This is the end of this blog.
I have starged a new blog at http://bevlombard.bogspot.com/ about my upcoming trip to the Gambia.
Would love your prayers for this new adventure too.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Funeral Service for John Lombard
The funeral service for John will be held a Christ Church, Bolton ON, on Tuesday, April 26, at 1pm
The church is on Nancy St - simply come into Bolton on Hwy # 50 - turn West on to King St and then North on to Nancy St. Church is on the second church on the right hand side.
In lieu of flowers donations can be give to WEC International (Gateway student care fund) 37 Aberdeen Ave., Hamilton ON L8P 2N6 or the Parkinson Society British Columbia
Suite 600 - 890 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1J9
or VMTC Canada.
The church is on Nancy St - simply come into Bolton on Hwy # 50 - turn West on to King St and then North on to Nancy St. Church is on the second church on the right hand side.
In lieu of flowers donations can be give to WEC International (Gateway student care fund) 37 Aberdeen Ave., Hamilton ON L8P 2N6 or the Parkinson Society British Columbia
Suite 600 - 890 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1J9
or VMTC Canada.
Article from the Deep Cove Crier
Gratefully Remembering The Rev. John Lombard
April 16, 2011
By the Rev Ed Hird
The Rev. John Lombard helped many people become ready for the final transition of life. He did not let the difficult disease of Parkinson’s defeat his feisty spirit. John was ready to go, ready for the final phase of life on earth. John lived a full life, both in sickness and health.
John was a courageous, humorous, thoughtful, and compassionate man. It was a privilege to get to know John on a personal level. At his memorial service, many people shared about the deep humility that John displayed. To know John was to love John.
His dear wife Bev stood faithfully with John ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and health’ in their forty-five years of marriage. During the difficult last phase of John’s life, Bev kept an online blog where she shared daily about her life with John. Bev has been a great inspiration to many by the way that she has not let John’s chronic illness defeat her. Her deep faith kept her going, because she knew that she was not alone.As my honorary assistant priest at St. Simon’s North Vancouver, John was a tremendous help, covering for me when I spoke at various conferences. In 2004 when I had an opportunity to take a three-month sabbatical, John ‘held the fort’, enabling me to be deeply refreshed and renewed. Because of John’s covering at St Simon’s NV, I was able to travel to eighteen cities across Canada with 250 francophones and anglophones in a journey of reconciliation called La Danse.
In Nov 2004 our 10:30am contemporary service moved, because of overcrowding, to the Maplewood School. This was made possible because John covered for me at Maplewood School until I could drive there from Deep Cove after our 9am traditional service. John’s loyalty was a rare gift to me. I knew that you could depend on John through thick and thin. John was a man of his word. His yes was yes and his no was no.
John was not a yes-man. Many times when John saw a way that we could improve, he would freely share with me his insights. As his voice became weaker because of Parkinson’s, I had to listen very carefully. His mind remained sharp, even as his body faced serious challenges. I remember John’s helpful suggestions about how we could improve the quality of reading scripture on Sunday morning. His ideas resulted in a very informative Saturday morning Readers’ Workshop led by his wife Bev to about twenty of our readers. There was a remarkable strength in John’s spirit, even in the final days of his being in hospice. The last time I saw John, he really enjoyed viewing my iphone photos from our recent holiday in Hawaii.
One of my strongest memories of John was at the annual BC Christian Ashram retreats where John would tell funny stories and play harmonica during the talent show. John was a very gifted harmonica player who with his quirky sense of humour intentionally played the wrong harmonica notes in one song. John did this with a twinkle in his eye.
Born in Montreal and raised in Windsor Ontario, John spent most of his ordained ministry in southern Ontario. Instead of merely retiring, John and Bev moved to Greater Vancouver to become missionaries with WEC international. They served at the Gateway Intercultural Training Centre and led short-term mission trips to Fiji, Guatemala, and South Africa. After St. Simon’s NV adopted John and Bev as part-time missionaries, John wrote wonderful updates about how God was using them in raising up young leaders around the world. As a member of the national leadership team for the Anglican Coalition in Canada, John co-ordinated prayer initiatives for the Coalition, sending out regular prayer updates. As a leader in VMTC, John prayed deeply for healing of others in body, mind and spirit. He gave and gave and gave. We miss John deeply. But we are so grateful that he is now with Jesus in his nearer presence.
Reverend Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s North Vancouver
April 16, 2011
By the Rev Ed Hird
The Rev. John Lombard helped many people become ready for the final transition of life. He did not let the difficult disease of Parkinson’s defeat his feisty spirit. John was ready to go, ready for the final phase of life on earth. John lived a full life, both in sickness and health.
John was a courageous, humorous, thoughtful, and compassionate man. It was a privilege to get to know John on a personal level. At his memorial service, many people shared about the deep humility that John displayed. To know John was to love John.
In Nov 2004 our 10:30am contemporary service moved, because of overcrowding, to the Maplewood School. This was made possible because John covered for me at Maplewood School until I could drive there from Deep Cove after our 9am traditional service. John’s loyalty was a rare gift to me. I knew that you could depend on John through thick and thin. John was a man of his word. His yes was yes and his no was no.
John was not a yes-man. Many times when John saw a way that we could improve, he would freely share with me his insights. As his voice became weaker because of Parkinson’s, I had to listen very carefully. His mind remained sharp, even as his body faced serious challenges. I remember John’s helpful suggestions about how we could improve the quality of reading scripture on Sunday morning. His ideas resulted in a very informative Saturday morning Readers’ Workshop led by his wife Bev to about twenty of our readers. There was a remarkable strength in John’s spirit, even in the final days of his being in hospice. The last time I saw John, he really enjoyed viewing my iphone photos from our recent holiday in Hawaii.
One of my strongest memories of John was at the annual BC Christian Ashram retreats where John would tell funny stories and play harmonica during the talent show. John was a very gifted harmonica player who with his quirky sense of humour intentionally played the wrong harmonica notes in one song. John did this with a twinkle in his eye.
Born in Montreal and raised in Windsor Ontario, John spent most of his ordained ministry in southern Ontario. Instead of merely retiring, John and Bev moved to Greater Vancouver to become missionaries with WEC international. They served at the Gateway Intercultural Training Centre and led short-term mission trips to Fiji, Guatemala, and South Africa. After St. Simon’s NV adopted John and Bev as part-time missionaries, John wrote wonderful updates about how God was using them in raising up young leaders around the world. As a member of the national leadership team for the Anglican Coalition in Canada, John co-ordinated prayer initiatives for the Coalition, sending out regular prayer updates. As a leader in VMTC, John prayed deeply for healing of others in body, mind and spirit. He gave and gave and gave. We miss John deeply. But we are so grateful that he is now with Jesus in his nearer presence.
Reverend Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s North Vancouver
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The memorial service for John will be held tomorrow, April 15th at 2pm at the George Preston Arena (208St and 42nd Ave in Langley BC.
The funeral service will be held in Bolton Ontario sometime in the week following Easter. Details are not yet arranged.
The funeral service will be held in Bolton Ontario sometime in the week following Easter. Details are not yet arranged.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
A Life Well Lived
John passed away just before noon today, April 12, 2011.
I got to the Hospice just before 11am and knew as soon as I saw him that it would not be very long. He was sleeping but working so hard to take each breath, and you could hear what they call the "death rattle" between each breath.
I was able to pray with him, read scripture, tell him how much I love him, and thank him for 45 years as a faithful and wonderful husband.
One of the nurses came in and was with me when his breathing just slowed down and finally stopped. It was very peaceful.
I called Margie and she came over to be with me and we just sat with him for awhile. Then I packed up his things and came home.
I have not talked to the funeral parlour yet so I do not have any details at this time.
Actually I intend to have his body cremated and have a memorial service for him in Langley and then return to Ontario for the funeral and burial. But beyond that I do not have details.
Thanks to every one of you who have given us such support through your love and prayers. Each one of you has been a blessing to us.
I got to the Hospice just before 11am and knew as soon as I saw him that it would not be very long. He was sleeping but working so hard to take each breath, and you could hear what they call the "death rattle" between each breath.
I was able to pray with him, read scripture, tell him how much I love him, and thank him for 45 years as a faithful and wonderful husband.
One of the nurses came in and was with me when his breathing just slowed down and finally stopped. It was very peaceful.
I called Margie and she came over to be with me and we just sat with him for awhile. Then I packed up his things and came home.
I have not talked to the funeral parlour yet so I do not have any details at this time.
Actually I intend to have his body cremated and have a memorial service for him in Langley and then return to Ontario for the funeral and burial. But beyond that I do not have details.
Thanks to every one of you who have given us such support through your love and prayers. Each one of you has been a blessing to us.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Each day seems to bring new challenges. Today John had developed a lot of congestion on his chest. It sounded much worse than anything he has experienced before. He was coughing a lot but not bringing up much mucous. Every breath sounded like he was snoring, and every cough sounded like he would drown in the liquid. The nurses used the nebulizer on him (saline mist through a mask) and that seemed to clear it up for an hour or so and then it began again. Every time he coughed he seemed to be choking on the phlegm and could not get his breath, even though, even with the suction machine, there did not seem to be much actually coming up. They gave him a second treatment with the nebulizer but it did not seem to help as much. I was afraid to leave him because I was afraid he would choke on it. However, they finally got him turned on his side and when the sleeping meds took effect, he went to sleep and stopped coughing. Please pray he will get through the night as they only check on him periodically.
The good news was that the meds seemed to be working better for the pain and rigidity. He only had one bad spell - and one "zombie" attack.
The doctor popped in today but will come in and talk to us at length tomorrow.
Apparently today was a bad day at the Hospice, several patients having a very hard day (I don't know if John was included in that or not) and a new patient admitted. It meant that I had to chase down meds several times in order to get them to him on time. I am afraid I am getting a reputation amongst the nurses - and not necessarily a positive one.
Did not leave until after 10pm tonight and I am tired.
Two thumbs down today
The good news was that the meds seemed to be working better for the pain and rigidity. He only had one bad spell - and one "zombie" attack.
The doctor popped in today but will come in and talk to us at length tomorrow.
Apparently today was a bad day at the Hospice, several patients having a very hard day (I don't know if John was included in that or not) and a new patient admitted. It meant that I had to chase down meds several times in order to get them to him on time. I am afraid I am getting a reputation amongst the nurses - and not necessarily a positive one.
Did not leave until after 10pm tonight and I am tired.
Two thumbs down today
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
I did not write the blog yesterday because when I got home I was so tired I just climbed into bed.
Yesterday John slept for most of the morning. In the afternoon the Rev Ed Hird, from St Simon's Church in North Vancouver came to visit. The nurses had been giving John what they called "break through" doses of pain killers hoping to get ahead of the pain and thus prevent it. That worked fairly well for most of the day but seemed to stop working about 6pm and from then until bedtime he was very agitated, restless, and every so often he would raise up in bed - head and feet up and arms stretched out in fromt of him, looking absolutely terror stricken - whether that is from the meds, hallucinations or pain I do not know.
Today when I arrived he was already awake and quite lucid. He was able to talk better and I could understand almost everything he said. The Rev Ron Gibbs, the deacon from St Simon's was in to visit and pray with John today. Later John sat up in bed and watched TV for a little while. Then about 4:30pm John began to get rigid and shake all over. Sometimes, like yesterday, he would do the "zombie thing" as I call it - raising up with arms out etc. Other times he would just grab hold of my hand and squeeze it until the spasms stopped and other times he would tell me to massage his leg muscles or toes. The nurses gave him all the pain killers, muscle relaxants, and tranquilizers that they could, but once again he did not really settle down until he was given his sleeping pills and went to sleep. He kept them very busy between meds and changing his hospital gown and bedding because he was sweating so profusely.
I am exhausted from the emotional strain of watching him go through this.
I am praying that the new (to us) doctor who will be coming tomorrow will have some new ideas to help him.
I was sorry I did not get to church today but I knew I needed to be at the Hospice in the morning so had to skip church.
Two thumbs down for today
Yesterday John slept for most of the morning. In the afternoon the Rev Ed Hird, from St Simon's Church in North Vancouver came to visit. The nurses had been giving John what they called "break through" doses of pain killers hoping to get ahead of the pain and thus prevent it. That worked fairly well for most of the day but seemed to stop working about 6pm and from then until bedtime he was very agitated, restless, and every so often he would raise up in bed - head and feet up and arms stretched out in fromt of him, looking absolutely terror stricken - whether that is from the meds, hallucinations or pain I do not know.
Today when I arrived he was already awake and quite lucid. He was able to talk better and I could understand almost everything he said. The Rev Ron Gibbs, the deacon from St Simon's was in to visit and pray with John today. Later John sat up in bed and watched TV for a little while. Then about 4:30pm John began to get rigid and shake all over. Sometimes, like yesterday, he would do the "zombie thing" as I call it - raising up with arms out etc. Other times he would just grab hold of my hand and squeeze it until the spasms stopped and other times he would tell me to massage his leg muscles or toes. The nurses gave him all the pain killers, muscle relaxants, and tranquilizers that they could, but once again he did not really settle down until he was given his sleeping pills and went to sleep. He kept them very busy between meds and changing his hospital gown and bedding because he was sweating so profusely.
I am exhausted from the emotional strain of watching him go through this.
I am praying that the new (to us) doctor who will be coming tomorrow will have some new ideas to help him.
I was sorry I did not get to church today but I knew I needed to be at the Hospice in the morning so had to skip church.
Two thumbs down for today
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)