Greatest Generation

Feb 19

Eleanor, Claire, and their boyfriends at a malt shop.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of celebrating the funeral Mass for a neighbor and family friend I have known my entire life. Mrs. Eleanor Joyce passed away last week at the age of 98. She had lived in the same house for almost 90 years and had been good friends with many members of my family. Eleanor and my Aunt Claire were members of the “Greatest Generation,” the name given to the people who grew up and came of age in the Great Depression and World War II.

Like many women of their generation, they grew up in a time when women were mostly expected to stay in the background. Many women cared for the home front and supported their parents, husbands, and families. They also supported one another. Claire and Eleanor had known each other since childhood. They were both married to ironworkers, but we all know they were the real source of strength in their families. For me, they epitomized the famous quote from St. Francis de Sales that tells us: “Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.”

At the viewing for Eleanor, many pictures of her family and friends were displayed around the funeral home. One of my favorite images featured Eleanor, Claire, and their boyfriends (who later became their husbands) at a malt shop, smiling and enjoying life in the post-war period. It is a time capsule of a certain era but also of friendships that would endure for another fifty years. In some way, it reminds me of a 1940s version of the 1990s TV show, Friends.

Seeing that picture, one neighbor told me that she took comfort in knowing that these two couples, these four friends, were now reunited. As Christians, we often recall the images from the Bible (both Old and New Testament) that speak of the great “banquet table” in heaven. I never thought of a reunion in the great malt shop booth in the sky!

However, this is how many of us imagine aspects of the afterlife. When this life is over, we believe there will be reunions and moments where we connect with family and friends that have been a part of our journey. Friendships will be renewed and the love that we share in this world will carry on. Francis de Sales describes this when he tells us that “Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off.”

In this world, we often can be our true selves when gathered with friends and family. They know our shortcomings and struggles, yet they still sit with us for a meal, a malt, a moment to share and support one another.

My hope and prayer is that when our lives are over, we will experience our own reunions. Whether it is at a banquet table, in a coffee house, or in a malt shop, we are forgiven, accepted, and welcomed – for all eternity.