‘Gone to heaven’ together
The caskets of Joan and Cecil Fittat St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral yesterday. (Gercine Carter)
Sat, February 11, 2012 - 9:00 AM
SLEEK TWIN CASKETS adorned with matching white floral arrangements lay side by side at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral yesterday morning as the strains of Kenny Rogers’ Through The Years wafted through the air.
It was a sedate service which Monsignor Vincent Blackett preferred to describe as “the climax of a wedding” rather than a funeral service for Joan and Cecil Fitt.
Blackett said the late Rendezvous Ridge, Christ Church couple “celebrated their marriage from beginning to end”, treating their life together as “one big wedding celebration”.
The bond held through death and was well expressed and reflected in the tone of the Fitts’ funeral.
Joan Fitt cared for her ailing husband up to the time he died at their home last week. Three hours after he succumbed to cancer, she also died.
Delivering the homily yesterday, Blackett shared the experience of his last visit to the Fitts’ home to administer final rites to Mr Fitt, when Mrs Fitt shared thoughts about her devotion to her husband, acknowledging that his end was near.
“I said to Joan, ‘It must have been very challenging for you’. She said to me, ‘Yes, but it was great. It is great to be able to serve Cecil. He was a wonderful husband – a great husband – and a devoted father.”
The priest told the congregation, “What we are experiencing today is two people who were given over to each other have now sealed it in this unique and special way.”
He exhorted the Fitts’ children and grandchildren to follow the example of parents and grandparents who had lived their lives in a “perfect union” that lasted for 53 years.
Blackett said the couple celebrated their marriage “from beginning to end” and had “gone to the wedding feast in heaven”.
Stephen Fitt read Canon Henry Scott-Holland’s poem Death Is Nothing At All in tribute to his parents. (GC)
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Those are coffins, not caskets.
yet another factual error of no real consequence to anyone who gives a darn about the English language anymore.
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Comment LinkSeriously you are going to bicker over a coffin and a casket? This is a beautiful story…....
May they rest in peace.
Double condolences to the family.
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Comment LinkSeriously you are going to bicker over coffin and casket? This is a beautiful story…...........
May they rest in peace.
Condolences to the family.
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Comment LinkBim Bum, any other article where you want to correct grammar, syntax or vocabulary may be fine, but in this case, it is inappropriate. Time may be better spent sending condolences to the family of this couple that exemplified a good marriage.
May God bring you all peace and comfort in this time of bereavement.
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Comment LinkA real Bum Bum
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Comment LinkFrom dictionary.com
cof·fin [kaw-fin, kof-in]
noun
1.
the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.
Exhibit B
cas·ket [kas-kit, kah-skit]
noun
1.
a coffin.
With that said. My condolences to the bereaved family.
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Comment LinkSuch pure love that the world needs more of and what a real commitment to marriage vows. May this grieving family find solace in the sweet memories left by Cecil and Joan Fitt.
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Comment LinkWhen i read bin bum’s comment i was a bit disappointed, because yes it’s a beautiful story and an emotional story as well, but if you read the Oxford dictionary and if you come to the conclusion that the oxford is correct which states: (COFFIN: A box in which a dead body is placed for burial or cremation, and CASKET: A small usually ornamental box for holding valuables.Then maybe bin bum was really offended for the decease couple at what he saw as a gross error. My condolences also.
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Comment LinkAs a former teacher of Language Arts myself, I am often shocked at the low standard of English that is widely accepted in the media these days. Not in this instance, however, since most dictionaries accept that “casket” is widely used these days to refer to a richly decorated coffin. Bim Bum might be caught in a bit of a time warp.
Maybe someone needs to explain to our readers what a dictionary is for, or does. A dictionary simply catalog(ue)s (see?) the usage that are current for words in the English Language. Some dictionaries go into greater detail than others, and point out the degree of acceptance, and where some usages, and spellings, are universally accepted and which usages are strictly colloquial.
Most dictionaries, however, will enumerate several different meanings for each word. In some cases, acceptance of a particular usage may even hinge on which EDITION of a particular dictionary is being cited as the authority. I don’t entirely blame BIM BUM for jumping the gun on this one, however, because I suspect this particular bee in his bonnet is one that has been stinging him for some considerable time. (You can check my cover photo on FB for a more egregious example of what BimBum is talking about.)
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