Not Part of the Job Description

This past week was definitely unique in my experiences thus far. I had to facilitate the district response to the passing of a long time Scouting volunteer who was also the husband, Al, of the Sheboygan Scout Shop manager, Jan, who has been there forever and is a strong ally in working with the units.

It all began with a phone call early last Sunday afternoon from Jan at home. This was odd in the first place but then I heard the tone of her voice and figured no good could be coming from the call. Her husband, who recently was given a decent bill of health, suffered a massive heart attack on his way into work at Gander Mountain and passed away soon after. This came as a big surprise to everyone the first time they heard. I was stunned when I realized that I was probably the first person beyond the family and pastor to hear the news.

I should mention at this point that I never got to meet Al. We just hadn’t crossed paths yet.

To be honest, I was at a loss at first of what I was supposed to do beyond be supportive. Then it sunk in that I would have to make sure to get the word out to the district. How the heck are you supposed to let people know that someone died? Just “Hey, so and so, died.” Not quite a respectable way to phrase it though I debated saying just that for a second. I figured that I would wait until I got the funeral information to send a message out so that any initial questions could be covered in the message. I received that information the next morning along with a well-phrased announcement that I copied and used in my message.

The response I received was more than I expected with calls from several folks that were out of town on work and wanted to know what the district was doing. What a great question for a district chairman…too bad I don’t have one. I went for the obvious and got flowers (with help, but they were, in my opinion, the nicest there and were placed center stage) and a card delivered to the church for the funeral and went with my associate and boss as the official council contingent. I did skip the viewing the night before at which apparently several hundred people showed up to pay their respects.

I don’t consider myself the most sentimental person so a funeral is uncomfortable to start with. It was even less comfortable when I had not met the person and could not relate to the grief expressed by the others there. It was also the first funeral I have been to in a long time. As the service began, it seemed like a normal church service right until the memorial began. The family decided to write letters to the deceased and have them read. That hit me between the eyes. Here were the words of his sons and wife (of 43 years) describing a perfectly decent man of strong faith and good heart who was honestly happy and an excellent parent as they expressed their feelings to him. The words of his wife hit me hardest in part because I know her well and in part from what they said. It was the simplest, most honest expression of a deep and abiding love and the loss felt by his passing that I have heard. The pastor continued by describing recollections that he had of Al and those of others.

After the memorial, I realized that this man I had never met will be remembered in the best of ways. He will be remembered by those who knew his as a genuinely great man (father, grandfather, Scout leader, coach…) with deeds that reached the heart and were done not for fame but for those who needed it. He was not rich or famous, but many, many people mourned his passing as the loss of a great man. His faith was known to be strong and those who knew him are sure that he is in heaven serving the Lord he worshipped so steadfastly. This is the way I would want to be remembered, as a good man who did his best for those he loved and those around him.

I really don’t want to have to do this again, but it seems likely that I will as we have several aged and ill Scouters in the district for whom time is rapidly winding down.

It was unique attending a church service with my boss who I don’t think is particularly spiritual. This was compounded by the fact that we did my quarterly review at lunch before the funeral. That went well at least. In essence, I will not be held accountable for the sins of those before me, but expected to do my best to fix them.

It was a strange backdrop for the week.

I suppose I should comment for the record on the tragedy this week at Jamboree. That was a tragic accident that was entirely preventable. Setting up a tent under power lines is never a good plan. As if this wasn’t enough, then several hundred Scouts suffered from heat-related illness in the swampy heat of Virginia. That these things happened is decidedly not cool, but they do need to be viewed in perspective. Consider that a National Jamboree creates a city of over 40,000 people on a military base for 10 days with a population consisting mostly of teenage boys and, on average, middle-aged men who are not all in great shape. Then look at a typical city of similar size, say Sheboygan, in a week here about 15-20 people die of various causes. It is not statistically reasonable to expect no fatalities at an event of this magnitude. That there are as few as there are is a testament to just how effective the risk management policies of the BSA are.

I was sickened however by the fact that the news of these events could not be stated without commenting on the ALCU’s latest set of legal challenges related to the military’s support of the BSA as a violation of church and state. They need a new hobby beyond picking on the Scouts and the government. If anything, the military should write it off as a recruiting expense. The dollars spent on the Scouting programs they support are probably the most cost effective recruiting dollars they spend. I suppose that we can stop allowing the efforts and draft ALCU members to replace the lost recruits… On the up side, it was nice to see a bipartisan measure pass in the Senate 97-0 in support of the Boy Scouts.

That was a really long post. I’ll stop for now.