Crossing the Bar. Death Comes in Three's

Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me. Photo courtesy Shirley Mayo Ireland.

This first week in August has been a week of death.  Three Island citizens have passed away this week.  One was held in a bodily prison for so long; the results from a crippling and debilitating accident so many years ago.   An upstanding, community leader who was always advocating for fishermen to be able to fish.  And a man who grew up on this Island who later became a police officer in Emerald Isle.  

I remember Wanda as a beautiful, blond haired woman who worked at the bank when I was a child. Mr. Roy will always be remembered as a most kind, generous, upstanding community servant who impacted so many lives on this Island and Eric, who I did not personally know, but his roots were from here and his time growing up on this Island certainly provided him a model of how to be great in life. 

Do you think that things come in three's?  Usually after the second death we wonder who is next?  

I remember 1995.  There were so many beloved Island residents that left us in a matter of weeks.  It started in May when George Almond left us and then Capt. Forest Lupton crossed the bar one last time. Mr. Willie Gray Midgette two weeks later in June and Ms. Amy Hopkins the next day.

Then fall came upon us and to me November and December of 1995 will never be forgotten.  Mrs. Metta Swindell earned her wings in early November. And then Bruce Spain left us so soon to join the other brethren of the sea.  Ms. Myrtle Sadler Schmidt came home to Lowland for one final trip to be laid to rest in early December.

The tragic death of Mr. Gene Potter on December 10, 1995 at the Hobucken draw bridge was heartbreaking.  And within days we lost a beloved friend in Joey Ballance who left us way to soon.  Our communities were reeling in grief those early days in December, a time when the Christmas festivities should have enlightened the season.  And again, the angels gained another, Mrs. Edna Ireland, just a few days before Christmas.

There was so much heartbreak on our Island that Christmas.  Granddaddy Mike Lewis, Uncle Roscoe Rice, Mr. Stakes Ireland, Uncle James Foreman, and others had certainly had their fair share of cemetery duty that winter.  Granddaddy even remarked, “I wonder who will be next?”

And then of course, it was my Granddaddy Mike, who departed this earth on December 30, 1995.

Through all of our grief, the most remarkable thing I remember that winter was the amount of love and concern we all have for one another on this Island.  I can still see Mrs. Doris Ballance visiting my Grandmother that day and I could physically see the hurt in her eyes from the recent passing of her son, but yet she was not selfish in her concern for others. She came to pay her respects amidst all the grief she was experiencing. 

Families were reaching out to each other.  We were holding each other up.  That’s what communities do.  Even families who had been stricken with grief earlier never failed to reach out to another who had lost.  That’s the beauty in the folks of Goose Creek Island. 

Maybe it’s just coincidental that we notice that death comes in three’s on the Island.  If we look back through our history, I am sure we will find other patterns when this has occurred.  This mystery is part of our Island culture.  

So many wonderful people who made Goose Creek Island the way we see it today have passed. No matter what generation, what year or what century, this unusual phenomenon will always be part of Goose Creek Island.  God bless our community and may peace be with all who are grieving.  Tina