Latest news with #eulogy
Associated Press
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Book Review: Debut novelist Aisha Muharrar deftly explores love and loss in ‘Loved One'
I picked up a copy of 'Loved One' based solely on the fact that its first-time author, Aisha Muharrar, was involved in three television comedies that made me laugh: 'Hacks,''Parks and Recreation' and 'The Good Place.' The opening scene of 'Loved One' could be a set piece on any of those shows, as we jump inside the head of our narrator, 30-year-old Julia, who is delivering the eulogy at a friend's funeral, a popular indie musician at the time of his death. She thinks in pop culture tropes. 'Gabe and I were actual friends… We weren't the kind of friends who were never really friends. The kind of friends you see in a romantic comedy where there are two incredibly attractive people who are deeply emotionally invested in each other, and we're supposed to believe they have never once considered the idea of sexual intercourse.' Julia next goes to the bathroom and ends up needing to borrow a tampon from Elizabeth, a British woman Gabe had been dating for more than a year at the time of his accidental death. (He slipped and hit his head on a marble sink when exiting the shower of an L.A. hotel.) Elizabeth's words to Julia in their brief bathroom encounter set the rest of the story in motion: 'I know exactly who you were to Gabe.' After some required background about how Julia and Gabe met at a program for arts and architectural students in Barcelona in the summer between high school and college, Julia is on her way to London to retrieve a few of Gabe's things at the request of Gabe's grieving mother. 'I was a set of house keys buried at the bottom of a purse, finally plucked out, jangling with a purpose,' is the poetic way Muharrar describes Julia's feelings as she heads overseas. Once in London, the story takes on an almost buddy comedy feel, with Julia and Elizabeth warily befriending one another as they attempt to collect mementos of Gabe's — from a guitar he once played to a Mets cap he wore. We stay inside Julia's head most of the time, as she travels around London, still delivering inner monologues wrapped in her pop-culture sensibility: 'I liked learning a new tidbit about him. It was never-before-seen footage that kept the movie of his life rolling.' As the two women get to know one another, we as readers get to know more about their relationships with Gabe, and especially what happened in the final month or so before his death. Muharrar's work developing her main characters throughout the story allows her to explore deeper themes of grief and loss in the final third of the book without too much sentimentality. Closure may be too much to ask for these grieving women, but it's enough that they realize they still have lives to live without the object of the book's title. ___ AP book reviews:
Fox News
01-08-2025
- Business
- Fox News
NYC shooting victim's daughter delivers tearful eulogy at funeral: 'Never imagined this happening'
Speaking to hundreds of mourners on Thursday, the daughter of slain Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner delivered a tearful eulogy as her mother was laid to rest after she was shot to death in the lobby of her New York City office building earlier this week. "My mom was like my rock," the 14-year-old told the congregation at Central Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan, according to the New York Post. LePatner was gunned down in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue on Monday after a man opened fire inside the office building, killing four people before taking his own life. "I went over this scenario a thousand times in my head, and I only thought it would happen when I was older," the teen said. The heartfelt tribute continued, with LePatner's tearful daughter describing her anguish. "I never imagined this happening when I was 14," she said. "It's just unimaginable that this actually happened. I keep thinking it's a prank or like a lucid dream, and that someone's going to jump out and say, 'Ha, ha. It was all a joke.' The 43-year-old and her husband, Evan LePatner, have two children together. The pair met at Yale University, according to the New York Post. "How does the husband of a giant like Wesley possibly capture her in a short eulogy?" he asked mourners. "There's a huge, gaping Mount Everest-sized hole in my life right now," the grieving husband said. "I know everyone here has different-sized versions of it from her loss." LePatner worked as the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, according to the company's website. "It is overwhelming and awesome all at once," her husband said. "It speaks to the supernatural abilities Wesley had and the way she made the world better for all of us." LePatner's father, Larry Mittman, remembered that his newborn daughter seemed "to have the most intelligent eyes that I have ever seen." "I held Wesley in my arms with these two huge eyes, looking not only at me, but looking around the delivery room," Mittman said. "And it was almost like a periscope circling the room." LePatner previously served on the UJA-Federation of New York board with Merryl Tisch, the mother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who referred to LePatner as her "beautiful friend" at a vigil earlier this week, the Post reported. Three additional victims – NYPD Police Officer Didarul Islam, security guard Aland Etienne and a Rudin employee – were also remembered at services throughout the city following their deaths. LePatner's daughter spoke about the scope of her loss, telling those gathered, "Every time I hear the doorbell ring I think it's her, and I get excited. I just miss her so much."
The Independent
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Politicians attend funeral of ‘inspiring leader' Norman Tebbit
Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Norman Tebbit will be remembered as a 'giant' and an 'inspiring leader', the friend who gave the eulogy at his funeral said. The service, at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk where Lord Tebbit had lived, was attended by a cast of politicians including former Conservative MP and novelist Jeffrey Archer and his wife Mary. Former Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine, former leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg and former deputy prime minister Therese Coffey were also present. Conservative grandee Lord Tebbit, who was one of Margaret Thatcher's closest political allies, died on July 7 aged 94. Tory peer and author Lord Michael Dobbs, who gave the eulogy at Thursday's service, described Lord Tebbit as 'a giant, an inspiring leader'. Former leader of the Conservative Party Iain Duncan Smith, who gave a reading from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, said afterwards that the service was 'glorious'. 'It was a glorious service and rather befitting for Norman, Norman Tebbit, who quite often was understated but never missed an argument,' said Sir Iain. He said the reading he was asked to read, from act one, scene three of Hamlet, 'could not have been more certainly Norman in every respect'. 'He was clear, he was himself from the word go, he didn't change his values throughout the whole of his time,' he said. 'He was a tough competitor but the beauty of it that came out was he had a real soft heart and was kind and had many friends on all sides of the house. 'He was my mentor throughout the early part of my political career.' Lord Archer said afterwards that the service was 'beautiful' and that Lord Tebbit 'was above all loyal, loyalty was his passion'. Lord Tebbit was injured in an IRA bombing during the Conservative Party conference in Brighton in 1984, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down. He served as employment secretary, taking on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. He also served as trade secretary and had a reputation as a political bruiser. After the 1987 election success he left his post as Tory chairman to help care for Margaret, who died in 2020. He left the Commons in 1992 and became a member of the House of Lords. His son William said his father died 'peacefully at home'. Lord Tebbit's coffin arrived at the cathedral in a black hearse driven at walking pace, with family members following behind on foot. Church bells rang as air cadets formed a guard of honour at the cathedral door and the coffin, covered with flowers, was carried inside. Lord Tebbit's children William, Alison and John each took turns to share reflections of their father, who Alison described as 'uncompromising' and 'loyal', also possessing humour and a 'sense of fun'. The service, also attended by Sir Graham Brady, Tory MP Mark Francois, Lord Deben and Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds Peter Prinsley, ended with the RAF March as the recessional music as people filed out.
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Son John delivers funeral eulogy for mum and Aussie icon Eileen ‘Red' Bond
Beloved Aussie socialite Eileen 'Red' Bond has been remembered for her commitment to 'faith, family, friends and fun' in a heartfelt service at Fremantle's St Patrick's Basilica. Ms Bond, the wife of entrepreneur Alan Bond, was farewelled before hundreds of mourners on Monday following her death from a stroke on July 2 aged 87. Son John, delivering the eulogy, said his devout Catholic mother loved St Patrick's and it was 'entirely fitting' to say goodbye to her there. 'This place gave her strength to get through the tough times in life of which she had a few, the most significant being the tragic death of her darling daughter Susan,' he said. 'In times like these, this church was her refuge.' Ms Bond sported a shock of red hair as a child and she became known as 'Red' to her friends and family. On family, John said Ms Bond was 'fiercely loyal'. 'To mum, family could do no wrong even when we obviously had,' he said. 'She would brook no criticism whatsoever of family members.' On friends, John praised his mother's 'incredible knack' of being able to 'befriend anybody, at any time, in any circumstances'. 'She was vitally interested in people's lives, and I think that was the key,' he said. Mr Bond converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism to marry Eileen, John said, after the pair met when Ms Bond was still a teenager. She and Mr Bond welcomed four children: John, Craig, Susanne and Jody. Mr Bond was a successful developer in the 1970s and 1980s and became a household name after he helped Australia win the 1983 America's Cup sailing competition. He also founded Queensland's Bond University. He went bankrupt in the early 1990s and was sent to prison on bankruptcy and fraud charges. Ms Bond travelled the world and lived a life of luxury, forming friendships in high society circles across the globe. 'Our mighty team won the America's Cup and mum won the American public,' John said. But all the time, 'Red never really changed', he said. 'Wonderful, exuberant, engaging and loyal to the end, she will be terribly missed,' John said. In a statement on her death, Bond University vice chancellor and president Tim Brailsford said Ms Bond was a 'great friend and fierce supporter of the university since its establishment'. 'She was a regular visitor to campus and attended many events, always bringing her own style and grace,' he said. 'The room was always brighter once Red had entered and her cheeky sense of humour entertained many a crowd.'
The Sun
11-07-2025
- The Sun
Haunting moment teen girl gives tearful funeral eulogy to mother and stepdad – before being charged with their murder
THIS is the haunting moment a teen gave a tearful funeral eulogy to her slain mother and stepdad - just months after allegedly killing them. Sarah Grace Patrick, 17, now faces two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection to the shootings of Kristin Brock, 41, and James Brock, 45. 7 7 The chilling video of Patrick's eulogy shows the teen in a pale blue dress, standing before mourners at the lectern of the Catalyst Church in Carollton, Georgia. She said: 'I just wanted to say goodbye to my mom and James since we never got the chance to.' Patrick called her mother a 'beautiful kind soul' and told mourners she'd always be her 'sunshine.' Now, the same speech that drew tears from the crowd is drawing scrutiny from law enforcement. Carroll County Sherriff's spokesperson Ashley Hulsey told NewsNation: 'It seemed odd. It was more like a speech, and at the end she said, 'I'm sorry.' 'Was that, 'I'm sorry because I may have done this,' or is it, 'I'm sorry because I was upset during this eulogy'? We may never know.' Patrick was 16 at the time of the February 20 murders. She reportedly called 911 after her half-sister, aged five, discovered the couple's bodies inside their Carrollton home, west of Atlanta. Both had been shot multiple times. Police say there were no signs of forced entry and nothing appeared stolen. In the weeks following the murders, Patrick posted emotional tributes to her parents on social media. She even shared a TikTok montage, saying she'd "always think about how much I needed them", NBC reports. 'From the very moment the 911 call was received, a relentless investigation began,' the sheriff's office said in a statement. That probe eventually zeroed in on Patrick's so-called 'digital footprint.' 'When you want to post your life online, it becomes fair game,' Hulsey said. Family members say they grew uneasy with Patrick's behaviour, especially at the funeral. James Brock's niece, Krysten Dowda, claims that Patrick's online statements changed over time and that she 'did a crying voice but never shed a single tear.' She told the Daily Mail: 'She fake cried at the funeral. 'The main thing… how do you not hear multiple gunshots in a small house?' The niece also claimed she immediately saved a video of the eulogy, adding: 'I knew one day everyone would get to see this for what it was.' 7 In the video, Patrick addressed the congregation with what appeared to be trembling sincerity. 'Your heart will be finally healed in heaven,' she said of her stepfather. 'Although that gives me so much comfort, your life was not supposed to end there.' While Dowda has publicly condemned Patrick, her grandfather - Kristin Brock's dad - is standing behind her. 'She swears her innocence,' Dennis Nolan told NewsNation. 'If they had something concrete, they would have arrested her a whole lot sooner.' Patrick's dad, Doniel Patrick, was by her side when she surrendered this week and has since posted online: 'I'll always be in your corner… 'You were sent here with purpose, wrapped in grace and born to shine in ways only your soul knows how.' Authorities say they're still searching for a motive. Hulsey described the case as active and ongoing, warning that additional arrests could still be made. The teen is being charged as an adult and is currently represented by a public defender. 'She's 17. She's kind of been out on her own. She's lived with different family members and moved all over the place,' Hulsey said. 'We don't know what goes through the mind of a child who wants to harm their parents.' 7 7
