How will you be remembered?

[FlatpickingJD]

This past weekend I heard many remembrances of Tim Russert, the NBC newsman. Many of his colleagues spoke of their impressions of him. They talked about his work, his work ethic, his professionalism, his thoroughness of research.

But no one - - not one person - - mentioned anything of the man. He had a wife and son, sisters, and his father survived him. We know a bit about his relationship with his father, but virtually nothing of his relationship with his family, both birth and marriage.

He worked at NBC for 18 years. Surely in that time someone came to know him as a person, not just as a co-worker, regardless of how good he may have been at his job. Didn't any of his co-workers have anecdotes about stories he told around the office, fights with the card key to get into the building, anything? I found myself wanting to know what he liked to do outside of work, what he and his son did for fun: did they like camping or fishing or were going baseball games more their speed?

Do you think you'll be remembered solely as a good worker, and nothing remembered of you as a person? Or do you want to be remembered for your professional life only? Do you care?

 

[dluvs2trvl]

I totally want to be remembered for who I was as a person...my love for my family and friends...how I treated people...how I served people...how I laughed....how I liked to have fun...my love for traveling...all those things that make me the person I am....I wouldn't care one bit if my job wasn't even mentioned.

Now as far as Tim Russert goes...I did see a few shows as well and those did seem to delve more into the man as a person. They talked about his relationship with his father and his son. The time that he spent with his family and how pround he was of his son. They talked about how generous he was with his co-workers and people in his life. They talked about how he was really a team player.

The thing you have think about is that the people who were talking about him were reporters - in the same profession that he was in - they spent tons of time together doing their job....of course they knew him as a person as well but the majority of their experiences would be work related and they were "reporting" about him.

I would hope at his actual memorial service that there will be more focus on him as a person....

JMHO

 

[ido]

Whenever I hear this type of question, I think of the Nichole Nordeman song Legacy.

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much
I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I want to leave a legacy [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How will they remember me? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To make a mark on things? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I want to leave an offering [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A child of mercy and grace who[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]blessed your name unapologetically [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]And leave that kind of legacy [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I don't have to look too far or too long awhile [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...[/FONT]

I want to be remembered more for how I served God and the foundation that I helped my children build in their spiritual life - than for what my bank account held, what professional accomplishments I boasted, or any other wordly concerns that seem to become our focus if we are left to our own devices.

I know I'm far from being the ideal for what the song suggests, but I strive to come closer to it every day.

 

[HopeFaithLove4u]

This past weekend I heard many remembrances of Tim Russert, the NBC newsman. Many of his colleagues spoke of their impressions of him. They talked about his work, his work ethic, his professionalism, his thoroughness of research.

But no one - - not one person - - mentioned anything of the man. He had a wife and son, sisters, and his father survived him. We know a bit about his relationship with his father, but virtually nothing of his relationship with his family, both birth and marriage.

He worked at NBC for 18 years. Surely in that time someone came to know him as a person, not just as a co-worker, regardless of how good he may have been at his job. Didn't any of his co-workers have anecdotes about stories he told around the office, fights with the card key to get into the building, anything? I found myself wanting to know what he liked to do outside of work, what he and his son did for fun: did they like camping or fishing or were going baseball games more their speed?

Do you think you'll be remembered solely as a good worker, and nothing remembered of you as a person? Or do you want to be remembered for your professional life only? Do you care?

That Tim Russert story is just so sad!

He seemed like an amazing dad that loved his son so deeply. The different stories I saw from friends on the news was how much he talked about his son and, I guess, Tom Brokaw, was closest to him as a friend and Tom Brokaw had nothing but kind words about his friend and how they used to joke around.....they even showed a clip of Brokaw & Russert, interviewing each other and Russert was teasing Brokaw about his wife.

My thinking would be the people they interviewed over the weekend were the one's that could compose themselves enough to be in front of the camera and not break down and cry and they just had a working relationship with him......and the others that were closer to him needed time to deal with it.

*****
Back to topic

I would want to be remembered as kind and compassionate........that may have made mistakes in life, but always tried to do her best.

And loved and adored her daughter and put her own needs aside to always make sure her daughter needs were cared for.

 

[Inkachu]

I'd like to be remembered as someone who made a gigantic, lasting impact on the world, especially in an artistic realm, like Shakespeare or Mozart. Will it happen? Probably not.

I know my family and friends will remember me with great love and fondness, and that's all just peachy keen. I hope I live to be old, old, old cause the thought of dying terrifies me.

 

[soccerdad66]

My biggest hope is that I'm remembered as someone who loved his Son, and tried to be a good father.

 

[KarrieTex]

This past weekend I heard many remembrances of Tim Russert, the NBC newsman. Many of his colleagues spoke of their impressions of him. They talked about his work, his work ethic, his professionalism, his thoroughness of research.

But no one - - not one person - - mentioned anything of the man. He had a wife and son, sisters, and his father survived him. We know a bit about his relationship with his father, but virtually nothing of his relationship with his family, both birth and marriage.

He worked at NBC for 18 years. Surely in that time someone came to know him as a person, not just as a co-worker, regardless of how good he may have been at his job. Didn't any of his co-workers have anecdotes about stories he told around the office, fights with the card key to get into the building, anything? I found myself wanting to know what he liked to do outside of work, what he and his son did for fun: did they like camping or fishing or were going baseball games more their speed?

Do you think you'll be remembered solely as a good worker, and nothing remembered of you as a person? Or do you want to be remembered for your professional life only? Do you care?

One person did....Sean Hannaity spoke about what a great relationship he had with his dad and son. He was reading stories from Tim's book and added what he knew personally of the relationship they had.

 

[justanobserver]

How will you be remembered?

Do you think you'll be remembered solely as a good worker, and nothing remembered of you as a person? Or do you want to be remembered for your professional life only? Do you care?

As long as my children remember me, thats all I mostly really care about. That I would be remembered as a loving dad, a good man and a veteran that served his country with honor. theres this little National Cemetary in Santa Nella, CA right off of I-5 where I will be interred someday amongst thousands of other veterans. Really a nice peaceful location.

 

[FlatpickingJD]

I totally want to be remembered for who I was as a person...my love for my family and friends...how I treated people...how I served people...how I laughed....how I liked to have fun...my love for traveling...all those things that make me the person I am....I wouldn't care one bit if my job wasn't even mentioned. . . .

Good, that's how I feel too. Well, except for the traveling because I'm a homebody.

Now as far as Tim Russert goes...I did see a few shows as well and those did seem to delve more into the man as a person. They talked about his relationship with his father and his son. The time that he spent with his family and how pround he was of his son. They talked about how generous he was with his co-workers and people in his life. They talked about how he was really a team player.

The thing you have think about is that the people who were talking about him were reporters - in the same profession that he was in - they spent tons of time together doing their job....of course they knew him as a person as well but the majority of their experiences would be work related and they were "reporting" about him.

I would hope at his actual memorial service that there will be more focus on him as a person....

JMHO

This is why I was reluctant to even start the thread: I knew that people would focus on the person I mentioned, rather than the question I asked. I had another thread about a year, year and a half ago triggered by something Reese Witherspoon said. I asked about the comment, not her. The thread ran about 2 1/2 pages. All but 3 or so comments were about Witherspoon, not her comment or even answering the question I posed.

So here's the thing: first, I said I saw some remembrances where no one mentioned him as person. I didn't say there weren't any such comments made. It was a brief 15 minutes of radio time I listened to that distressed me. That was what my point was in making this thread: we spend far too much time worrying about our work lives, and not enough worrying about our relationships with other people. In the end, when we're before the Throne, that's what He'll ask us about, our relationships. Not how good we were at our jobs.

Be that as it may, your second comment proves my point entirely. That many his co-workers focused solely on his work accomplishments (or chose not to speak about his personal life) and not on his personal life speaks to how little they knew him.

JMHO.

A good friend of mine died a couple months back. She was a former co-worker of mine, my second in my department. If asked about her, I wouldn't talk about what a great job she did for me, the department, and our company, nor her dedication to the job. I would talk about how she doted on her niece and nephew, flew them down from Vancouver at her own expense to have them spend the summer with her, and generally spoiled them while she had them. I would also remember how she loved going to fish stores and watching the fish swim, how it gave her peace.

Not her work.

 

[dluvs2trvl]

Sorry JD - didn't mean to upset you by commenting on the programs I saw on Tim Russet. I just had watched quite a few of them so I thought I would comment. I wasn't trying to dismiss your question and did address that first.

Of course, I would hope that people would talk about who I am as a person and not about how I did at my job because although I would like to do well and be known as a hardworker that isn't a high on the list of things I would want to be remembered for...

 

[covenantwmn]

I pray that someone remembers me as someone who reflected Christ. I haven't worked in years, so no chance there, lol. I want to be remembered as being kind, encouraging and a good friend, but am I living every day like that? I'm sure sometimes not, I want to be Christ-like, that's the goal.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

It would be nice to be remembered.....at all. But where I am going, I am sure I will not care whether I am remembered or not.

 

[KarrieTex]

Those that I love and are close to me will remember me. The rest....I don't care.

What I do in this life is nothing to what awaits me.

 

[hope4today]

Interesting thread JD.

I recently did a service outline for my own 'funeral' as part of an assessment at college. Weird, I know....

Anyway this is part of that I did (names etc removed).


*Hope* was born the fifth child of ______ and _______ ______. Her parents being Salvation Army Officers meant that her early Christian training was in the Salvation Army. She moved with her parents from state to state until at the age of 18 she remained in _____ when her parents were moved to ______.. She spent most of her adult life in ____, and made many friends here. Throughout both her childhood and adulthood *Hope served God through the local church and impacted the lives of many with her love for God, her joy of life and her compassionate heart.
*Hope was a loving mother , very proud of her three beautiful daughters—_____, ____ and _____. She loved, and was much loved by her siblings ____, ____, ____ and _____. She was also a much loved, faithful friend to many.
*Hope’s faith and trust in Jesus encouraged many who witnessed her face the challenges of life in the strength of the One who gave his life for her, and in whom she lived.
Today we bid her farewell from this earthly life, in the sure and certain hope of meeting her again on the Resurrection morning

MIZPAH​

I hope I am remembered something like this. The good thing about this is getting to say just the good things

 

[HoosierCanuck]

most likely i would be remembered as funny, an animal lover, a huge hockey fan and Cubs fan and chocoholic. I think for me, what you see is what you get, whether at work or at home.

 

[GritsnGrace]

I guess I would like to be remembered as a woman who loved her family and friends.

 

[Bridgit]

I hope when people will remember me that they will think of how wonderful God is.

 

[HoosierCanuck]

i was this short, fat, ugly chick.

 

[Bay]

I hope it will be for my animal and prisoner activist work,my love for changing things to better society and my love for my kids.

 

[FlatpickingJD]

I recently lost a brother in the Lord. He was my foil, my adversary and my friend.

At his memorial service, people talked about his work, but not much. He was an electrical engineer, and had just been awarded his second patent. What they did talk about was his love of God and how he was generous - generous with his money, with his time, and with his friendship.

He didn't ask much of others, other than to share his happiness in life and in helping others.

I remember how he gave all the money in his wallet, about $100 American, when the call went out at church for someone who was about to lose her apartment because she didn't have enough to pay her rent. And told the pastor who was collecting the money that he hadn't given enough.

I remember how he gave money to someone else when she needed money for gas to get to work and to eat a single meal that day. He had just lost his own job a couple days before but, he said, he had enough to pay his rent and enough food to eat for a while, and this lady had nothing.

I remember how he went to someone's home to do the electrical work on his single day off in 2 weeks. And paid for all the parts out of his own pocket.

Others told of the time that he'd take off from work to do repairs and electrical work at an orphanage in Mexico. He'd give his clothes to homeless people our ministry serves so they could present well on their job interviews, new clothes yet.

He razzed me about being a bum when I walked away from my legal career and was trying to find a way to live my calling. Then he'd take me aside, ask if I needed anything, and tell me to trust that God would show me the way.

He will be remembered for his love, his kindness, his generosity of spirit, his counsel, his laughter and his friendship.

And I don't even answer the damn phone.

God bless you David, and I rejoice in knowing you're with God now and finally free of the ailments that beset you in this life. We all miss you, my brother, and I look forward to seeing you again in the next world, the only real world.