Eulogies from friends

This poem, by S. Hall Young, a friend of John Muir, was read by Caldy Shire at Ira's memorial service.

Let me die working,
Still tackling plans unfinished, tasks undone,
Clean to its end, swift may my race be run.
No laggard steps, no faltering, no shirking;
Let me die, working!

Let me die thinking.
Let me fare forth still with an open mind,
Fresh secrets to unfold, new truths to find,
My soul undimmed, alert, no question blinking;
Let me die, thinking!

Let me die laughing.
No sighing o'er past sins; they are forgiven.
Spilled on this earth are all the joys of Heaven;
The wine of life, the cup of mirth quaffing.
Let me die, laughing!

Let me die giving.
The substance of life for life’s enriching;
Time, things, and self on heaven converging,
No selfish thought, loving, redeeming, living;
Let me die, giving!

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From Barbara Estrin, Friday Group
We will love him always, as he remains in our hearts and minds. It's hard to imagine the Friday Group without him: his quiet, perceptive, comments, his defense of every living creature. Though we may all remember when Ira retired from the pharmacy, we know that he never stopped working for the community, for the Rogers Williams Zoo, and for so many causes that were near to his heart. Can we think of Ira without thinking about the family, in their immense loving of each other? Married for 62 years, Ira and Frankie signify for all of us what an enduring love might mean. We somehow have come to depend not only on his duties as secretary (and there he can be replaced) but on what is irreplaceable: wit and intelligence in a combination that is rare, gentleness and strength--both in the right proportions and both as they should be, and with his hand cupped to his ear, in a gesture that meant whatever we said mattered to him even if we had to repeat what we said. He wanted to hear because he wanted to listen and to react, fully and completely, from the very core of his being. I believe that he was fully alive for every moment he spent on this earth, alive and willing and able. It will be so hard to read email announcements without knowing that Ira was the sender, but that's only the least of the ways that he will be missed.