OCR Text |
Show Message #Y+ December, 1982 from Joan E. Liebler Helen H. Sturges Brother Juniper, O.S.F. at HAT ROCK VALLEY RETREAT CENTER P. o. Box 5, Monument Valley, utah 84536 Tel. 801-727-3291 We mourn' - and we try to reJOlce. As human beings it is hard to do anything but grieve because of the physical absence of one who was much loved and who meant so much in different ways to so many people ..... priest, missionary, pioneer, raconteur of no mean wit, friend, father, grandfather - and husband. Yet, even in the midst of sorrow, as Christians we are bidden to rejoice and give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord that Father Liebler is now free from the physical disabilities and pain which proved a great handicap in his latter years, and that he has at last entered into the new life in the place the Lord has prepared for him. At least, we try to be thankful for Father's sake, but for ourselves - well, that is another matter. We loved him - each in a different way - and we mourn his loss. Brother Juniper has written a little memoir of Father, so, as I know you want to know "what happened", I'll try to tell you as concisely as possible. Father had been very anemic for several months and his condition did not respond to the appropriate medication prescribed by Dr Merritt. On October 23 he was entered into Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, Colo. for an exhaustive series of tests. A diagnosis of hemolitic anemia was made, but the cause of it could not be determined. When the tests were all completed I was allowed to take Father home, as extended hospital stays can be very disorienting to elderly people. However, although he was glad to be home again, his condition rapidly deteriorated and after three days I had to face the unhappy fact that he needed more professional care than I could give him. He was taken by ambulance to the 7th-Day Adventist Hospital five miles away. Doctors, nurses, aides - all were wonderful in their care and concern for him, and both Dr. Merritt and Dr John Liebler were kept informed of his condition. From our point of view it was a great blessing that he was only five miles away from home, as we were able to visit him frequently, and I am so thankful that I was able to spend so many hours at his bedside. Then came the last weekend ... a weekend of love and sorrow. On Saturday, November 20, two of Fatner's sons, Dr John and Dr Bob, arrived from Florida --his oldest son, George, and his wife had visited us only two months' earlier --- and he was so very happy to see them; they spent much time with him. Then, on Sunday afternoon Father Valentine came from Kayenta to see Father and administer the Blessed Sacrament - his last communion as it proved to be, for barely half-an-hour later his spirit went to the Lo~d whom he had served so faithfully as a priest for 68 years. As Thanksgiving Day occurred during that week, Bishop Putnam agreed that the funeral could be postponed until the following Saturday, November 27, in order that as many people as possible could have the opportunity of attending, especially those who lived at a distance of 300 to 400 miles away. It was a bright, sunny day. In the Church of St Mary of the Moonlight Bishop Putnam presided over a celebration of the Holy Eucharist and Burial Service from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, with the other clergy of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland concelebrating. An old friend, Father Flann O'Neil, OFM, preached a short but moving sermon; a beautiful letter from Bishop Otis Charles of Utah was read, in which he designated November 21st as the date of a yearly commemoration of Canon Harold Baxter 'y |