There was one person who spoke up at the funeral yesterday. "Should I say something?" Heidi whispered to me as we all sat in uncomfortable silence under the expectant gaze of the chaplain.
"Yes, please!" I answered.
She sighed and stood stoically, then strode up the aisle to the pulpit. What followed was an amazing off-the-cuff tribute to the women who had been the longtime secretary at our school when we both started. Heidi recounted all the help and guidance Penny had provided to her each time she switched positions at the school. "It was her job to know all the answers," Heidi concluded, "but she was so good at it. She was a fixer-- she could fix anything."
Then she looked at the family in the front row and added, "I bet she was your fixer at home, too." They all nodded. "I know you'll miss that." Then she returned to her seat, and someone else got up now that the ice was broken.
"She really was a fixer," the next speaker said.
It was a sentiment we heard repeated several times for the rest of the afternoon, along with many thanks to Heidi for her thoughtful words.
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