Malloy and Sons
June 29, 2018
After meeting Betty Huddleston earlier this month and then, after learning of her death, speaking with friends and family, I have come to the conclusion that Betty was a saint. I’ve always thought of a saint as someone through whom the light of God was able to shine through.Betty was a devoted member of Grace Episcopal Church. Parishioners who have been around for a while, the ones with what we call “high mileage,” tell me exactly where she sat mid-way down on the pulpit side.(Episcopalians tend to sit in the same spot in their church...I have no idea why this is so. We’re funny this way.) From Betty’s spot in the pew, she had a good view of the stained glass windows all around the church and especially of the resurrection window above the altar. Historically, stained glass was used to help teach the stories of the Bible and to commemorate the saints at a time when worshipers were largely unable to read. These windows are still a great teaching tool, but I think we appreciate them even more as inspiring, colorful works of art. Yet, the windows would be of no value at all if the light did not shine through them. This reminds me that the saints in their own way, were people who let the light of God shine through to others.
I spoke recently to Shirley Bridges who still volunteers at the Silk Purse where Betty had also volunteered. She described Betty as a person who ways always doing something. She was always supportive of everyone because of her general positive attitude. She was the kind of person who saw a glass as half full rather than half empty. Carolyn Clyburn described Betty more as a friend than an employee. Betty was a hard worker for the House Company, but Carolyn most appreciated her as a confidant, as someone with whom she could seek and give advice and share stories of the youngsters in their respective families. It shined through clearly that Betty valued family.
I understand that she and David, her husband and fishing buddy, had a house in Galveston on 34th Street….a place that Carolyn thought had belonged to Betty’s family in the previous generation. Anyway, this house was the site of numerous family gatherings...various birthdays, 4th of July, and Christmas holidays were all celebrated with family getting together. Betty’s daughter, Jacque, recounted Christmas as among her favorite times at this house. Betty presided over a kitchen that turned out more food than you can imagine. Turkey, dressing, and other traditional dishes and every kind of dessert. Betty made sure to take lots of photos on those occasions. Jacque told me family members sometimes worried that anyone who saw those images would think all they did was eat! Betty showed her love by serving others. She would be the last to eat. She relished the role of handing out the presents at the Christmas. When all is said and done, we know that Betty valued family and delighted in the way various traditions regularly brought everyone together under one roof.
The final word at the funeral of a Christian must always be the resurrection. Jesus promised eternal life to those who put their trust in him...and his promise was underscored as he overcame death and the grave. He proved to his disciples that he was not a ghost, or a dream, or a figment of the imagination. Jesus friends saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes and refused to deny it even when their lives were threatened because of it. Betty lived her life in a way that proclaimed this faith, and she passed this faith on to her children. Even as her life was threatened by cancer, she kept a twinkle in her eye and a steadfast faith. She showed that joy was not something just for the hereafter, but a way to live your life in the here and now. Her children, Jacque and David, fully expect to see Betty on the other side when that time comes. The way Betty lived her life is an invitation to all of us to choose this faith.
If being a saint means letting God's light shine through you, ...then Betty was a saint to those who knew her! AMEN.
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