A Eulogy for My Big Sister:
I grieve for the loss of my big sister Dale (Dean) Stone. Although she was barely one year older, and I became taller than her by about 7th grade, she always was and always will be my big sister. She was bigger than me in many ways. First and foremost, she had a much bigger heart than I. She felt such a deep level of love for children, puppy dogs and kittens that I can only now attempt to reach it. She was always so giving to them beyond their mere needs and often beyond her own means. Although like me, she found it difficult to express that love in flowery words, any child knew immediately that Dale was their friend.
My big sister Dale was also bigger than me in that she withstood and overcame a level of life’s possible tribulations, torments and tragedies that I simply don’t think I ever could. From the depths of illness, heartbreak and poverty, her fiercely independent streak gave her the strength to overcome them all. Up until the last, she was doggedly pursuing her higher education, living on her own and even mentoring others who found themselves in the dark places she had been before.
My big sister Dale was bigger than me in that she truly lived the motto “family first”. Both of her daughters Melissa and Erin, were the true light of her life. She fretted constantly when they were in dangerous circumstances and even when she had not heard from them for a while. She was also our family’s historical archive in that she was the one we relied on to instantly know everyone’s birthdays and she had done the genealogical research of our family tree. Given the number of us, our children and grandchildren and given our very mixed heritage, those were certainly no small feats!
My big sister Dale did not hesitate to say what she thought in a no-nonsense way. If I started a rant on a subject she disagreed with, she would not hesitate to let me know it. She was very outgoing in that respect while at the same time being very private and personal with her own physical and material needs. That stoic nature is a large part of our shock and regrets over her passing that is with us today.
My big sister Dale has left this world in the physical sense, but in many ways she will be with me for the rest of my life. My childhood school partner helped shape the man I am and the man I hope to be. I am humbler today than I was last Wednesday. I now better realize how precious and precarious life can be. I cannot now say all the things to my big sister Dale that I should have while she was alive, nor can I say enough today to make up for it. I can however, take this final lesson of life from her and apply it to all my loved ones that remain here on this earth. To all of you, I apologize for anything I’ve done to offend you and hope we can be better friends and family from here on out. To my daughter Amanda and my wife and three fantastic grandsons, I commit myself to showing you more love than ever before I go too leave this earth.
My big sister Dale’s troubles are over and she can now rest in peace. It is only we the living that have our own challenges and demons to deal with now. I am confident that we can better withstand and overcome them ourselves simply because we knew and loved my Big Sister Dale.
Dave Dean
