"Hell found me". Those were the first words spoken to me by a dying man who I came to know as "Rich". Over the course of months we became friends and one evening he asked me if I would preach at his funeral. With a heavy heart I said "Yes".
It is always a privilege to be asked to represent the family, friends and God in a time of commemorating the life of a very special person who has passed on. I consider it a high honor and a sacred trust that I never hold lightly.

The day of his funeral arrived sooner than anticipated and I found myself in a small funeral home in the small rural town of Lathan Kansas.

That day saw me standing in front of three hundred of Rich's closest friends.

"This Morning we come together in a Commemoration of the life of Wentforth "Rich" Smiddy. He was Born: December 31, 1929 Died: January 9, 2015"

At the passing of a loved one and "The Celebration of their life" it is always the perfect time to let any past disappointments go . . . and choose to focus on the positives that made them special. It is a wonderful time to be reminded that our lives are lived out as a story and not snapshots of a point in time. If we are not careful we can allow vividly remembered events to be the dominant memories, rather than allowing these events to enhance the story that our loved one's life told.

Let me make an observation as we begin this afternoon. "Rich" was human, just like all of us. He had strengths and he had weaknesses, just like all of us. It really wouldn't be fair to judge him by his worst moments . . . and he had them, . . . just like all of us. Nor would it really be fair to judge him by his best moments . . . and he had them, . . . just like all of us. We have all had both our worst moments and our finest moments but we are not as bad as our worst nor as good as our best. Let's always keep in mind that we live out our lives somewhere in the middle.


It might be difficult to believe, but the Bible says that it's actually good for us to be here today. In Ecclesiastes 7:2, God says this:

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every person; the living should take this to heart.

In other words, God says that it's better to go to a funeral than to a party. It's better to be at a funeral than at a football game. I think there are at least three reasons for this.

First, this is a time for us to celebrate the life that God gave to Rich. We're sad but we also want to remember Rich's uniqueness.

When I talked to some of you, I learned that he had a lot of character:
I've taken the liberty this morning to make an acrostic out of the word character to represent his life!

The C stood for Compassionate.

Rich was compassionate and loving to all, as we will see in the next few minutes. It was one of his greatest traits. He loved his family, he loved his animals and he loved everybody. The grandchildren remember fondly the Fort that he built in his yard for them. The one with the sandbox underneath. The one that seemed to reach to the sky! Grandson JJ, remembers the time when granddad asked him to check the oil on the car. Through a misunderstanding, actions were taken that toppled the TV from its stand inside his room. It landed on the floor in pieces, but that was not the end of it. When he realized the error of his understanding, he came back to JJ's room, in contrition he said "okay, let's go get you a new TV"


The H stood for Humor.

Rich was known for telling funny stories and corny jokes. Are you ready for one of his signature jokes? Okay, when driving past a cemetery you could count on Rich asking the question. "Why is that cemetery so popular?" his standard answer was: "because people are dying to get in" . His daughter-in-law Cary, says that they had a running joke. Whenever they would come to see dad and Beth, she would bring a book, and she knew that he was going to say at some point in this day, "I am going to rip the last page out of that book and send it to you!" His grandsons JJ Zack and Jacob, remember that on several occasions when they were acting like kids will act . . . Pawpaw would point to the short yellow bus out in the yard and say if you don't straighten up, I'm going to take you to school in that! Zack remembers one time when he did . . . Show up to school with that old brown County utility van plastered with a banner that said "Zack Mobile" Brian recalls vividly the time, Mike Johnson called and invited him to go camping. Brian's, less than stellar performance, prior to the invitation caused Rich to believe that Brian was not deserving of going at that time. Brian responded to Mike. . . I can't go". Much to Rich's amusement . . . He instructed Brian to call back and tell Mike that the reason he wasn't going was because:"I don't want to go camping with you"


The A stood for Artistic.

Rich was very artistic. If you looked around his home you would see pictures of landscape his dog, his handiwork on furniture. Every home that Rich and Beth had was accented lovingly by Rich's artwork from the garage door to the interior doors. One memorable door at their home in Helen had overalls hung on a hook that from a distance looked very realistic.
Jerry tells us that when they were boys growing up. Rich was always doodling and making something creative. One of the prized possessions at the Jerry Smiddy home is a piece of driftwood that was meticulously prepared and then painted on for his sister-in-law Mary. Children and grandchildren have painted reminders of this man that loved him so much.
Although Rich had artistic genes. He also was known for watching Bob Ross. He loved Bob Ross and every home Rich had was equipped with a shop/studio and wired for Bob. When Bob Ross was on it was not the best time for you to engage in conversation. In fact, it was fine if you didn't gain entrance to the studio at that time.


The R stood for Rescuer.

Shirley told me that she met Rich at a relatively low point in her life. She was not looking for man, she was going to make it on her own. Richard came along and slowly but surely, lovingly moved into her heart. At the time, Shirley had two young sons that would benefit the rest of their lives from a dad that loved them and their mother unconditionally. At the time, Rich was a widower with four sons who could benefit from the nurturing, of a loving mother. When the Brady Bunch got together, everything wasn't perfect but Richard was the glue that brought and held them together.
Through less than ideal circumstances, it became evident that Rich and Beth needed to come out of their early retirement and re establish their role as dad and mom to their three grandsons JJ, Zach and Jacob. Their selfless act brought stability and a stellar male role model into the lives of three boys that needed rescuing. Although there were challenges, the relational bonds that were forged in this crucible of adversity hold strong in their lives today.
Rich loved dogs. Over the years there were many of them. There are three dogs in their home today. All of Rich's dogs were rescues and they seem to know that in Rich they could trust. Loyalty was a common strain that ran through all of them, but sassy, his present dog seemed to show uncanny devotion to her master. They were always together. If Rich left the house, sassy would stay by the door of egress until Rich returned. Not too long ago, Rich was gone for three days and JJ said she lay by that door for three days until Rich returned.


The A stood for Adaptable.
It was said of Rich, that he was one of the most adaptable people ever. Rich joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school, along with several of his buddies. The Navy does not adapt to its personnel, but you soon find out that you are adapting to their rules and regulations. He served in the Korean theater and it was there in 1953 that he got a telegram announcing the birth of his first son, Bruce. Following his active service in the Navy Rich quickly became a heating and air-conditioning sales manager. Over the years he worked for several companies. Beginning in Detroit, he worked for Nelson company then he went to Dunn, and Bush. They transferred him to Jacksonville Florida, in 1963. He transferred himself to Sid Harvey's heating and air where he served for approximately 20 years then retired. With each new move came opportunities for growth and adaptability.
When they got married Rich quickly adapted to the wonderful cooking of his new wife Beth. You see, Rich was not a cook. Let me illustrate: one time Rich attempted to cook rice. The operative word here is attempted. I believe the rice got cooked, however the pan did as well. Rich took the pan out to the shop to undo what he had done. Being a man, his first thought was. . . ACID! After soaking for four days and no improvement, Rich threw the pan out. But before you think. Rich could not adapt. When it came to food . . . You need to know about peanut butter and ice cream. It is rumored that every night of Rich's life he had ice cream before he went to bed. It is possible, that he missed a few nights, but family would tell you, they were very few. After growing up and getting married, Bruce remembers that coming home involved an obligatory stop. The stop at the grocery store to pick up peanut butter. He also remembers that the tub was never big enough. He liked almost all brands and he figured out early in life that peanut butter was a wonderful garnish for ice cream.
The kids remember, that if they were unfortunate enough to have mom absent the cooking duties and dad in charge, they were going to have peanut butter and jelly. As with the peanut butter, the flavor of jelly was not important, but their consumption was. . . Continuing with the adaptability theme, Rich introduced peanut butter to almost everything he ate. I don't have an exhaustive list, . . . And I don't think one exists, but here for your dining pleasure are several tried-and-true favorites. Bread first needed to have a layer of regular butter, followed by the peanut butter and jelly, celery, topped with peanut butter, waffles, topped with peanut butter, pancakes, topped with peanut butter, and might I add , . . Any desserts were best served with a layer peanut butter.

The C stood for Construction.

Every house where Rich lived, he added needed space. Most of them. He built his shop/ studio . . . As we have already stated, equipped for Bob Ross. He was a self-taught man and throughout his life he had a cozy relationship with libraries. There was nothing he could do or build because the library had a book that would tell them how. He learned, plumbing, electrical and drywall from the books.


The T stood for Talking.

The family tells me that Rich never met a stranger. I mistakenly thought that we had hit on a unique friendship, when I met him. The first day that I met him, as his hospice chaplain, it just seemed to me, that we really connected! Then in talking to the family, I learned that this man, connected with people at Wilmer's that he had never seen before in his life and would never see again. My ego was deflated. Rich was good on the phone. You knew that he would not forget your birthday. Beside his chair in the living room, there is his personal information book. It has your name, address, telephone number, birthday and pertinent information about you. If for some reason you forgot that it was your birthday, you didn't have to worry, Rich was going to call and remind you.

His granddaughter, noted that with her grandfather she never had to identify herself. He knew that voice. And if you were his friend. He knew yours as well. When Rich talked he imparted wisdom and a sense of worth . . . You're worth!


The E stood for Excellence.

While in Florida Rich became aware that there were a number of boys that he wasn't related to that needed some guidance. Bruce remembers dad calling and saying we have a new job. And that day they began a Boy Scout troop. This was a troop of excellence. Richard took great delight in imparting wisdom and manly guidance to his band of fortunate boys. He had about 400 acres of wilderness that he used to develop these young men. Bruce remembers dad going out a day early and rigging the trees with wires that he could pull at the precise moment of greatest impact. The woods would become alive, ghosts and goblins.


The R stood for Religion.

When Beth met Rich she was not attending church or considering that as an option. Rich, nurtured her in her faith journey and was full of joy when their family attended church, and he became a deacon. Over the years, Rich developed a real following with Dr. David Jeremiah, and Joel Os teen. On the day that I met Rich Middy, I asked him about his relationship with God. He and I both knew that he was dying. His answer to me was strong and unequivocal : Everything is good. Hell thought it had me but all is good today

And so, first, this is a time for us to remember.

Second, it's a time for us to say good-bye to Rich.
As hard as it may be, this service will help us begin the process of letting go.
For all of us today we're letting go, of a good friend. With character.

And, Third, it's a time for us to take a look at our own lives. We are all going to die someday. It's a great time to ask some tough questions. Questions like, "Am I ready to die?" And "Where will I go when my life is over?" When it comes right down to it, this service is more for us who are living than for the person who has died. It's that friendship with God that makes all the difference in the end.
I'm wondering about your relationships Are they what they should be.


If your relationships don't seem to be going right, it is not to late to change your legacy by building on the solid foundation of Jesus and you can have all of Heaven rejoicing as you march through the pearly gates. Maybe someone here would say " Dr. Nad, my life is built on the wrong foundation, I am not influencing my friends in the right way, I need a change?"

The way to change your foundation is as simple as 1,2,3,4,

Believe that Jesus the Divine Son of God is who he claims to be.

Confess that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

Repent of your Sins, (be sorry enough to quit).

Receive Jesus into your life. (Just ask him to come in.)


Let us Pray