Tribute to Dad

Dad’s Memorial Service

Dad’s memorial was very nice. He was cremated as per his wishes and we had a beautiful Angel shaped urn/statue that we put his ashes in.  The urn is at my sister’s house in her living room.  Dad believed he had a guardian angel named Blue Wing and to me, the urn represented Blue Wing.  Dad always thought it was special when he found a blue feather and I found one once and kept it special.  My mom and I feel we are lucky at getting good parking spaces and when we get a good parking space, we always thank Blue Wing.

We had the statue on a nice urn table with a ring of happy colored flowers around the base. We put dad’s Mizpah Shrine and Bendemeer Grotto hats on each side.  The flag that dad received for his military service was in the middle, along with a picture of him in uniform and a poem he kept with him about serving your country. At the foot of the stand was dad’s pride and joy, his 5 string violin with mother of pearl inlay.

We also had a poster we had made with pictures of dad and his family, pictures of him and his family on some tables around the room, along with assorted yearbooks, reunion books, etc. To the left of the urn stand we had a large screen and projector that we projected pictures of dad throughout his life. This ran throughout the visitation and the service.  It was a wonderful way for people to see dad when he was alive and doing all the things he enjoyed, and to see the people who meant something to dad.  And in the other side room, we had a TV set up with videos of dad playing his music.  I wish I had been able to get a recording together of dad’s music, I have many tapes of him playing. That would have been nice in the background (especially since the person who played the piano for background music was so bad).  That is the only thing though that I feel I didn’t get taken care of so all in all, I thought it went very well and was a good tribute to dad.  Here are a few pictures of the memorial service.

One of the pastors from Good Shepherd United Methodist church spoke at dad’s memorial.  Dad played his violin many times at Good Shepherd church and played the most beautiful old hymns.

Dad also had a salute from the local American Legion with a color guard and the shooting of rifles and the bugle playing taps and they presented us with a flag.  It was very beautiful and moving.  If your loved one was in the service, he or she can have the same.  Just contact your local American Legion or V.A. representative.  Dad was one of the last of the people to serve during World War II. He was stationed at Guadalcanal.

Here is a link to pictures of dad that I’ve put up on flickr and that we showed at the memorial service on a big screen behind the pastor. Also, this is the picture I used in the obituary for dad. It really exemplifies his joyful spirit and his love of music. You can click on it for a bigger image.

Dad’s guestbook is now on tributes.com and you can see it here.

Courtney Lubbes 8/20/1921 – 8/28/2009

Courtney C. Lubbes, 88, was called home Friday, August 28, 2009 at Woodview Health Care Center in Fort Wayne. Born in Wesson, AR, he was a teacher with Fort Wayne Community Schools for 25 years, retiring in 1985. He was a U.S. Navy World War II veteran, member of Mizpah Shrine, Masonic Lodge #11 in Camdon, AR, Benedeer Grotto in Arkansas, Valley of Fort Wayne, Scottish Rite and the American Legion.

Courtney was a musician and played the violin in the Suncoast Orchestra in Clearwater, Florida, with the Kissin’ Cousins in Arkansas and with Audiences Unlimited at many local nursing homes. He played with many groups throughout his life and he expressed his love of life and his faith through his music.

He is survived by his daughters, Susan (Sean Robinson) Mellott, and Jill (Dan) Lobacz both of Fort Wayne; grandchild, Danielle Lobacz of Fort Wayne. Courtney was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert Otto, and Amelia Bernice Lubbes; sisters, Kathryn Pedropessi, Maifred Turner, and Thelma Anderson; and brothers, Herman Otto, and Neal (Julius Cornelius) Lubbes. Celebration of Life Service is 6:00 pm Sunday, September 27, 2009 at D.O. McComb and Sons Lakeside Park Funeral Home, 1140 Lake Avenue with calling one hour prior. Memorials may be made to the Shrine Children’s Hospital or Matthew 25 Health & Dental Clinic.

The letter that was sent to let people know that dad had died

Dear Friends and Relatives,,

Just wanted to let you know that dad passed away yesterday morning, Aug 28th about 7am. Susie and Sean (my husband and I) and Jill (my sister) were with him all night and he slipped peacefully away. He was under Hospice care but did not become critical until Thursday afternoon and that’s when we were called in. He will be cremated and a memorial will be held later in September at D.O. McComb Funeral Home on Lake Avenue.

We are moving my mom back to Fort Wayne these next couple of weeks so I will work on website as time permits and feel free to email me at smmellott@yahoo.com for more info.

Memorials for dad to Matthew 25 free medical and dental clinic in Fort Wayne and Shriners Children’s hospital, or any charity of your personal conviction.

Dad will be missed, but he led a long, fulfilled and creative life and it was time for him to go to his heavenly home and be free again.

Loving you always Dad,

Susie