, there were scouts standing in all the
aisles as the family walked in to church.
Of course, these were sad occasions and some children and adults
had trouble keeping their composure, but I know the families and
friends realized the positive impact these two people had on children
because of their involvement in scouting. Children often have a
very hard time dealing with death and grief. Being able to DO
something gave many of them a way to cope with their feelings. I
might also add that both scout organizations have continued to
provide emotional and financial support to these families as they
struggle to put their lives back together. So, the appearance of
the scouts at the funerals was not just for show--our commitment
to their families will continue.
Thank you to whomever started this discussion. I've often
wanted to say something about these two people, but I wasn't sure
how to start.
Joanne C. Vogel
Leader, etc.
Girl Scout Council of Greater St. Louis
vogeljc@sluvca.slu.edu (St. Louis Univ. Law Library)
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
