Lovey's Memorial Service and "Celebration of Life" Gathering -- Sept. 29th, 1 - 4 p.m. Emeryville Marina

"May her memory be for a blessing"

We will be holding a memorial service/"celebration of life" gathering for Lovey on the last Saturday in September. (Sept 29th) We will be conducting a service from 1-4 p.m. at the Emeryville Marina.

Follow the balloons to the end of the Marina (the LAST marina at the end of the road) and you will see a large gathering marked by balloons. We will also start drumming at 1:00 so you can also follow your ears. Directions to the Emeryville Marina are below.

After the service, there will be food and time for folks to gather and share stories and memories with each other. Those who wish to may join the family for a small releasing ceremony at the Marina where we will be releasing Lovey's spirit into the water.

PLEASE BRING:
A chair
A drum or percussive instrument
Lovey's Favorite Foods
A tealight candle
Any offerings for the family
Pictures you want to share
A favorite story or memory that you hold in your heart about your time with Lovey (After the service there will be time for people to share memories with each other -- while we eat-- of course!)

If you have any questions or need more info, please direct them to me at lrifkin@sbcglobal.net

Thank you all so much for your loving spirits, Laura R.


Below are directions from Mapquest. The address is:
Emeryville Marina, 3310 Powell St., Emeryville, Ca.
94608

I would suggest looking on a mapquest map if you're not sure where it is because these directions don't make total sense to me in terms of lefts and rights on Powell. Just know when you turn on Powell that you are heading down toward the water/bay. Keep going until you are in the Emeryville Marina. We will be in a large clearing near the boats at the end of the Marina.


From Oakland
Merge onto I-580 W toward SAN FRANCISCO. 2.3 miles
Take the Powell St./Emeryville exit. 0.2 miles
Turn LEFT onto POWELL ST. 0.9 miles
End at Emeryville Marina:
3310 Powell St, Emeryville, CA 94608, US

From Berkeley:

Take I-580 E / I-80 W toward SAN FRANCISCO. 1.8 miles
Take the exit toward POWELL STREET / EMERYVILLE. 0.1 miles
Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto FRONTAGE RD. 0.1 miles
Turn RIGHT onto POWELL ST. 0.9 miles
End at Emeryville Marina:
3310 Powell St, Emeryville, CA 94608, US

From San Francisco:

Take I-80 E (Bay Bridge) toward OAKLAND. 8.0 miles
Take the Powell St/Emeryville exit. 0.2 miles
Turn LEFT onto POWELL ST. 0.9 miles (VERIFY TURN on Map)
End at Emeryville Marina:
3310 Powell St, Emeryville, CA 94608, US

Lovey's BUTTERFLY Memorial Garden Planting Party

Hi folks,

On Sept. 2nd, 2007 in honor of what would have been Lovey's 61st birthday, we will begin planting Lovey's butterfly memorial garden in Lovey and Marilyn's backyard.

The digging will start at noon. Please bring a butterfly plant, or a shovel, or soil, or helping hands, or a loving heart. Please also bring a dish to share. You don't have to be able to help dig to be there. Just come! Your contribution of spirit and your loving energy will be appreciated. Besides, what would Lovey's birthday be without you?

The butterfly garden was Lovey's last gift to Marilyn for her 50th birthday. We would very much appreciate seeing all of you there that feel so moved. We will also hold a short 12-step prayer meeting during that afternoon to honor Lovey's memory.

If you need more info, contact Laura R at lrifkin@sbcglobal.net.

Rest In Peace

Rest In Peace

We have held you in Love

These last difficult months;

You were surrounded with Love

The moment of your passing.

We will miss

Your cards, your cakes,

Your smile, your faith,

Your welcoming hugs.

We will honor you

By remembering such generosity of spirit,

-- Sharing it with each other

And with those we would help.

So rest in Peace

Our dear friend,
Marilyn's beloved,
Everyone's mamele,

God's butterfly.

Lovey died last night at 9:34 pm, surrounded by friends, family, prayers and Love.

Marilyn requests some quiet time for herself right now, but please feel free to post comments here to support her and each other. (Click on 'Rest in Peace' above and then click on 'Post a Comment' below.)

A memorial service is being planned in late September. Contributions to defray the cost would be appreciated payable to: M. Carole Malone for Lovey’s Butterfly Fund and sent to the house at: 2873 Lincoln Ave, Richmond, CA 94804.

And if you see a butterfly in the next few days, chances are…

Between Two Worlds

Friends, please hold me in your Light
As I struggle between two worlds.

The message my angels gave me --
A date on a calendar --
A vision of grace and butterflies --
The songs my bird guardians sang --
The doctors’ prognosis --
My friends giving us money and food --
My heart, too strong to stop beating,
      But too weak to sit by the water’s edge.

Death is ignoring all that.
My earth-bound ‘committee’ is shaming me with all that.
And my faith has been chased away by all that.

Friends, please hold me in your Light
As I struggle between two worlds.

To learn the new language my angels are speaking;
To understand that Death ignores calendars, but so does Love;
That this universe holds fear and demons as well as grace and butterflies
      And maybe you can’t have one without the other;
To hear the higher frequency of the bird songs;
To know doctors are humans
Which sometimes means basically clueless;
That I haven’t taken from my friends,
I’m just not too good at receiving;
That this heart gives me another day to be with Marilyn
      And another day to forgive myself all these struggles
      And another day to be very angry, and very sad, and very afraid
…and then to eat some chocolate
…and remember all the cakes I baked
…and all the love I’ve given
And have faith in your faith when I can’t find mine.

-- from Lovey May 8

Update from Lovey

Hi everyone! This is Lovey, thought you might be interested in an update:

I want to thank you for everything you’ve done and let you know that I am just as surprised as you are that I am still here! Obviously I didn’t remember the golden rule, i.e. “It's God’s will be done, not mine” even though I had all my ducks in a row and had my date picked out. My mind and my body were on the same page but obviously God was not. Imagine my surprise, when January 27th came and went. Are some of you still trying to keep me here? Well it doesn’t matter, because God is laughing at my expense and now I realize it, so there.

Some days are better than others. Some days I sleep a lot for days on end, then there are days that I can’t sleep at all. On those days when I’m sleeping, I’m not eating but it doesn’t seem to matter. I am feeling pain from being in bed so much. My heart is strong because of all the love I have in it. My lungs are strong cause I haven’t smoked in 30 years. It’s my other organs that are failing, like the spleen, liver, and kidneys. Maybe if I didn’t love you all so much my heart would weaken. But I am ever grateful to have you all in my life and in my journey of passing. Yes, I am passing but it is taking longer than we all thought. Imagine that LOL!

If you’ve been trying to call me, my answering machine is not working so leave a message on Marilyn’s phone 235-8599. I’m only on the computer a few days a week so I can only answer e-mails when I am up to it.

Thanks again for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. It is great to hear from folks all over the planet – it always surprises me and makes my day.

Please continue to think about me going into the light with my butterflies! You are thinking that, right?

Love You - Lovey and Marilyn

Welcome to Lovey's Circle

Welcome to Lovey's Circle, where we can share our wishes for Lovey on her new journey as well as our love for each other.

If you can't see the comments below, click on the title 'Welcome to Lovey's Circle' above. Then to post a comment, just click the 'Post a Comment' link.

Namaste...

Lovey's Video

Check out Lovey's video to her friends at the bottom of the page. Yay!! Regina!! for putting this together!