Re: Scouts and grief
Olan Watkins (o.watkins@GENIE.GEIS.COM)
Sat, 2 Apr 1994 00:12:00 BST
Scouter's Funeral
Some of the recent posts about deaths and funerals of Scouts and
Scouters reminds me of a funeral I attended a week ago. It was the
funeral of a long time Scouter and Scoutmaster. He had been the
Scoutmaster of the same Troop for something like 40 to 45 years and had
been a highschool math and science teacher before retirement from
teaching. It was perhaps more of an eulogy service rather than a
religious service.
The thing that was different about it was it was held at a Scout Camp
in the outdoors at the council ring. He and his Troop had scheduled a
campout for that week end at that camp and the Troop decided that he
would have wanted them to go on with the camp out and have his funeral
there as part of the campout, and that is what they did. He had a Troop
of close to 50 boys, and the boys all proudly took turns carrying his
coffin down the rough trail to and from the council ring, and during
the service stood as an honor guard behind his flag draped coffin. The
council ring was filled with Scouters and friends. Many many of his
past Senior Patrol Leaders got up to speak of experiences and stories
about him and all that he had done for them. It was a very moving
service.
One of the speakers said something like he had lived almost 72 years,
but died at a age of somewhere between 11 and 16 years. He was
something of a maverick and adults sometimes had a hard time
understanding him, but kids never had any problems at all understanding
him.
As I said, he was something of a maverick, and his Troop did not take
part in a lot of district or council events. If his boys decided they
would rather have a Troop campout rather than attend a district
Camporee or Council Scout Show, they went on the Troop campout rather
than the other event.
I could not keep from thinking at the funeral, that perhaps he had a
much better understanding of how Scouting should be than any of the
rest of us. I am not sure how many of the rest of us would have the
boys in our units that would be willing to carry us in a coffin down
and up a steep trail in order to say their good byes at the place we
loved the most, or that our former Scouts from years past would feel
the urge to come say good-bye. Yes, he was buried in his Scout uniform.
If any of you knew Jack Boyd Jr, Scoutmaster of Troop 52, Longhorn
Council, you know that Scouting lost a true Scouter.
Olan Watkins
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
