Glen Gips - Eulogy

Some of you have asked that I post the Eulogy given at Glen's funeral to the blog so they could read it again.  I am happy to share it with you.

Glen Gips - Eulogy

By Darla Gips

The day Glen died, Dr. Wahl asked us when Glen had become so obsessed with time. We told him it had been in the last several years. I was thinking about that conversation on the way to work the next morning. And I got to thinking that Glen has always been at odds with “time.” I can’t tell you the frustration we felt when Glen would lollygag around or drag his heels whenever he went anywhere with us. The waiting for him to wander through resale shops or garage sales looking at things we considered not-important or uninteresting to us.

– or stopping to talk to somebody who looked interesting to him – or to anyone that would talk to him – the waiting while he purchased some oddball trinket or took some off-angle photograph just because it struck his fancy – or even when he stopped to take a picture of a smushed bug. I remember so many of those times. His tenacious questioning when he wanted an answer to something - the “time” he spent getting that answer. The aggravation, the irritation – all because we were running late on account of Glen.

But you know what? I think maybe Glen was the only one who really GOT the concept of “time”. Glen actually had “time” to visit with people. He had “time” to make new friends. He had “time” to look at all kinds of eclectic stuff in souvenir shops. He had the “time” to feed his imagination so that he could create his art. He took the "time" to “notice” you. He had “time” for his friends – he made “time” for family.

He wasn’t perfect – and he knew just how and where to push your buttons. Believe me – I have several buttons and he pushed all of them at one time or another through the years. He was really good at it. Any of us who were loved by Glen know from experience this is a truth. It seems that we were always so busy with our own families or our own worries that we couldn’t appreciate Glen’s attention to “time”. We sometimes thought Glen didn’t live by a clock – that he was wasting his life away – not accomplishing anything or not applying himself - when in fact, he probably used his “time” better than WE ever thought of doing.

I don’t know if it was on purpose that Glen’s life wasn’t governed by a real clock, but rather by his own God-given life clock. Maybe he knew his “time” here on earth would be short. I don’t know those things. I DO know that Glen demanded you notice him. He spent the extra “time” to make an impression. And these last several months, I’ve met many people whose lives he has touched in some way. They remember Glen – AND BY NAME. And – he remembered their names. I’m embarrassed to say that I rarely remember someone’s name when I’m introduced. I don’t take the “time”.

But Glen? He had that gift of “time” to give to most every person he met. You remembered Glen once you met him. He had the “time” to make a lasting impression. Or should I say he had a gift? Glen gave part of himself to everyone he met whether he realized it or not. That is a great legacy, and I’m glad Glen had “time” for me.

I pray that God grants each of us some of Glen’s “time” so that we too, can touch the life of others the way Glen has touched ours.