How will you be remembered?

16 May 2016

Rick Simoncelli

My husband and I attended a friend’s memorial service on Saturday. Rick Simoncelli was a warm, wonderful, accomplished man, who will be greatly missed not only by his family and friends, but by the St. Louis community. His memorial service was a beautiful celebration of a life well-lived, though Rick was only 65 when he passed away from brain cancer. 250 or so people crowded the church to pay their respects in a touching and joyous celebration of life.

Listening to the kind words spoken about Rick and learning about aspects of his life I hadn’t known about, I started thinking about my own memorial service. What do I hope will be said about me?

Two things jumped to my mind: I would like to be remembered for how my life affected others (in a positive way, of course). And I would like to be remembered as a kind person.

Do I want to be remembered as a successful business person or author? Sure. But it’s more important to me to be remembered as someone who brought joy to others and really helped them.

The good news is that this is within my control. I can live life as I want to be remembered. It’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities, focusing on the minutiae rather than the big picture. As death tends to do, Rick’s passing brought home the realization of how short our lives our and how important it is to make the most of every day.

In the coming weeks, will take the opportunity to ponder my legacy and renew my efforts to live the life worthy of remembering. And I will miss Rick and try to be a good friend to his wife, Claudia, and daughters, Jessica and Amelia, who will miss him even more than me.

How would you like to be remembered?

Tagged with: legacy, priorities