This installment is very meaningful to me because it concerns my grandparents who have been gone for twelve years now. They both passed away within a few weeks of each other in 1997. I made the trip to Rochester, Minnesota twice that winter. It was the first time that I had been back there since I was a child. I delivered eulogies at both of their funerals which are set out with very few changes below. For me, writing the eulogies was a chance for me to learn more about my grandparents while recalling my own memories.
James "Jim" Ernest Newhouse: February 10, 1904-November 15, 1997
Jim was:
Kristen and Stephanie's Great-Grandfather
Stephen's Grandfather
Nancy's Father
Eulogy for James Newhouse: November 19, 1997
We are here today to remember James Newhouse, my grandfather. Jim lived a full life starting at one end of the century and ending up at the other. He left behind a legacy of a marriage of 64 years, a daughter, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. And he lives on in our memories. On behalf of the family, I would like to share some of those memories. They are not all my memories. One of the things that I enjoyed about this project was talking to other people, especially my Mom, about their memories of Jim Newhouse.
Jim was born in Spring Grove, Minnesota in 1904. He was confirmed in 1919 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Grove. You can see his confirmation certificate there in Norwegian. Jim grew up back when the various Lutheran churches still held to the old language. Jim was proud of his Norwegian heritage.
Jim had five brothers and two sisters. He was an active child. When he was around eight years old, he broke his arm three times in one year. By the third time, he was embarrassed to tell his father and they didn't figure it out until they noticed he was eating with his left hand.
He married Hope Streuble in 1933. They had a daughter, Nancy. Jim worked for the Minnesota Department of Highways. That required him to travel around a lot. However, he was still a devoted family man. My mom remembers that when he came home on Friday, the weekend was a special time for the family. They always attended church. My mom remembers going for walks around the park after church with her dad and sometimes she would get a treat. She remembers big family dinners on Sunday afternoon with my grandma's fresh-baked pies.
Just to show how dedicated a father Jim was, when my mom was at Macalester, he would stop by on Fridays to pick up my mom's laundry. My mom admits that she might have been a little bit spoiled.
I remember Jim Newhouse as my grandfather. He was there for Christmases, high school graduations, family vacations and my wedding. Even though we lived in Massachusetts and later in Texas, we still saw my grandparents. One memory our family has--and my grandma wanted me to mention this--is of a vacation to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. My dad had a sailboat he built. One of the things about a sailboat is that sometimes you tip over. That happened to my grandfather and he got soaked down to his wallet. My grandma said that eventually he got the money dried out--after all, he knew the value of a dollar. I remember my grandparents coming down for my wedding in 1984. All three of us remember our grandparents coming down for our high school graduations in 1979, 1985 and 1989.
Jim was very active in his retirement. The active life he led working for the Highway Department kept him vigorous. In his retirement, he did a lot of walking. He continued to shovel the snow and mow the lawn into his 90s until they persuaded him to let a younger man take over. Recently someone asked Jim if he smoked and he said no, then he thought about it for a moment and said that he used to but he quit 70 years ago. That's the type of healthy person he was. Jim enjoyed reunions and get-togethers with his extended family.
One memory my family has is that Jim loved to watch wrestling on TV. Just as my kids like to watch cartoons, Jim liked his wrestling. Even as his sight and hearing were failing, he would sit with his favorite aqua arm-chair pulled up to the TV with the sound turned up all the way.
Even though things were difficult toward the end, my mother and my grandmother's memories are filled with examples of his kindness. This summer when my grandma was in the hospital, my parents were staying at the house. My mom was washing dishes. Even though my grandfather was nearly blind, he got up, grabbed a dishtowel and began drying the dishes and putting them away. He didn't have to do that. That was just the way he was. When my grandma was in the hospital, Jim was there for her, always wanting to go and visit her.
When my grandparents went into the home this August, everyone was impressed by their devotion to one another. Jim would get up in the middle of the night to check on Hope and hold her hand. As his condition worsened, the roles changed and my grandmother was the one holding his hand. Finally, it was time for the end. Last Thursday night, Jim lost consciousness and they took him to the hospital. The difficult decision was made not to take any extraordinary measures and he was returned to the home to be near his wife.
Jim had one last surprise in store. Friday morning he woke up, shaved, got dressed and ate breakfast. He had lots of visitors and ate popcorn. God gave Jim the gift of one last day with his wife and friends. Then on Saturday he was gone.
Jim lived a full life and passed on a legacy to his daughter and his grand-children and great-grandchildren. My mother remembers that she learned by her parents' example that there are some true values in life. Work hard. Take pride in what you do. Don't expect anyone to give you anything, but always be there for others. These are the values of his Norwegian heritage and the generation that grew up in the Depression.
My brother David couldn't be here today but he wrote some words that he wanted to share with you and they follow on the same theme. David wrote:
Grandpa was a simple man and some people might think that he didn't do that much with his life, and yet out of the things that really matter in life, he probably accomplished more things than most people dream of. I think it's unfortunate that people who are growing up today are not more like grandpa's generation. People of grandpa's generation are people of great honor, people who kept their word, people who are genuinely interested in others and finished each day knowing that a full day's work had been done.
These words exemplify the values that my grandparents passed down to their daughter and grandchildren and that I would like to pass down to my children.
I'd like to close with the words of Revelation 21: "God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. And death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." Jim's earthly body has passed away, but our memories of him remain. And we can remember Jim as he looked in this picture from 1945: a strong man with clear eyes and keen hearing. For that is a small reminder of how he must look in heaven.
Hope Streuble August 27, 1908-December 4, 1997
Hope was:
Nancy's Mother
Stephen's Grandmother
Kristen and Stephanie's Great-Grandmother
Eulogy for Hope Newhouse: December 10, 1997
We are here to remember Hope Newhouse. On behalf of the family, we are pleased that so many of you could be here with us to share our memories and our grief. I know many of you were here a few short weeks ago to remember James Newhouse. I really didn't expect to be here again so soon. It is so hard to accept that the vibrant woman who was my grandmother is now the box of ashes you see in front of you. It is a stark reminder that, as we hear on Ash Wednesday, ashes you are and to ashes you will return. However, Hope Newhouse lives on in the lives that she touched, those of her daughter and son-in-law, Wayne and Nancy, her three grandchildren, her two great-grandchildren and so many of you who are with us today. This morning we are going to share just a few of those memories with you.
Earlier you heard the reading of the obituary. Hope Streuble was born in Mora, Minnesota in 1908. Her background included French, Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch. One of her French ancestors, Jacques Lareau, stowed away on a ship and fought in the American Revolution. Hope was the youngest of six children. She had three brothers and two sisters. Growing up in Mora, she lived in a big white-framed house. Down the hill was Lake Mora, one of your 10,000 lakes. Grandma used to go for picnics on an island in the lake and went swimming in the Snake River. I don't think there were really any snakes, though. Hope took violin lessons in high school and I'm told that she practiced very faithfully. My mother found that violin at Grandma's house when we were getting ready for the service today. Because Hope was the youngest of six children, she stayed in Mora to support her father, who was crippled.
Hope married Jim Newhouse on July 9, 1933. They moved to Spring Grove, where they had a daughter, Nancy Ann. My grandmother liked to cook. Her husband, Jim, was Norwegian, so she learned to bake Norwegian treats, such as leftsa, krumkake and spritz cookies. Her baked beans were a favorite of family reunions and picnics. She also cooked things which were less popular, like the oatmeal my mom dumped in the trash when she was three.
In 1943, Hope returned to Mora to go to work. With the war going on, there was a shortage of men to fill the jobs. My grandmother was invited to take a job in the Insurance Department of the Kanabec State Bank. She worked there for 16 years and developed a keen business sense. In recent years, she like to watch Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week which she used to discuss with my dad.
My mom remembers that Hope was a devoted mother. She helped my mom with her home economics projects in junior high, even though my mom's baking soda biscuits were a disaster and she needed help sewing pajamas.
Hope liked animals. When my mom was in first grade, she brought home a stray cat that Hope let her keep. That was Blackie. Blackie had a kitten named Thomas that my mom used to dress up in doll clothes. In later years, Hope never wanted a Christmas present for herself, except that she was always happy to receive a cat calendar. While she was at Maple Manor, someone brought her a kitten to hold and that meant a lot to her.
Hope liked to sew. She made my mom's clothes, including her wedding dress. She sewed quilts which our family still uses today. As a matter of fact, my brother Mark slept under one of them last night.
Education was important to Hope. She was too poor to go to college herself. She was very proud that my mom received a scholarship to Macalester. One interesting thing is that Great-Grandma Streuble, Hope and my mother were each the salutatorian of their high school graduating class.
In 1959, Hope and Jim moved here to Rochester. Hope worked for Knopf Insurance Agency until her retirement. In her retirement Hope liked simple things. She liked to watch The Young and the Restless on TV. She enjoyed listening to the Minneapolis Symphony on the radio. She enjoyed reading and would always return from the bookmobile with an armload of books. When she was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, she was told she could keep it under control with diet and exercise. She would walk 3-5 miles twice a day rain or shine.
Hope was also a dedicated letter writer. Although we were separated by thousands of miles, I felt like I was with her through her letters. She was very interestedin her great-grandchildren and she always kept track of what the weather was like in Texas. It was a real treat for me to receive her letters and see that precise penmanship that was always there.
The last years were difficult. Just as she had cared for her father, Hope cared for her husband, Jim. It was difficult when Hope got sick this summer and she and Jim had to move out of their house and into Maple Manor. However, even at the end there are good memories. On behalf of the family, I would like to thank everyone who was so kind to Hope during her stay at Maple Manor, especially Lynn who took Hope home with her for Thanksgiving dinner, and Howard Ralston and many others. When we were here just a few weeks ago, I was surprised at how frail Hope had become, but when she spoke, there was that spark in her voice and I know my grandmother was in there.
My mother's final memory of Hope was a phone conversation they had one week ago, the night before she passed away. Hope was upbeat and her voice was strong. She talked about the good home-cooked meal she had for Thanksgiving. After half an hour, she said, "I'm a little tired now." My mom said, "I love you a lot. Good bye."
Hope's death came more suddenly than we were prepared for and touched us deeply. Death leaves us with unfinished business. On the morning that Hope died, I was preparing to mail her photos of her great-grandchildren, a promise that I made to her on our last visit. I never got the chance to. And I'm sure that there are many things that we the family and you her friends wish that we had found time for. However. in our regrets, we can take comfort that Hope and Jim will spend Christmas together just as they have for the past 64 years. I'd like to leave you with Job 11:18, which I found on a plaque exemplifying grandma's name: "And thou shall be secure, because there is hope. . . ." And we are secure in knowing that we shall see Jim and Hope again together.
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