Sue Nakada Eulogy -Kate Davis
It is difficult to take on the summarizing of any person’s impact on the world. To speak about Sue Nakada is to take on the complexity and wonder of a completely alive, vital, tuned-in and genuine person. So I humbly offer this little rant in the hope that Sue would find it endearing, surprising and mostly true...because Sue had opinions and I know that if she read this, we would talk about exactly what she thought about it. I also know that she would correct me about the kind things that I say about her and would remind me about how I am wrong to hold her in such high esteem. Sue never kept me in the dark about where she stood, and that seems to be true for all of us. Thankfully, where she stood was in service of love, truth, authenticity and wisdom. She was also unafraid of facing her own shadow. If she sometimes didn’t meet her own standards, she never gave up and always moved towards goodness. I can hear her arguing with me right now. So here we go....
Sue was the grandchild hugging, tell it like is ing, feministing, questing, spiritualizing, arguing, political blaming, Cheney blaming, Leonard Cohen loving, Christmas dreaming, Bend longing, mothering, sistering, wifeing, counseling, recovering, crying, facebooking, Ipad using, laughing, TV watching, book reading, movie loving, critiquing, correcting, amending, wryly observing Sue.
Sue was the parent educator, the therapist, the wisest friend at work, the never hold back truth teller, the good advice giver, the teacher, the one whose old clients would approach her in the store and tell her how much she helped them, the one who would sit in team meetings and sigh heavily and come out with a sharp observation, the one who didn’t shy away from telling her coworkers what they needed fix about their love lives and who was loyal to her boss because she would never forget how Julie picked her up to bring her to work after a surgery.
She was the triathloning, aerobicizing, healthy eating, friend-loving, wise observation sharing, cookie loving, chocolate hounding, mood swinging, keeping it real-ing, guacamole and hamburger craving, treat making, snuggling, problem solving, hold you in her arms while you are weeping, comforting you in your time of loss and telling you to stop doing what you’re doing because it’s crazy...Sue.
She was the soccer watching, Nutcrackering, babysitting, basketball cheering, China walking, California dreaming, picture showing, video sharing, teller of grandchild tales. Paige loving, Trejan loving, Quinn loving, Kiara loving, Nicole loving. Proud mama, longing mama, beloved mama to Mitch, Chet, Nori, Yukiko .... and mom in law to Holly, David, Damon and Brenda. Loving the family right alongside John the whole time. Sue.
In closing, the Sue I knew was someone who had already lived 62 years. The person I met was the culmination of her childhood, her youth, her early life and work, her long marriage, her deep love for Bend and her beloved friends in Bend, the raising of her children, her schooling , becoming a grandmother, still deepening her process of self-reflection....everyone in this room in some way made up the wonder that was Sue Nakada. I am grateful that I am part of this great group of family and friends and I can’t imagine how happy she would be to see us all together in one room, though of course she would not be happy that any of us are sad on her account. So I guess today is a day where I get the last word. We love you Sue and that is that.
No comments:
Post a Comment