Singing for Hugh

We ran into a little rain on the way down to Seattle to join twelve other members of the Seattle Welsh Choir in singing at the memorial service of one of our members.

Hugh was born in Chicago in 1921. His father worked in a slate quarry in Wales before emigrating, and his mother was English. I never met anyone more proud of his Welsh heritage than Hugh, and he loved to sing.

The familiar hymns sung at the service today were originally Welsh hymn tunes: Cwm Rhondda (Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah); Diadem (All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name); and Calon Lân (A Pure Heart) -- sung by the choir. Calon Lân was Hugh's favorite.

There were many fond memories shared -- some were amusing, some loving, and some were both. I spoke about Hugh's fondness for singing the Amen at the end of a hymn -- something we usually didn't do. When he felt the need for an Amen, he would often go it alone. Sometimes a few of us would join in. I explained that we'd made sure to include the Amen when we sang Calon Lân, and sang an extra one for Hugh at the end of my story.

We (the choir) sang the Welsh National Anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers) before the benediction.

It was a joyous celebration of Hugh's life -- he would have enjoyed it.

Amen.

P.S. Here's Cynthia's account of the memorial service.