Motown Legend Dies

DETROIT (AP) — Four Tops frontman Levi Stubbs, whose dynamic and emotive voice drove such Motown classics as “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” and “Baby I Need Your Loving,” died Friday at 72.

He had been ill recently and died in his sleep at the Detroit house he shared with his wife, said Dana Meah, the wife of a grandson. The Wayne County medical examiner’s office also confirmed the death.

With Stubbs in the lead, the Four Tops sold millions of records and performed for more than four decades without a change in personnel.

“Levi Stubbs was one of the great voices of all times,” former Motown labelmate Smokey Robinson said. “He was very near and dear to my heart. He was my friend and my brother, I miss him. God bless his family and comfort them.”

The Four Tops began singing together in 1953 under the name the Four Aims and signed a deal with Chess Records. They later changed their names to the Four Tops to avoid being confused with the Ames Brothers.

Words Of Comfort

Funeral Planning should include a good eulogy, words of comfort and happy anecdotes of the deceased’s life. It goes a long way in the healing process. Below you will find such an example.

Be not troubled. Jesus tells his disciples to not let their hearts be troubled. But how can our hearts not be troubled on a day like today? It is not a matter of will, is it? We cannot choose not to have a troubled heart, can we?

Is it not proper that our hearts are troubled?This numbness. This grief. This whatever each of us is feeling is what happens when our heart seeks out the one it knows so well and finds an empty space where a person once was. Empty space. A hole. Like the empty space that haunted the disciples the day after Jesus died. Like the empty tomb they found that morning all those years ago.

Were they hurting? Yes. Were they crying? Yes. Were they worried about the future? Surely, yes. You see, they did not remember those words Jesus had told them on that night that seemed so long ago.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

I am going ahead of you to prepare a place for you. He was trying to tell them that there is a difference between going away and going ahead. He was trying to tell them that he was heading out in front, to make things ready. He was telling them that they, too, would follow him one day.

Jesus told us not to let our hearts be troubled.
He did not mean we should not cry.
He did not mean we should not grieve.
He did not mean we should pretend we do not feel the empty space where the one we loved used to be.

But he tried to tell his disciples – to tell us – that this parting is not forever.
Jesus went ahead to prepare a place for us.
And we who are left behind need to huddle together in this dark hour.
We need to hold each other up. And hold each other close.
And know that someday we will see this man who we loved and who loved us so well.

Do not be afraid, Jesus said.

May he give us the strength in this hour to mourn our loss without losing the hope of the bright day when we will be with our loved one again. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Tragedy….The Unthinkable

Death is not a respector of persons. Regardless of your station in life, death will come calling. Case in point, the academy winning actress singer Jennifer Hudon is the latest victim of deaths inescapeable grip. The well to do feel that their money insulates them from deaths cold grip. Not so!

There is no way to prepare for this type of unimaginalbe tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Hudson family. We like to compartmentalize death’s sting as a singular event. Often times it can take several loved ones as in this case. Thankfully, Ms. Hudson is a person of means who has the financial where with all to deal with this devastating trauma. However, that’s not most Americans. This type of multiple tragedy would have financially devistating effects on the average person.

Usually the average person would have to resort to charity from their local church, community group or fraternal organization. Or in most cases, the charity of strangers. All of the above are good reasons to seriously think about funeral planning and prearrangement. You’ll be glad you did!