My dad's eulogy for his Father

I wanted to share my dad's eulogy from his dad's wake service. As with my eulogy, this mode of documentation is not necessarily to broadcast on the internet for wide distribution, but rather to be a record of what a great influence my grandfather had on his family. I pray that my impact on my children and their children will be even a fraction of how much appachen impacted us.

Remembering our beloved Achayan

I remember my grandmother telling me that when my brother was born, her brother’s family came to visit and exclaimed how handsome the baby was. I did not think much of it then other than may be feeling a little jealousy within me.  But the other day my youngest brother-in-law stated that my father was photogenic. I never thought of it like that. Now I know why my brother was so handsome and my sisters are so beautiful. Look at him, look at the pictures of him, he is indeed handsome... and my mother is beautiful too.

We praise God for the divine grace that was present in the life of our beloved father.

The presence of you all as we bid farewell to him enriches that dear life further.

Even though, for the last few months he had to suffer much pain from the effects of prostate cancer and had to be hospitalized on several occasions, in the end, he was able to rest in the house for a week and enjoy the presence of all children and grandchildren.  God also enabled all of us to be with our father during this time and be on his side.

On Friday, February 22 around 11:30 am Rev. Daniel Thomas and Rev. Biju P. Simon of the Chicago Mar Thoma church along with our friend Kunju (Mr. Iype George) and Susy visited Achayan in the home and prayed and afterwards all children gathered around and sang his favorite Malayalam song and during that time he started his journey to the heavenly place. We praise God for providing such a glorious experience to Achayan and us.

A few hours after receiving this news, our beloved uncle T.A. George (our mother’s eldest brother) also went to heaven in Kadammanitta, Kerala. Our father and our uncle lived in the same place (next door to each other) for almost 65 years.  In Kadammanitta, friends and neighbors and the community are mourning for both of them and newspapers and posters are reporting both deaths.

We express our sincere thanks to all relatives, friends and fellow believers who visited achayan in hospitals, nursing home and our home and provided fellowship and support to achayan and us.

I 'd like us to sing a few of achayan’s favorite Malayalam songs and the ones that reflect our strong hope that we will meet him on that beautiful shore when Christ comes again.  

“Diviamayulla manavarae, Devam namukkai orrukkidunnu“
(God prepares a divine bridal chamber for us)

“Than kaikal kannuneer thudakkum
santhapangal pariharikkum
Lokathe neethiyil bharikkum
Soka pperumakal nasikkum”
(His hand will wipe away all tears, remove all sorrows, rule the world justly and
all suffuring and mourning will end)

“Yesu manavalan namme cherkuvan...madiya vanil vellippeduvan
Kalam asannamai preyare, orungam visudhiyode “
(Jesus the bridegroom will soon appear in the mid heaven to receive us, so beloved let us prepare ourselves)

Our father was the youngest of six siblings: 2 brothers and 3 sisters. His mother passed away when he was two and a half years old and his father, siblings and relatives raised his. They came from Ranni, Odikkandathil , an ordinary middle class family.

After school education he joined his brother at the Cheruvally rubber plantations and later married Annamma from Kadammanitta, Thokkanal family and established their home in Cheruvally. After a few years he moved to the Vaikundam rubber plantations (near Kulasekaram in Tamil Nadu). When I was about 2 years old, my uncle brought me and my mother back to Kadammanitta while achayan continued to work at Vaikundam. Later he moved to the rubber plantations in Trissur. As the children started their school education achayan moved back to Kadammanitta and worked in local rubber plantations and doing farming.

He sent all his children through school and college and insisted that we all studied hard. I remember him watching us in the night while we studied and made sure that we did not go back to sleep until we completed our home work and studies.

Achayan was just an ordinary farmer in mid- Travanore in Kerala. He struggled a lot during those years to put the children through a good education. I remember, once he fell into a deep well and was hospitalized for weeks. He developed chronic back pain from that incident and that was with him on and off till the end.

As I look back, my father was a true pilgrim (nomad). He moved from places to places. I remember going with him to most places he went (Vaikundam, Trissur etc.)  And later on he followed me to most places that I went (Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, Bombay, and Chicago)

God gave him his beloved wife, 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grand-children. He was blessed to see his legacy reach 4 generations. Our lives were forever influenced by his good qualities of life such as hard working, deep faith in God and a helping mentality.

For many years, achayan was a member of Kadammanitta Salem and Kadammanitta Kripapuram Mar Thoma churches. After moving to Chicago he continued to be part of the Chicago Mar Thoma church and later became a member of the Pentecostal faith.  He was a true man of God, who respected all servants of God and believers. He was respected by all in our communities in Kadammanitta and Chicago. He was diligent in helping families and friends who were in need, especially in Kerala.

During our earlier visits back home, achayan was the one who was making all arrangements as well as coming with us to various places that we visited. He also came with us as we drove around various places in US.

A few minutes before the end, his neighbors and relatives gathered in one of my uncle’s house in Kadammanitta and watched him via Skype. All of them were able to bid farewell to him even thogh he has unable to respond. As a token of respect and love towards achayan and our uncle, posters are displayed with their pictures and condolences and announcing funeral arrangements in our community in Kerala.

The wake service and funeral services are being broadcasted live and relatives and friends in Kerala and other parts are watching.
We praise God for the opportunity to share this blessed life of our beloved Achayan.

 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. – 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17.”

This is our hope and we will meet our achayan again on that day.

Once again, we express our sincere thanks to all relatives, friends, God’s servants and faith community who visited, consoled and supported us during these difficult times.

+Susan Abraham +Abe Abraham +Jayne Abraham