A TRIBUTE TO OUR DEPARTED MEMBERS
(A Brief History of Our Memorial Service)
Compiled by
Dave Habershaw #17879 and Randy Young #46420 (Past Presidents)
Mike Sawyer #36403 and Ray Ainslie #44136 (Past Chaplains)
One by one, in small and large groups, members of the US JCI Senate filed into the assembly hall. Quietly they took seats, more than 250, to begin the annual Memorial Service. They were there to pay tribute to those JCI Senators who had passed away during the previous year.
In a somber but humble appearance Senate Chaplain Scott Kingsley #67932 called the assembly to order. He then called Wayne Kiefer #36498 forward to present an open eulogy to our 45th US JCI Senate President, Jim Mammon #37122, who had just recently passed away. Following Waynes comments, the Chaplain then called forward, in order, each of the Region Vice Presidents who then read off the names of the JCI Senators from each of their states who had passed away during the year while simultaneously, their names and photos were displayed on the giant screen video monitor. Each in turn, the departed Senators were recognized and their names recorded for posterity. Finalizing the event came the recognition of our neighbors to the north, Canadian JCI Senators who had departed. All-in-all it was a memorable and beautiful service.
In retrospect, the JCI Senate didn’t always have a Memorial Service for our departed. During the early years, if a “known senator” had departed, a moment of silence was held for him during the BOD Meeting. However, in 1989, that all changed thanks to an innovative JCI Senator, Tom Selmer #14563, who was the Chaplain under President Jim Hall #16055.
During the 1988 annual mid-year meeting in Tulsa that year (actually Jan 1989), a number of us were seated in the hospitality room doing our usual chit-chat. During the conversation, Tom brought up the idea of wanting to do something to recognize the Senators who had passed away since the last meeting. At that time there were no official records of the Senators who passed away and Tom felt that it would be appropriate to do so. However, he didn’t feel any specific religious rite was an appropriate method. As an avid firefighter in Indianapolis, he realized the importance of recognizing the departed. At that point it was mentioned that the BPO Elks held a non-denominational memorial service at each state’s year-end meeting. Tom asked this writer if it were possible to get a copy of the service that the Elks held. This was done and sent to Tom.
Over the course of the next few months, Tom used the Elks service and his knowledge of the firefighter’s service as a platform to develop a service for the JCI Senate. While it is patterned after the Elks service, is quite different. Upon arrival in Memphis in June 1989, Tom met with several of us to go over his plan. We made a few tweaks but maintained his original intent. One of the things Tom had done was to develop a generic eulogy to honor all the departed Senators. This was read at the start of the service and then each departed member’s name was read aloud. Simultaneously, live candles, which had been lit, were extinguished. In the first few years there weren’t many departed senators to recognize (only 10 – 15) for two reasons: There weren’t that many who passed away and it was not easy to get the names from the states of those who had departed. This mostly was accomplished via phone calls and requests published in the Senate Scene. No email in those days.
What is interesting is that during those first years the attendance was a bit sparse. It was usually held before the BOD Meeting and started at 7:00 am in order to finish before the 8:00 am start of the BOD Meeting. Therefore, only about 15-25 brave souls managed to drag themselves to the service. Another interesting tid-bit is that most of the attendees came in jacket and tie or dresses for women, as the case may be.
The purpose and meaning of the service changed significantly in 1994 in Orlando. At the outset of the year, then Chaplain/Rabbi Mike Sawyer #36403 made a concerted effort to improve the presentation. Since this was pre-internet time, he sent out snail-mail letters to every state senate President with a pre-paid return post card, requesting the names and numbers of any deceased Senator from their state. The response was very rewarding: he received 48 names. He even received a last-minute call from Maryland’s President notifying him of a wheel-bound Senator that had been murdered during a home invasion.
All 48 names were printed in a Memorial Booklet and distributed during the service. Several notable facts from that meeting were: Pennsylvania had the most names (10) and it included the name of Hal Krekorian #9695. Thus, Hal became the first of our Past Presidents to be recognized at a Memorial Service. It was a very humbling and moving service with more than 150 members and spouses in attendance. They came, not just to pay tribute to Hal, a man truly loved and respected by his peers, but to pay tribute to the other 48 people on the list.
At the beginning of the service Amazing Grace was sung by a young lady from the Orlando area. There were 49 lit candles on the table in front, one each for the deceased member and one extra for any deceased senator(s) whose name(s) weren’t submitted in time. Past President Darryl Watts #9776 was tasked with reading the names of each departed Senator, while John Clarke #1856 (later Chuck Fries #18344) extinguished a candle. After all the names were read, the 49th candle was extinguished. This practice of having one candle for each deceased member continued into the late 1990s when it was decided to revise the practice. It was decided to change to using one lit candle for each state that submitted the names of their deceased Senators and this was later changed in the mid 2000’s to using a single candle for each region.
Over the next decade or so, the service began to develop traction. Each Chaplain did his/her best to provide a strong sense of decorum during each year’s service. As a result, more and more Senators and spouses turned out for this event. For example, during Randy Young’s #46420 year as Chaplain, he had a single individual from each Region read the names from their Region. This was later changed to having the NVPs read the names from their Region. Concurrently, Daryl and Chuck continued their service as ushers. Live music was introduced whereby Angie Struttmen sang and was accompanied by Bev Moss on piano. Randy also implemented a program to recognize Region and State Chaplains who had performed exceptional services. Later Ariel Jones #65423, as Chaplain, introduced the use of photos during the slide presentation. However, it was during the 2013 Annual Service that then Chaplain Ray Ainslie #44136 provided a significant improvement for the service.
As mentioned previously, obtaining names of departed senators depended on receiving the information from the state Presidents or chaplains. While this was effective, it wasn’t very thorough. During Ray’s year a policy was implemented to compile a list throughout the year of the departed Senators. By promoting the process through the NVP’s, a very composite list from each state was obtained. It also was capable of obtaining a list of previously departed Senators who had been missed in the previous years. Most of this new effort came about via a newly developed position of Membership Services Director chaired by Larry Ferguson #45060. Also, beginning that year, the video presentation program was introduced which has been used since. In addition to the video program, which eventually included pictures of the departed, hand programs were passed out listing the departed by Region/State of the deceased Senators. Also recognized that year were the Senate families that had children in the active military. With the calling of each name a gong was struck using a suspended copper pipe and hammer. Canadian Senators, as well as ASAC and ASE Senators were also recognized.
The idea of the sounding of a tone after the names read lead to a new development. The following year a bell was specially cast in Sandusky, Ohio, sponsored by Ray, for the US JCI Senate. It took three castings before the bell was correct. It was then presented to the organization as a gift from Ray #44136 and Melodie #69200 Ainslie. A hand carrying case made of Illinois Cherry accompanied the bell.
The list of departed Senators has continued to grow each year; unfortunately. Thus, additional changes were needed to control matters. As a result, it was decided that any Senator to be recognized needed to be a due’s paid member of the states and national organization. This helped to streamline the logistics of the service. Also, coordination with the regions and states increased which meant compiling the annual list was much easier
As we enter our second half century for the US JCI Senate, a very important and humbling activity has become an integral part of our annual gathering: THE MEMORIAL SERVICE. What started as a simple idea by Chaplain Tom Selmer #14563 in 1988-1989, has become a significant part of our heritage - paying tribute to our departed members.
NOTE: There are no factual records in the US JCI Senate Archives that exist that mention the events described above. However, the 4 compiling individuals each did, at different times, participate in the events as written; thus, these events are as factual as can be expected.