A little bit about my funeral work:

In 2018, I was fortunate to step into a remarkable role conducting funerals and memorial services at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, the country’s second-largest historic cemetery. This is hallowed ground to famous names like Procter, Gamble, Kroger, Taft, Heimlich, Wurlitzer, and Baldwin, as well as to everyday heroes like Bill Winstead, a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra member, Connie Wischman, co-founder of the Freestore Foodbank, and Jack Osborne, a devoted patron of the arts, for whom I have had the privilege of telling their stories in a funeral setting. But I’ve told even more stories for ordinary people like you and me.

Every soul interred at Spring Grove has a unique story. While I’ve had the privilege to share only a handful of those narratives, I do so by carefully listening to the loved ones left behind. I gather their memories—the tall tales, the tender moments, the fun facts, and the life lessons—and weave them into memorable services that reflect each individual’s life. My approach includes written and spoken tributes, heartfelt eulogies, music, videos, and displays, all tailored to celebrate the person being honored.

I’ve even conducted a service at Historic Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio, and I’m willing to travel wherever I’m needed. My mission is to support you and your loved ones during this profound time.

Here are some snippets from funerals I have performed:

SNIPPET #1

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; 
Praise Him, all creatures here below; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host: 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Dorothy told me that Fred became a mid-life kayaker. As I rolled this around in my head, the traditional Christian doxology popped in my mind. “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow” as in God’s blessings flowing to us like a river.

On the website, Bible Meanings, Carlos Martin writes:

The spiritual meaning of rivers in the Bible holds profound significance and offers valuable lessons for our faith journey. Throughout biblical scriptures, rivers symbolize God’s life-giving presence, spiritual growth, surrender to His will, and the role of believers as vessels of blessings.

          As an adult Fred didn’t feel the call to be in church every Sunday. But he was raised in the church and very likely held God quietly in his heart as so many of us do.

           This morning, we are gathered here to Praise God for Fred’s life, to thank God for the blessings that flowed to Fred throughout his life, and to remember the blessings that flowed from Fred to all of those left behind or those who have gone ahead.

           My name is Donna Stothfang, and I am a Life Tribute Celebrant with Spring Grove Cemetery and Funeral Home, and it is my honor to guide you through the river of Fred’s life from the headwater to the heaven where God’s blessings flow eternally. 

SNIPPET #2

 

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.

                                                Franz Schubert

 Mozart said:  Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

 And more contemporarily speaking, I offer this from Taylor Swift:

 No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.

        Everything Bill Winstead stood for could be distilled down to fit within these three quotes.  We could all leave now and have covered the essence of William Owen Winstead.  And yet, we will stay longer and not have nearly enough time to review the breadth and beauty of Bill’s life and life’s work.

          My name is Donna Stothfang and I am a certified Life Tribute Celebrant and it is my honor and privilege to lead you through this celebration of Bill’s life.  On behalf of Bill’s family and closest friends, I welcome you to Music Hall.  And how appropriate that we gather here, one of the places that was central to Bill’s long and distinguished career with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. 

SNIPPET #3

 

At the end of this life, Bill Pierce was in good company. Alan Alda, Jesse Jackson, Neil Diamond, Charles Schultz, Robin Williams, Mohammad Ali, and Michael J. Fox are just some of the famous and well-known people to also have Parkinson’s disease. How ironic to be in such good company for such a bad reason. 

Unlike Michael J. Fox, Bill was fortunate to have developed Parkinson’s fairly late in life. But like Robin Williams, Bill was unfortunate to have developed dementia with it. Back on the fortunate side, Bill was blessed to have excellent health care assistance at the Anderson Nursing and Rehabilitative Center and to also have Nancy at his side. Many men are not so lucky. And I say men, because it appears that Bill was also predisposed to this illness just by virtue of being a man. But this is not so different than all of us being predisposed to death because we are human. Bill was going to die someday, but Parkinson’s made dying far more difficult and likely made it far sooner. And for that, Nancy, I think I can speak for all of us and say how truly sorry we are for this.

But let’s not define Bill’s life by the last four years. Let’s rejoice in the 76 healthy years Bill had and the 25 years of marriage he had to Nancy before the illness even started.

SNIPPET #4

The people who most touch our lives stay with us forever. I have lost loved ones.  I dearly loved my grandmother, and she has stayed with me. Every day, when I put on this ring, which was hers, she stays with me. My dad was a bit of a tight-wad and every time I find a great bargain he is with me. And Julie will be with you when you smell fresh baked bread or roses or eat garden fresh tomatoes or eat the whole pint of ice cream, not just one spoonful, or hear music by Queen or Bon Jovi.  

          Today as we come together to place Julie’s remains with her parents in this plot of near and distance relatives it may seem like Julie is gone, but she stays with each of you in your memories of her life and her love for you.