Eulogy and Obit for my Mother: Francis Marie Broome

Marie Buffington Broome, after an extended illness, quietly passed away at home on Tuesday morning, October 29^th.  She is survived by her husband Max Broome, her parents, Clarence D. and Matilda Buffington, and her brothers Leonard (Alvadine) Buffington, James (Gail) Buffington, and Jerry (Pam) Buffington all of Rome, GA. 

Marie was born on July 3, 1939.  She was a graduate of Armuchee High School, Class of 1957 and a life-long member of Antioch Baptist Church.  She enjoyed antiquing and shopping at yard sales.  Among her favorite collectables were porcelain figurines and china sets.  She was a woman of great warmth and friendliness.

Her children include Chris Howell Evans, of Ringgold, GA, Sharon (Frank) Craven of Rome, GA, Tammy (Geoff) Gimotty-Stokes of Buford, GA and Keith (April) Howell of Rome, GA.  She is also survived by her step-children Mark (Becki) Broome of Rome, GA, Dede (Mark) Thacker of Adairsville,GA, April Ely, and Jason (Marie) Broome of Rome, GA. 

She leaves behind 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service in her honor will be held at Antioch Baptist Church, Big Texas Valley Road, at 3:00 pm.   The family will receive friends 45 minutes prior to the service. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Antioch Baptist Church or your favorite charity. 

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Ephesians 6:2-3 NIV

2 "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Revelation 21:4 (New American Standard)

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

First, I would like to take a moment on behalf of my sisters, our family, to say a few words of thanks to some special people.

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Thank you to Rev Butler and everyone here at Antioch Baptist Church.  So many wonderful moments here from our childhood are here, Thank you for welcoming us home again.

To Rev Campbell, and to our church family at Trinity: God bless you for the kindness and love that you continue lavish on us.

You are all truly the hands and feet of Christ, taking His grace and making it tangible.

To Max: Thank you for loving Mom, caring for her, and modeling Ephesians 5:25 for us and for the generations to come. 

Mark and Dede: We are indebted to you for the kindness and gentleness that you have afforded us. 

Chris, Sharon, Tammy, and I are so deeply thankful for you.

Pray with me please.

Lord Holy Father: we gather here to honor Mom, Marie Broome.  Your Word says: “Honor you mother and father, for this is the first commandment with a promise”, the grave does not release us from this command, so let us endeavour to do this well.  Let Your love and grace live through these words spoken here for Your Kingdom and Your Glory.  In Christ name we pray, Amen. 

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Chris, Sharon, Tammy, and me – or as we are better known in the valley: “Marie’s Children”. 

By way of re-retroduction: my oldest sister, Chris, is the smart one, Sharon has the biggest heart, and Tammy, the youngest, is “the favorite”. 

Me, well, I am the good-looking one. 

What can I tell you about Mom? 

Mom was Creative:

When the pine needles would fall, she would take us outside and show us how to make the outline of a house with rooms and doorways.  It was so much fun!  We never could figure out how to make a second story though. 

Mom was a great seamstress.  
I am told that she began making her own clothes when was still very young.  She made skirts when she was a teenager, for those were fairly popular back then.  One of her friends was not allowed to wear skirts to High School, so Mom made two of them and wore one under the other.  When they got to school, she took one off and gave it to her friend to wear. 

She made most of my sister’s clothes; which explains why Chris and Sharon were always dressed alike until they were about 13.  Dress patterns and bolts of fabric littered the house.  The sewing machine drowned out the T.V. 

And those scissors with the zig-zag blades, they weighed about 30 pounds; I think they were called “pinking shears” but we called them alligator scissors.  I am told that if you throw them over-handed and hit your sister in the head, it will flip her liver over. 

Mom was fearless  

When we were little, Dad had to go work in Ft. Lauderdale for an extended period of time.  When school let out, Mom put a twin mattress in the back seat of our 1960 Plymouth Savoy. She then loaded up the four of us, I think that Tammy was three at the time, and drove all night to Ft. Lauderdale.  There were no cell phones back then.  And my sisters were not that well behaved.  Who in their right mind would do that alone? 

It was in Florida during that time that Tammy would always tell people that Daddy was her boyfriend.  When asked about Mom she would say “Oh she’s a hippie!”  I am not sure that Mom liked it, but for our sake, she never let it show. 

Mom was active in ministry

When my sisters were in youth group, it was Mom that organized youth trips to sing in Nursing Homes at Christmas time.  Mom had the gift of hospitality; it was Mom who threw the ginormous youth party at our house. 

Mom was reassuring. 

Believe it or not, I almost tried out for football one time.  I remember it well.  We pulled up to Glenwood in the ’73 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.  I think that I was in the fifth grade and not much bigger than Bella.  Those other boys were only a year or two older than me, but they looked HUGE.  Mom saw the dread in my face.  She softly said to me: “Your Daddy will still love you even if you don’t play football.”  I didn’t even look at her.  All I said was: “If we leave now, we be home in time to watch Batman.” 

This is my favorite Mom story.  Now Mom enjoyed swap meets and yard sales.  She knew her antiques.  She would buy a set of dishes for $50 and sell them for $450. 

After college, I was just getting started in my career, and money was very tight.  All I wanted was a new pair of sneakers because the ones I had were worn out.  Like I said, money was tight and there were other priorities.  I was also really struggling about tithing.  Finally, after a while, I wrote my first real tithe check to my home church on faith. 

About a week later I was visiting Mom and she says that she has something for me that she picked up a yard sale.  She comes out with a shoebox.  I am thinking: “Oh crap”.  How many of you like to buy shoes at a yard sale?  Me neither.  I opened the box and it was exactly the sneakers that I wanted, brand, color, perfect fit, everything.  There was tissue still in the toes – which means they have never been worn.  I think that she paid $10. 

There are so many stories about Mom.  But what endures in my memory most about her is that she loved people.  Mom loved to talk to people.  Mom loved to talk. 

We would frequently have to stop by the little convenience store on the way back from town.  Mom would stay in there forever talking to the clerk at the counter.  Tammy and I would pass the time by rifling through Mom’s purse looking for chocolate.  When that gave out, we started blowing the horn.  Of course, we always got into big time trouble! 

The best thing about talking to Mom is that you never had to hold up your end of the conversation.  Mom would call the house and just start talking.  Seriously, I would not have to say much more than “Un huh”, “Really?”, “Well . . . “. 

Sometimes I would set the phone down, go fix a cup of coffee, and pick it back up.  She never knew that I was gone! 

Only if my phone would ring now . . . I would still put the phone down, fix a cup of coffee . . . that woman could talk people! 

Then came the time when Mom was ill more days than she was well.  And Max took care of her selflessly for all that time.  Again, we don’t have the words to adequately express our gratitude to you Max. 

When I was in my twenties, back when I knew everything, I believed that our lives were the net result of the choices we made.  I do not hold that any longer - because it does not leave much room for the sovereignty of God.  For reasons that we will never understand this side of Heaven, some people are ordained to suffer more than others.  I believe that Mom was one of them. 

In times like this, we should remember that it is okay to be angry when we grieve; but it is not good to become bitter lest we develop a Kevlar heart and a Teflon soul.  

We are created to be relational by nature, especially our nature as Marie’s children.  After all, the whole of Life is about relationships. 

We can try to close ourselves off from pain but in so doing we cloister ourselves from God’s grace and our own humanity.  We must never do that, for if we do, Satin wins. 

As CS Lewis said in The Problem of Pain: 

“Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself” 

So don’t do that. 

ON that Tuesday when we learned of the severity of Mom’s condition, I was putting Bella to bed that night.  Out of the blue she asks me: “Daddy, is your mother sick?”

“Yes dear, she is very sick.” I replied

“Are you sad Daddy?”

“Yes, we are very sad.” 

Then she turned her head the way that bird dogs do and asked another poignant question:

“Do I remember Grandma Re?” 

“No” I said, “but you will.”

She will remember that our Mom was creative, friendly, warm, outgoing and could sew anything.  It is hers to inherit as a birthright because her father and her aunts will honor the memory of their mother for the generations to follow, for it is the first commandment with a promise. 

From this day until that day when we gather again, Marie’s children will honor her memory.  Because I know that I know that I know, that I will see her again in heaven. 

God bless you Mom, may God bless us all. 

Glory to His Name.