Happy Trails Pepe

It is easier to write a eulogy than to deliver one. But I am comforted knowing that what I share with you today is not just from me. I asked my mother and aunts to send me some thoughts and reflections about their father and I have seen beautiful testimonies from some of my cousins on social media or heard in conversation yesterday.

Greatest of the Greatest Generation

Pepe, of course, belonged to the “greatest generation.” To me he was the greatest of the greatest generation.

A child of the Great Depression and a defender of freedom having served in the Navy during WWII. He served on the USS San Jancinto - I highly recommend reading the history of that ship. 

Pepe, like many others of his generation, always seemed to down play his service...except when he did speak of the kamikaze planes that they had to watch out for.

Many of us loved talking to him about the “old days” on the farm or during the depression or during the war. He loved to tell us about taking care of the chickens or how much “fun” it was to have to go to the outhouse in the middle of the night during the winter.

And he was so happy to talk about those early days when they had so little. He was always grateful for what he had and I believe that helped him to focus on what is most important in life: God and neighbor.

Friends and Strangers Alike

He never spoke ill of anyone - at least I never heard him do so. And if he met you there was a great chance that he would ask if he could sing you a song. If you became a friend of Meme and his you became a friend of the entire family and would find yourself at many a family gathering or joining them on a trip up north.

His measurement of another person was simple: all were children of God and deserved to be treated as such.

Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren

In our “modern” times, when there are many attacks against the family, against the domestic church, Pepe’s commitment to family was a shining light. What a legacy. Truly.

Pepe to 21 of us and Pep to 52. I know how much he loved his grandchildren. Always so quick tell a joke, share a story, and sing a song. Tiny Bubbles and I Never See Maggie Alone were my two favorites.

And then there is the enduring image of him sitting in his orange (I think it was orange) recliner while smoking his pipe. Who can forget the smell of that pipe?

His great-grandkids could count on him wanting to give them a package of Oreo cookies or candy...and he insisted on doing so himself even in his final months as he struggled to walk.

Children
He was a gentle, loving father to his 7 children. He showed incredible unconditional love for them - no matter what. A hard worker who made plenty of sacrifices to provide for them, he still found time for them. I see him in all of his children.

And this love was extended to his son and daughter-in-laws as well - they were all his children.

He loved simply spending time with all of them. Playing cards with them. Praying with them. Singing with them. Have I said how much he loved to sing yet. :)

Wife
I’m not sure if Pepe knew who Garth Brooks was, but one of his early hits was the song “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” If he didn’t know that song, I think he would have really liked it - he loved sentimental songs, especially ones that he could sing to his wife.

The chorus of the song reads:

         If tomorrow never comes
         Will she know how much I loved her
         Did I try in every way
         To show her every day
         That she’s my only one
         And if my time on earth were through
         And she must face this world without me
         Is the love I gave her in the past
         Gonna be enough to last
         If tomorrow never comes

Meme I’m confident that you know how much Pepe loved you.

Right from the beginning when he struggled to find the courage to give you a chocolate bar all the way to the end: His love for you was deep and unconditional. He simply loved being by your side.

How many of us have shared videos over the past few days of Pepe singing to Meme at her 90th birthday party or at every anniversary celebration. There is no one he loved singing to more than you.

Even to the end he made sure to tell you how beautiful you looked to him.

Your marriage of almost 74 years is a testimony to the sacrament of marriage:

         for richer or for poorer;
         in sickness or in health;
         til death do us part

I know that I can speak for many of us here that your witness - together - has helped inspire us to strive for the same.

As a Catholic husband and father, the most important saint to try to be like is St. Joseph. Through grace Pepe exemplified the virtues of St. Joseph so beautifully. He lived a life of selfless love and was full of the joy that such love can bring you when you put others before yourself. And because of this Pepe, like St. Joseph, was a joy-filled man.

God

I believe that the most important thing that can be said about a person at the end of their life is if they were a disciple of Jesus Christ. And, I know that Pepe was. He was a believer.

I knew he was a man of prayer simply by watching how he responded to the many difficult challenges he faced in life, especially over the latter part of his. Cancer (twice), dialysis, losing his son, only a person of prayer can face such things as he did. He faced all of it with dignity and with complete trust in God’s will.

His faith in the Lord Jesus was always confident and trusting. He never questioned the burdens that came his way.

At the celebration of Meme and his 70th anniversary he said, “It wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for God.”

         “It wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for God.”

He firmly trusted in God’s Divine Providence. I know that he held on to that right to the end. He believed in Christ’s victory over sin and death and therefore believed Christ’s promise of eternal life for those who followed Him. He knew where he was going and we now pray that he is in paradise.

A Life Worth Emulating

Pepe’s life is one worth emulating. It is truly the best way that any of us could honor him. As he would often remind anyone who was listening:

         love and trust God
         a happy wife is a happy life
         take one day at a time.

Oh, and if you were listening to him he would ask if he could sing a song for you. And that song, of course, was usually “Happy Trails to You.”

         Some trails are happy ones,
         Others are blue.

         It’s the way you ride the trail that counts,
         Here’s a happy one for you.

         So, happy trails to you,
         Until we meet again.
         Happy trails to you,
         Keep smiling until then.

         Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?
         Just sing a song, and bring the sunny weather.

         Happy trails to you, and you, and you and you.
         Until we meet again.

Happy trails Pepe. We all look forward to seeing you again in paradise.