Funeral for Gene Wirt - November 1, 2019

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Below please find the manuscript for the funeral of Eugene Wirt that I performed last Friday afternoon at the Community Center in Lohrville, IA.

This was a very large funeral for a fellow that was larger than life and who was a fixture of the Lohrville Community.  God comfort and bless his family and friends.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Order of Service – Funeral for Eugene “Julio” Wirt

Call to Worship:
Gathered in Christ's name, let us praise God
who is our certain hope in all life's varied circumstances.
In the face of death believe the good news the scriptures proclaim:
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13)

Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of; Eugene Webb Wirt;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Gene to God's everlasting care.

Opening Prayer:
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Gene.

We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see death as the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Music: George Strait- You’ll Be There 

Reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 139: 1-18
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15     My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
    all the days that were formed for me,
    when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
    I come to the end—I am still with you.

Reading from the New Testament:
Matthew 20:1-16 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA
Eugene Webb Wirt was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on May 27, 1953, to Curt and Lillian Wirt. He graduated from Lohrville High School in 1972. Throughout the years Gene worked for the State of Iowa, the City of Lohrville, for IBP, Gemberling Excavating, Arcadia and Lohrville Lockers, and the New Coop where he was working when his health caused him to retire in 2016

Eugene passed from this world and into the next on Sunday, October 27, 2019, at the all too young age of 66 years.  The family noted that shortly after Gene's passing that the electricity went out in Lohrville, Lanesboro, and Lake City... the outage was blamed on an errant squirrel... but the family believed that their father was the real culprit.  Either that or he put the poor squirrel up to causing the mischief.  He was after all always feeding the squirrels... and who knows... who really knows...

Today we are gathered to give thanksgiving for Gene's life and to give thanks for the love and the unending grace that our Father in Heaven holds for each of us, and for Gene.

I remember a few months ago reading an article that talked about how none of us truly has just one identity; each of us is viewed through the eyes of so very many, many, different people and each of these people constructs a slightly different, or even vastly different identity of our being... it seems nobody, not even we ourselves really knows the 'real' us... for there really is no single us... we each play different roles and have many identities in the lives and eyes of those around us.  Such was the case with  Gene, each of you gathered here today knew a different Eugene Webb Wirt.  Each knew Gene in a slightly different context, for many of you he was a friend, for Lillian a son, for Cody and Heather he was their father, for Laurie he was a loving boyfriend, and for his grandchildren he was their grandpa.  Just as Gene had so very, very many different nick-names... Julio, Hoot, and many... that we probably can't mention in polite company... he like all of us, played many different roles in the lives of those around him.

When I asked Cody, Heather, and Amanda for words to describe their father and father-in-law... Heather spoke first with a word that we really can't once again use in polite company... when I pointed out that I really couldn't say that she rephrased it with another word that I assured her once again that I couldn't use in polite company... however all three reassured me that both words were true... I will leave it to you all to ask them for the phrases used...

Suffice to say everyone that I asked about Gene told me that he was a character.  The family told me that he was strong, very stubborn, that he liked to have fun, and he enjoyed his beer, that he loved to hunt deer and pheasants too... and that he was hoping to hunt deer even this year, he was a gun enthusiast... okay, they used the word freak... he was a gun freak.  If you wanted to know about guns or talk about guns, Gene was your man... he loved his lever actions and shotguns... and pretty much all guns.  They told me that he had bought rifles for both of his granddaughters.  He was a member of the NRA and an active member of Pheasants Forever. Gene enjoyed hunting and shooting a great deal and I'm certain that his hunting and shooting friends will miss him a great deal. I myself, enjoy firearms and listening to the family talk about Gene and his love for collecting them left me with regret that I never had the opportunity to pick his brain and visit with him about our mutual passion.

Gene loved his job and it broke his heart when he had to retire after his accident in 2016.  He loved being on the Lohrville Fire Department and his involvement on the Fire Department meant so much to him that he wished for his brothers on the Department to escort his remains to their final resting place and for the Firemen to serve as his pall-bearers.  However, I should note... that given what I have been told about Gene... that he would most likely point out to his friends transporting his remains today that it isn't like they're going to have to strain or get any kind of a work out... because he's been cremated after all.  He loved his friends and they were like family to him but that didn't mean he didn't like... actually love... to bust their chops and give them a hard time... I'm assured that he did.  His friends were like family, a dysfunctional... disoriented perhaps even... but family... and he loved you all.

Gene's friend Pug called Gene 'The Legend of Lohrville' because he was well known for four Counties in all directions. I was told that he'd never met a stranger... and that everyone knew him... but, most didn't know his real name. It seems that nick-names was something the Gene/Julio/Hoot, and his friends reveled in, Heather said that she was an adult before she realized that the names that many of her father's friends went by were not, in fact, their real names.

Gene was a rebel and if there were rules he probably would break them... some way or another.  He was care-free and did what he wanted to do.  He liked to party and as I mentioned before he liked to drink. More than one person confided in me that Gene could out-drink anyone. Though Gene always enjoyed himself, his children told me he'd calmed down a bit and cleaned up a bit in the last few years... he even got himself a girlfriend...  Laurie, who had been a long-time friend and who became more than that as their relationship blossomed.  The family told me that even though Gene had enjoyed partying for so many years that he took pride in never having missed a single day of work.

Gene loved his family and was proud of his children and grandchildren.  Cody told me that though he'd long known that his father had attended every one of his wrestling matches, that he'd recently discovered that his father had kept track of all of those matches and had logged every one and it's result.  Gene enjoyed buying dolls for Heather, and he loved to buy collectibles for his mother Lil... though they also mentioned that Gene thought pretty much everything was collectible.  He loved spending time with his grandchildren even though they frequently drove him crazy.  

Gene liked NASCAR and collected NASCAR memorabilia.  He was a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, and of Iowa State Football.  He had played football while in High School here in Lohrville and even though he only weighed 150 lbs., he was the center for the offense.  Gene lived his whole life in Lohrville and loved his community dearly.

As I mentioned earlier, Gene retired in 2016 after suffering a head injury when falling from his truck.  The injury affected his cognitive abilities and his motor skills.  He was very frustrated about the limitations that he was left with and as a result, he had to give up pheasant hunting as he just wasn't able to walk through the brush like he needed to.  Apparently, though he was still able to hunt deer and did so even last fall and as I also mentioned, he had hoped to again this fall.

In a few moments, we will allow time for those that wish to share some memories about Gene with each of you.  But before we do, let me share with you one of the greatest... if not the greatest parable that Jesus left for us all.

It has long been my personal contention that it is impossible to grasp the love and grace of God without considering the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  The metaphor of a loving father is perhaps the easiest and maybe the only way for us to try and understand our Lord.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15: 11-24
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

The parable tells us of a father that loves us so very much that he is always watching, waiting, and ready to greet us home.  It tells us of a father who's only desire is to be reunited with us... to throw his arms around the child that has rejected him and his love.  This parable, taken along with the parable of the workers in the vineyard, and the reading from the Book of Psalm that you heard earlier, paint a picture of a loving father, a father that is with us no matter what and no matter where... and that our Father in Heaven waits patiently for us to decide to return home... to His love, grace, and forgiveness.

A father's love is like that, it never dies... Cody and Heather, you can be reassured that your father's love for you will never die... it remains with you and your children. Though being separated from your father is difficult and will always be difficult, you can always rest assured that just as God will always love us, Gene will always love all of you so very, very much.  
Though we are parted but for a time, we can take solace in the words of the Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.

Music: George Strait- Troubadour 

Eulogies and Reflections:
The family would like to allow those gathered here today to share some memories about Gene with each other.  Perhaps some stories that might tell his children and grandchildren a bit more about their father and grandfather.  If you like you may come forward to speak or if you are more comfortable please stand and speak from where you are. 

Closing Prayer:
The family invites you all to a continued time of reflection and celebration of Gene's life by joining them for a meal here at the community center. Immediately after this service, we will travel to the cemetery for the interment, those that do not wish to travel to the cemetery may remain here and wait for the family to return.  I will ask you to please wait for the family to return before partaking of the meal that has been so lovingly prepared by so very many.  Once we return I will bless the meal and then we will continue our remembrance service.

Let us please close with a prayer...

O God, our Strength, and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence, we now entrust Gene to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to a life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own.  Accept him as he is with all his frailties as well as his strengths.  Enfold him in your everlasting arms.  Embrace him for he is your child.

Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.

Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever-larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Closing and Benediction:
“May the Lord Bless you and keep you, and may His face shine down upon you and grant you all His Peace”  Amen.

Sending Song: Luke Combs- Even Though I’m Leaving


Committal Service:
This afternoon we are gathered here to lay to rest and inter the ashes of not only Gene Wirt, but also his father Curt.  It brings us great comfort to know that Gene and Curt will spend eternity right here beside each other.  We have selfishly wanted to hold on to our loved ones... it brings us great pain to let them go. Living in the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit their mortal remains to their eternal place of rest. We will continue to mourn our loss but through our faith in a loving and grace-filled God.  We will always love both Gene and Curt, but God now takes care of them.  We will continue to carry Gene and Curt in our thoughts, but they will be kept safe in God's hands. 

Hear now - Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint. 

Let us pray:
In sure and certain hope that, as Christ lived and was the first to rise from the dead, we too shall have new life and will join our heavenly Father along with all the saints in a new and better place. We, therefore, commit our brothers Gene and Curt to the earth from which they were made, and lay to rest their mortal bodies that they might put on immortality. The Lord bless them and keep them; the Lord make his face shine upon them and be gracious unto them; the Lord look upon them with favor and give them eternal peace.  Amen

14th Chapter of the Gospel of John
Hear these words from Jesus:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places. If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
So that where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way to the place where I am going.
I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
In a little while, the world will no longer see me,
But you will see me; Because I live, you also will live.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you everything, And remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  
(John 14:1 – 4, 18 – 19, 25 – 27)

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Gene and Curt to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to lead them to the rooms made ready just for him. As we now commit their ashes to their final resting place; we commend their spirits to their new home. Rest eternal grant them, and let God's light perpetual shine upon them. Almighty God, as you once called our brothers Gene and Curt into this life, so now you have called them into life everlasting. 

Let us pray together the prayer that our Lord taught to us............

This concludes the graveside services.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and may His strong arms uphold you and comfort you in the days, weeks and years ahead.  Go in His peace.