Mom is now reunited with Dad. Our memories will sustain us. | Featured letter
Mary Elizabeth Buckingham Churchwell was "the Chief Financial Officer" and “Chief Operating Officer." No Notre Dame for the second son, for there are three more college-bound siblings in line to fund.
- Andre L. Churchwell is a medical doctor in Nashville.
Editor's note: Mary Elizabeth Buckingham Churchwell passed away on February 16. This is a tribute to her from her son.
Laundry done; all clothes washed and pressed; all meals cooked and finished.
Heated castor oil with a pinch of turpentine dispensed to young quivering mouths. This odious potion is swallowed with pinched nostrils to purge any “sickness” from our then youthful bodies.
Breakfast prepared daily—oatmeal and buttered hominy grits for winter months.
Every penny is “pinched” beyond recognition and saved for a sparse budget.
She professed as “the Chief Financial Officer” and “Chief Operating Officer." No Notre Dame for the second son, for there are three more college-bound siblings in line to fund.
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She restricts vacations and her personal purchases to grow the family coffers.
Under these penurious conditions, her husband quietly builds a sartorially resplendent wardrobe — which, of course, she is quite aware of and admires.
Never one to deliver physical punishment, but, when appropriate, is clearly the catalyst for husband Robert’s right-handed lesson-enriched, buttock messages.
She stood at the center of all conflicts and offered wise Viola Buckingham*-aided counsel to all members of the family.
When Robert suffered job-related emotional setbacks, she offered scripture and love to guide and sustain him, and us.
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With his passing, she, like a ship without its guide and rudder, simply drifted and waited for her turn to meet him in eternity.
On a recent Saturday night, she played with the great-grandchild, ate dinner prepared by the cherished other Mary, and afterward, laid down to meet her Lord and heavenly family.
Gone now, and the emptiness beginning; there is no beguiling gesture or thought to diminish the loss or pain.
Memories will and must sustain our commitment to live out her lessons and share them.
Mary is now with Robert; that must be our solace as we both smile and weep.
Good-bye Mom, eternity beckoned, and you had to go. After tears and laughter and time has passed, we will meet you at our appointed times, at sunset.
*Viola Buckingham was Mrs. Churchwell’s mother.
Andre L. Churchwell is a medical doctor in Nashville. He serves as interim vice chancellor of equity, diversity & inclusion and interim chief diversity officer at Vanderbilt University. He is also chief diversity officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.