[Magdalen] Interesting Funeral

[Jay Weigel]

Sounds like quite a wonderful funeral, if such can be said of one. Prayers
for Dan's repose, and for Gene and all who loved Dan and love Gene.

On Sun, Sep 20, 2015 at 3:53 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:

> Albert and I went the the funeral of Our friend Dan Levins in Brooklyn
> Friday. It was held at our former parish, Christ Church Bay Ridge with
> interment at Resurrection Cemetery on Staten Island.
>
> Dan was a Dancer -- formerly with American Ballet Theater (some of his
> performances  from the 1970s are on YouTube); in later years he taught
> dance in Manhattan. But in one of those quintessential New York City "Odd
> Couple" his partner for 20 years (and married for four years) was formerly
> a NYC Firemen, Gene had a stroke about 10 years ago and has been in a
> wheelchair since.
>
> The funeral was a great NYC mix of people -- a few from the parish, but
> lots of Dancers, ex Dancers, Ballerinas and retired ballerinas, but also a
> phalanx of NY Police and Firemen, complete with a bagpiper from the Emerald
> Society. Genes brothers and relatives were all there (as were Dan); the
> four brothers are firefighters or cops -- a traditional NYC Irish family,
> though no priest AFAIK.
>
> Dan has specified some aspects -- he wanted lots of incense. And by the
> vagaries of work schedules and the like, we ended up with a Lutheran Pastor
> as Thurifer (is Lutheran Thurifer an oxymoron?).
>
> The casket was open at the the beginning of the service, as the wake had
> been in the church.
>
> The Casket was well censed, at the beginning -- but later when it was time
> to close the casket (after the sermon), it was censed again, and per Dan's
> Instruction, there was plenty of smoke directed into the casket as it was
> closed. Never saw that before!
>
> Albert and I rode out to the cemetery with the Pastor/Thurifer (we've
> known him for years), with Albert holding the thurible (keeping the coal
> lit).
>
> During the interment, the casket was well-censed again, but then another
> incense innovation (per Dan;swishes), Pastor Miller lowered the thurible
> into the hole under the bier and censed it thoroughly enough that smoke was
> coming out the other sides from underneath.
>
> I'm considering revising my funeral instructions.
>
> Prayers for Dan and especially for Gene who will have a difficult time
> ahead.
>
> Jim Guthrie
>
> Cheers,
> Jim
>
> "The enemy isn’t liberalism;
> the enemy isn’t conservatism.
> The enemy, is baloney." - Lars Erik Nelson
>