Last updated
November 7, 2006
Memorial To Edward & Beulah McGan
(1924 – 2005)
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Edward & Beulah McGan |
Memorial Monument – Placed May 23,
2006 |
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My
parents were involved in a one-vehicle accident on December 3rd. My mother, Beulah, died on December 6, 2005,
from the injuries she received. She was
a special lady – and that’s not just something said by a proud son; everyone
who knew her – everyone – would readily agree to that statement.
My
father, Edward, remained in ICU and ICU-Stepdown for
another 18 days, but once he understood that Mom had died, his condition
worsened very quickly, and he died on Christmas Eve, December 24th,
2005 – just in time to spend Christmas with Mom and Jesus.
Our
parents were very special people.
Your comments about this
site are invited at dmcgan@mcgangroup.com
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Newspaper Memorial
On What Would Have Been Mom & Dad’s 62 Anniversary on
(Hardin County Independent, August 3,
2006)
Newspaper Articles and Obituaries
The
Elizabethtown, Illinois weekly newspaper, the
Hardin County Independent,
covered the accident and Mom and Dad’s ultimate deaths in its first issue of
2006. The front-page article can be read
HERE.
Obituaries
were published in a number of area newspapers, including the Hardin County Independent, of
Elizabethtown, IL, the Daily Register,
of Harrisburg, IL, the Evansville Courier
and Press, of Evansville, IN, the Gleaner,
of Henderson, KY, and the Paducah Sun
of Paducah, KY. Check
here for an example of each.
Memorial Cards
The
memorial cards printed for the funeral services can be reviewed here.
Eulogies
Since
we had no way of knowing the future, my mother’s funeral was held on December
10, 2005. My sister,
My
father’s funeral was held on December 28th, and we once again
composed a eulogy to be read as part of his home-going celebration. Perhaps it will help you know him a little
more, by reading it here.
Order of Services
Since Mom and Dad had always
stated the desire that they would “go together,” we strived to make their two
funerals as much the same as possible, including the order of service and the
funeral message itself.
Beulah McGan – December 6, 2005
Edward McGan – December 28, 2005
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Who Are They? The people referenced in
the Order of Services are: G.E. Coultas
– Pastor, Steve Dunn
– Pastor, Lowell “Butch” Gowins – a long-time friend of mine,
beginning in grade school, and continuing to this time. He and I were members of a Southern Gospel
Quartet in the 60’s, and shared many good times together as we grew up, many
of them around music in some way.
“Butch” was the best man at my wedding in 1973. He is the pastor of the First Apostolic
Church of Rosiclare. Mom & Dad always had a very high regard
for “Butch,” as he did them. Sharon Thomas,
Twila
Staton, Trina Slaughter
– Sharon and Twila are members along with myself of
the Echoes from Calvary, a Southern Gospel trio of which Mom and Dad were our
foremost “groupies.” Twila is the oldest daughter of Sharon. Trina is also Sharon’s daughter, and she
also sang with the Echoes from Calvary in the 1980’s, prior to being replaced
by Twila when Trina left home to attend
college. She now lives with her pastor
husband, Ken, in Georgia, and I was so happy that she was able to participate
in Dad’s service. The Thomas Family is
just like family to us. |
Funeral Message
The funeral was conducted
by Pastor G.E. Coultas, of Buena Vista Community
Church, and Pastor Steve Dunn, of Good Hope General Baptist Church. The funeral message is that delivered at
Dad’s funeral, but was essentially the same as that delivered at our mother’s
funeral. The poem at the end of the
message was read at our father’s funeral.
Tributes
Photo History – Down Through The Years
Some photo memories
through the years are here….
[Additional photos added
A Little WWII History - Mom and Dad met each
other when they both worked as part of the war effort making airplane wings at Servel in Evansville, Indiana. That’s where they were both working on VE Day
– when victory over Germany was achieved.
To commemorate that day, each worker was given a special VE time card,
so that all co-workers could sign it in celebration of the Allied victory. You can see Mom & Dad’s cards HERE.
Dad served in the Army Air
Corp. (which was what the Air Force was called before it was made it’s own branch
of the military). While in the service,
he apparently purchased a locket for Mom with the Air Corp symbol on the front,
and his and her photos on the inside.
You can see it on the photo
page.
Web Blog
After a number of days in
ICU, with many people interested in Dad’s condition, I created a Web Blog to help get updated information to people in a timely
manner. The copy is available HERE
for review.
Sympathy Cards
My sister and I have
received a large number of sympathy cards during this time of our loss. We appreciate each one of them and draw strength
from the sentiments expressed through personal notes in each. However, one particular card that I received
from a colleague had a special message that has given me a comforting
perspective of the impact of these events on my life. You’re invited to read it HERE and
think about your own life’s challenges.
Amish Expressions of
Sympathy
Dad & Mom were regular
visitors to the Amish community near Marion, Kentucky, where they would buy
eggs, bread, etc. and, of course, for
Dad to visit and talk a little while shopping.
In fact, they were on their way back from their weekly Saturday trip
when their accident occurred. Dad had a
great respect for the Amish way of life and their obvious commitment to their
beliefs. One of his favorite Amish
acquaintances was Amos Mast. My sister
had received a sympathy card from Amos, and in return had sent Mom & Dad’s
eulogies to Amos, asking him to share it with others in the Amish community. A very nice return note from Amos was
appreciated, in which he said that every time he feeds his horses, he thinks of
Dad. You see, when Dad would visit Amos,
he would offer to take Amos to pick up horse feed from the nearby Amish
mill. We also received a note from one
of Amos’ daughters, Mrs. Harvey Yoder, addressed to “Unknown Friends.” Along with her kind words of sympathy, Mrs.
Yoder also sent a favorite poem of hers, to help communicate her thoughts and
sympathies to us. You can see it HERE.
We also received a
hand-made sympathy card from the Mike Yoder family, “The Bakery People” of the
Amish community. On the day of the
accident, Mom & Dad had been to the bakery to pick up some fried apricot
pies that had been baked by special order for Dad. By the way, Dad told one of his visitors in
ICU that he had gotten to eat a couple of those fried apricot pies on the way
home, “and they were good!” It’s the
little things in life that have so much meaning, if we just stop to realize
it. Anyway, the Yoder’s card to us can
be seen HERE.
Complete Listing of
Sympathy Cards
You can view a list of names
of those who sent Sympathy Cards to us during the time of our parents’ passing HERE.