By Jim Nichols

Approaching the time to change to a new calendar, there are expected events in the public scene. One is the onslaught of college football bowl games, of course; there are 43 scheduled so far, Google says. Another, more serious in my opinion, is the annual listing of public people who have died during the year. I find this not only interesting, but also somewhat touching and sad.

This is frequently displayed in a newspaper or magazine page of small headshots of people that might be known by readers. Television reports do their version of this by showing consecutive clips of people. I do not recognize all these folks, but there are scattered entertainers, sports figures, political leaders, “influencers,” trend-setters, and others. Sometimes I remember them, but others are a surprise because I had missed the initial notice of the person’s death.

This seems to have become part of the end-of-the-year ritual in our country. Although I find it interesting, I have also found that I have my own personal list of “influential” people who have passed from my life in the year; I suspect you could make your own list. I comment here on three of mine.

I have mentioned my Aunt Harriet and have considered her here before as my “Second Mother.” She turned age 13 on the day I was born into her household, and she served as my big sister and confidante while my father was away in war. She played a pivotal role in my childhood and into my adult years. I am not sure she ever fully realized how I loved her and how much she guided me.

I met Dodie when I was in junior high school; she was my first choir teacher. Not only was she a classroom teacher, but also the youth choir director at my church. Dodie was wild and fun. Barely out of college herself, she dated, became engaged, and married while I was in her choirs. She chose challenging music and directed with her whole body, including her elbows. I had taken piano lessons for years before and been in music class in elementary school, but Dodie introduced me to the deep joy of group singing, even with my voice changing daily. Blending voices with friends and great music has been an enriching experience for me; there are few things quite like it. When I left junior high, I continued with fine conductors, but Dodie got it all started for me. When I have attended choir concerts of my children and grandchildren, it has been moving to see them having some of the same inspirational experiences I had. I am thankful for my choir directors. Dodie passed away this year in Kansas City where I grew up.

John was a more recent addition to my life, although he was a person you felt as if you had known a long time. John was an academic and a churchman. Surprisingly bright, he was internationally known in his field. Small in stature, he was gigantic in influence for those who encountered him. Always kind, he measured his words carefully (instructive to his listeners) and minced no words in identifying questionable reasoning in others, including me. He and his similarly departed wife, Evelyn, aged but stayed young at the same time. In our house once, someone made a quasi-sexual comment, and everyone laughed in an embarrassed way. We glanced at Evelyn, and she said, “Don’t stop laughing. I may be old, but I’m not dead.”

Just as new babies appear in our lives and enrich them, we recognize that we have been built emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually by people who have now moved out of our lives on earth. Whatever story there is to our life, they are largely responsible for it. During this calendar year, Meals on Wheels clients, hospice patients, and many others now departed have shown me aspects of God that I might have otherwise missed. 

I suspect you have a similar list. They have been encouragers, confidantes, and revealers. Here at the end of the year, our mind can construct a photographic gallery and we can cherish each person for contributing to our personal history. This is a suitable time to be thankful for them.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain