What would you have written?

Marge and I have for the past couple years been looking at funeral stones or grave markers to put in the cemetery. Some have asked us if we'd like to be buried in Nebraska to which we replied no. We've lived here in Missouri close to 40 years. We moved here in February 1986 to pastor the Wesleyan Church down by the interstate. The church extended to us the invitation to pastor the church, but we both felt called to the citizens of Scott City. So we'll stay.

We have thought about a picture or scene to put on the stone, but we haven't come up with a picture. But in the process of pondering, I got to thinking about what I'd like on my stone that would describe me. What could be written in five or six words to describe me? We don't plan on doing this to our grave marker, but I find it interesting to ponder.

I think of my Dad, Jesse Phillips. He was born in 1903 and was 47 when I came along. So how would I describe Dad? "Honest to a pain" is 100% true. Dad "loved to visit" is another caption. Dad could meet a total stranger and visit for hours. I can verify this is absolutely true! "He loved to fish." One other set of words is "He was a cattleman." Dad didn't really like being called a cowboy. He loved cattle and enjoyed taking care of them. He loved white-faced Hereford cattle. Another was "He loved his family." Dad had two boys and two girls and 13 grandchildren. Dad met 12 of them.

Mom was special. Mom was born in 1911 in Denmark and traveled to the U.S. when she was just a baby. She grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska burning cow chips in the winter to heat her parents' sod house. The sod house was small compared to the homes we have today. Mom taught school for a short time before marrying Dad. Once married, she cooked for the bunkhouse crew at The Joy, a cattle ranch with about 36 sections north of Lakeside, Nebraska. Her joy was her family, her two girls and then years later her two boys. "She loved to cook" would have been another description. "She was a talented lady." Mom could skin a bullhead, pick a chicken and milk a cow faster than anybody I have ever known. "She loved her family" would have been a fitting epitaph.

Marge's parents were special as well. Her Dad, Keith, was "just a good ole boy". I liked him. I enjoyed being with him or helping him. Keith "loved his girls and boy." He had four girls and the one boy. All of them were good Sandhillers, but I'm particularly fond of the one I married. Marge's mom, Helen, and I didn't gee haw all the time, but as time passed she came to realize I was an OK Phillips and not one of those Phillips's with a bad reputation. "She was easily sidetracked." Helen would go to do something and end up doing something else. Or "she always found weeds to pull." Sweet lady. She moved to Missouri away from her beloved Sandhills to live close to us. I miss her wit. She hated coffee, so I would kid her about "bringing her a cup of coffee". She wasn't impressed. Keith and Helen "loved their family and friends."

So what would others put on my stone? Not sure at all. Who knows some may say "good riddance". Some may say "he preached the Word". Some might say "he could really fish". Some back in Nebraska might say "he could sure hunt coyotes". Thirty-seven one winter. Some might say "he could sure grow tomatoes." Our boys might say "he was a good dad". They might, though, say I could have been better.

I would personally like to be remembered as "he was a praying Christian" and "he loved his wife and boys and friends and his dogs and cats and horses".

What's your story? Well, it's not too late to write a better script! Start today!