Edward "Ted" Thomas Lidgett 2 June 1944-2 November 2018

It was a beautiful sunny day for Ted's funeral.

At the Baker Funeral Chapel, we met members of the Lidgett family. And on the way into the chapel Ernie said that they would like me to make some remarks at the end. I thought at first he meant a graveside prayer, but when I saw the funeral program I saw that I was scheduled to give my remarks after the eulogy and the open mic. They explained. Ted planned the service and he said that Bill often speaks at family funerals. They tried phoning me twice to let me know but I was away from home at Evelyn's all that week. I started writing some notes while we were gathered as family before the service. Donna leaned over and said “Keep it short.” and I was happy to oblige. The officiating pastor was Reverend Glen Forsberg, a friend of Ted's from his school days, and gave a beautiful tribute to Ted. He led the prayers and hymns. The eulogy was given by Ted's nephew Rob and his niece Sherrie and was beautifully done.

The only speaker during the open mic was Bea, a friend of Ted's from his days working as a sales representative for Scott National. They would often meet at Tony Roma's restaurant for lunch and remained friends after Ted retired. She had seen him shortly before he needed to go to get a biopsy and he was supposed to let her know the results. When she did not hear from him, she searched the Edmonton phone listings for Lidgetts and found Ernie, who told her that Ted had pancreatic cancer and his only weeks left to live. Then she spent long hours over the weeks with Ted at the hospital. This is a  beautiful example of friendship.

In my remarks I mentioned that I was representing my brothers and sister who were unable to be there. I referred to Ted's love of family, and my own passion for family history. Ted has attended family gatherings faithfully over the years. He was kind and gentle and always positive. I referred to the two great commandments referred to by the Savior, to love God and to love our fellow man, and I said that I felt that Ted exemplified these principles. He was always in good humor and his smile could light up a room.

After the service we traveled to the cemetery and the urn was buried by the grave of his parents.

During the luncheon I was able to visit with many of the family. Donna was using a cane. Dave was also using a cane and Donna said that he had suffered a massive heart attack back in February. Dave's sons were the urn bearers. Danny was in good humor although confined to a wheelchair. Rob is starting to turn grey. None of us are as young as we used to be. They were all very friendly. The Lidgetts are a wonderful family.