NYANI-IISHA FAUDEL MARTIN
Funeral Officiated by Matia Rania Angelou
Melody: "A Woman of Valor"
We gather in this precious moment, in this delicate space after burying our dear Ny, to honor the all-too-short life of Nyani-Iisha Martin. Ny was special to each of us in her unique way: to Bill and Josh, her long-time partners, to best friends and roommates Rachel and Sam, to Josh and Akiva who have lost their beloved adopted auntie, and to all of us in her "found family" who loved and cherished Ny.
The obituary that Bill sent to me spoke of the light and joy that Ny brought to so many others through her art, her writing, and the poems and postcards she drew and gifted. I still have a magnet on my refrigerator of dancing Minoan women that Ny gave me. I always smile when I see it, and I remember her at this time of the year because I first met Ny as a guest at our Passover seder. While Ny wasn't religious herself, she enjoyed joining our family for our holidays, and was particularly impressed by the holiday of Maimuna, a Sephardic Jewish ceremony at the end of Passover to "jump the fish" and re-enact leaving Egypt. While Ny wasn't "religious", she was what I call spiritual. She expressed this spiritual connection through her art and transformative fiction writing, her connection with the Minoan culture, and through her cooking. Ny was an amazing cook. I didn’t think I liked fruit cake until I tasted hers. She was generous and loving, and shared these qualities by often cooking food to leave in the town community fridge. We will have an opportunity to do this ourselves on Sunday in Ny's honor.
Bill wrote to me that Ny "was a light in the lives of so many." That was certainly reflected in the many loving quotes her friends wrote about her. Thank you, Rachel Sommer, for sending them to me. It was a delight to read how many people knew about her generosity, her kindness, and wit - how many people appreciated her friendship and were lit up by her smile and (as was written in her obituary) her "deep, loud, full-body laugh". What a beautiful way to be remembered. May the memories we share today bring comfort to us all. And may Ny know, in some mysterious, spiritual way, how much we all loved her.
May each of us find solace and comfort in this special community that Ny has
created and brought together. May we know that we are not alone in our grief. Our hearts have been broken open - yet our broken hearts are open so wide that we can give deeper love to each other, as Ny did. At this time of remembering, may we bring healing to each one of us as we remember Ny.
A poem about memory by Marcia Updyke:
Sometimes,
Memories are like rain showers / Sprinkling down upon you
Catching you unaware / And then they are gone,
Leaving you warm and refreshed.
Sometimes,
Memories are like thunderstorms / Bearing down upon you,
Relentless in their downpour. / And then they will cease,
Leaving you tired and bruised.
Sometimes,
Memories are like shadows / Sneaking up behind you,
Following you around. / Then they disappear,
Leaving you sad and confused.
[And] Sometimes,
Memories are like comforters / Surrounding you with warmth,
Luxuriously abundant. / And sometimes they stay,
Wrapping you in contentment.
___________________________________________________
So many people have memories and stories to share about Ny.
We will have an opportunity to share them when we gather on Sunday.
Today, we have three people who would like to speak:
[youngest child]
Bill Duetschler
Josh Mooradian
END after reading poem:
May Ny continue to inspire us to enter each day with a generous heart,
to live life with courage, and to support each other with love.
May her memory be a blessing to us all.
Poem: "On the Death of the Beloved" by John O'Donohue
Though we need to weep your loss,
You dwell in that safe place in our hearts
Where no storm or night or pain can reach you.
Your love was like the dawn
Brightening over our lives,
Awakening beneath the dark
A further adventure of color.
The sound of your voice
Found for us
A new music
That brightened everything.
Whatever you enfolded in your gaze
Quickened in the joy of its being;
You placed smiles like flowers
On the altar of the heart.
Your mind always sparkled
With wonder at things.
Though your days here were brief,
Your spirit was alive, awake, complete.
We look toward each other no longer,
From the old distance of our names;
Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,
As close to us as we are to ourselves.
Though we cannot see you with outward eyes,
We know our soul’s gaze is upon your face,
Smiling back at us from within everything
To which we bring our best refinement.
Let us not look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows
And music echoes eternal tones.
When orchids brighten the earth,
Darkest winter has turned to spring;
May this dark grief flower with hope
In every heart that loves you.