Jean A Beautiful Mother
By Florence Arquitt
Today we gather to celebrate your life on earth as well as your entrance into Heaven with dad and Vincent. You are finally at peace and free from the trials and tribulations of human life. You have no more pain emotionally or physically! You were misunderstood by so many people. If only the people around you saw what I saw growing up as a kid and even more as I became an adult. When I was a teen I remember being amazed at your honesty in everything you did. We went shopping once and the cashier gave you $2.00 more in change than she should have, we were already back home, but you were determined to get back in the car and drive back to Massena so her cash drawer would not be short. You & Dad struggled financially with 5 children and the huge responsibility of Vincents cerebral palsy but that didnt stop you from continuing to let a cashier know she didnt ring an item up, even when you didnt know if you had the money to pay for the items. Even though I was a kid, I watched you with amazement and was able to see the qualities that made you a special person. You taught me to treat all people with respect and dignity regardless of race, religion or color through your actions and speaking to us on these subjects. You told us that all people were made by God and never to judge. You were setting the morals & values in each one of us whether you realized it or not. I especially remember being made fun of at school as a teen, all my friends had many new outfits and seemed to have so much more than we did, and I was so embarrassed when they made fun of me. You spoke with a dear friend of yours who took me to garage sales that summer and spent her own money to provide me with a better selection of outfits so I would fit in and not be made fun of. What an amazing woman you were! Of course I was happy with the things you did to help me but as I became an adult, I realized that you were a kind, caring and compassionate woman who disliked her children suffering and would try creative ways to make our life a little more bearable. Your strong compassionate ways that were instilled in me registered when Kevin and I married and he went in the militar y and we had the opportunity to begin traveling the US and interact with many different people. I hope I showed you the kindness and caring compassion in this world that you showed me and I will always be sorry for giving you a hard time when you wanted to borrow my car the Vega to take Vincent to the specialist. You deserved the up-most respect from me and I hope you can forgive anything that was of lesser compassion.
You were judged by many who didnt see this beautiful spirit, they saw you as different and yes you were (just like me) but thank god that you were different. Because you were different than anyone else you cared for our disabled brother for many years and made sure he was never in any harm, you fought for all he needed. You had warm meals on the table everyday and did whatever you had to do to find a way to make sure we had the necessities in life. It is sad that in the human world it takes us so long to dig deep within our feelings and grow as a whole person to understand the outstanding qualities that make a person shine. We all get caught up in our own lives and say hurtful things to the very people that do so much for us and if there is a lesson for all of us, it would be to take a step back before speaking when conflict is in the air and be careful what comes out of thy mouth because words cannot be taken back. This is your day mom, god sent you down a hard road and as I believe we have free will when we are brought into this world, I also believe life circumstance can stop some people from ever enjoying the good life they should be able to enjoy in this world. God had you walk that road for a reason and I believe our lord met you at the doors of heaven like Vincent and said welcome my beloved Jean you are now an angel in heaven, any sins are forgiven and your job now is to look over your family and others on earth. I wish I could have spent more quality time with you as an adult and I wish I could have shown you a better human life. We learn lessons everyday and your life has been a lesson well learned!
Be in Peace and Love with God
Florence, Kevin, Heather & Jason
