Gloria Mcfarland Aka Gloria Cleveland (In Memorial) Poem by Luke Easter

Gloria gracious Gloria I would surely be in remiss,
Should I not ponder the good times and reminisce,
Winchester, Tenn. to Cleveland, Oh far from home,
Although gone but not forgotten never to be alone.

In Cleveland we knew you as Cleveland what’s in a name?
For which ever one you went by Gloria was still the same,
Liked the area so much you adopted it & we adopted you,
We can only surmise it was your way to begin again anew.

Call came from nowhere, how could this surmise?
Kind strength showing brightly through your eyes,
As much a shock of disbelief as it was a surprise,
But the toughest part of all is not saying good-bye.

We often wonder when equal to deliberating why,
Surely where there’s no sign of trouble in the sky,
Adorned a smile from my daughter you would tell,
On that special occasion she’d be your Flower Girl.

What a huge highlight to be in your wedding at six,
In the photo albums it’s some of our favorite pics,
Auntie Gloria as you were so affectionately know,
And at 24 you still are even though Shari’s grown.

A racquet club we spent as much time as anywhere,
Fell a notch in spirit when you were no longer there,
A dynamic powerhouse, you harbored on technique,
Sensing an opening, pounding that which was weak.

Off the court the switch easily turned the other way,
Opposite the furiousness a game you loved to play,
Bobby, Mike, Jerry, Otis, Greg, Milton, Tim, Jack,
Just a small array of the many who want you back.

A truly joyous occasion when ever Gloria would show,
Racquet club closed for years but you should know,
Have never experienced another family atmosphere,
And, neither could it be the same without you here.

The doubles tournament in Akron, agony of defeat,
Not us but those two guys we would narrowly beat,
Yet a victory is still a victory and hard you’d fight,
Even your job the emphasis was doing what’s right.

And although life sometimes threw an outside curve,
You refuse to bow down, always garnering the nerve,
Rolled your shoulders back, chin up, head held high,
A fight to the finish always giving it one more try.

Goodness is found even in the bad you would believe,
Cherished friends in Ohio, Bama, family in Tennessee,
Professionalism in everything via a relentless attack,
Very last day arriving for walk 2, run 2, on the track.

But, this day was different as the latter would not be,
In the car, seconds later your run was hitting a tree,
This massive coronary, unannounced, suddenly it came,
Devastation so tremendous there is no time for pain.

Grow older, move away, new obligations, loose touch,
Doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten or didn’t miss you much,
Condolences, whatever relatives, sister, niece, our friend,
There is a void knowing we’ll never see your smile again.

But as usual life for the living moves on and so will we,
Speculation is a guessing game yet we make this decree,
Book of Job 22: 28, “what you decide on will be done, ”
So, we’ll stay faithful to see you soon in Jesus His Son.

Father here’s your daughter, with arms opened wide,
Receive our sister Gloria, a pinch shot from the side,
As forever our thoughts will be that of family so true,
Capturing our mind colored in her favorite Rollout Blue.