Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Eulogy
We are here to celebrate a life.
On June 22, 1928, in Philadelphia, William McCollam was born to Thomas and
Ann McCollam, the 4th of four children.
Our Mother, his wife Eulalia or Elaine as he called her, first met him when she was
visiting a friend in South Philly. When they were dating, she told him how the
people of her hometown of Lebanon Pa. were very friendly. On his first visit there,
people would come to talk to them. Our father would tell them he was from South
Philly and after a few minutes they would make excuses to leave. Our father was
confused and our mother had no clue as to what was happening. Then my mother
saw the headline in the local paper, ?South Philadelphia Mobster believed hiding
upstate.? They both got a laugh out of that. They married and were together more
than 50 years. Their first child Sharon was born in 52 and then I was born in 54.
They bought their first home on Ford Avenue in 1956. There they made many
friends with whom they have stayed close. It was there in that neighborhood, that
our father, on Christmas Eve, would don his Santa Claus suit and visit
neighborhood children, distributing gifts provided by the children?s parents. Lisa
was born in 65 and we needed a larger home. He would move, but not far, so they
could stay close to their friends. I remember when my parents would go out or
have the occasional party at home, usually on New Year?s Eve. They loved to
dance, people would comment about how good they danced together. I know, I
often wished I could dance like them.
Our father had several jobs before he found his place with the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad. He stayed with the railroad for 42 years, interrupted only by the Korean
War. The company name on the paychecks may have changed over the years, but
to him it was always the B&O. When we were young, our father worked the 3pm
to11pm shift or ?middle trick? as it was called. We didn?t get to see him during the
week because of his hours. He was offered a promotion, but was having trouble
deciding whether he should accept it. It was a salaried position, meaning no
overtime pay and most likely lower earnings as a result, but it also meant better
hours. One Monday, he was taking me to school and when I got out of the car I
said ?Thanks see you Friday.? He took the promotion so he could be with his
family.
The fun side of our dad really came out on trips and vacations. Our vacations were
similar to the Griswold?s of movie fame. He would drive everywhere, no matter
how far. He drove to Niagara Falls and Florida twice. For the longer trips this
usually meant buying a new car. We would pack up the car and head for our
destination with minimal planning and no reservations. He always said we?ll find a
room when we get there. One Easter he said, ?Let?s go for a drive.? Mom already
had dinner in the oven. He said, ?Oh, we won?t be long.? We wound up at the
West Point Military Academy in New York. He even turned driving me to college
in Chicago into a vacation. He told my mother, ?If we are going that far we should
go to Kansas to visit Ford Avenue neighbors who were transferred out there, with a
side trip to St. Louis.? His reasoning was that they were half way there already.
These last years, when his health was failing and he was confined to the house a lot
he enjoyed the visits of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Whenever they
would come over and when they were leaving, he would ask them for an ?Energy
Hug.? He told them they had so much energy they needed to give him some and it
helped. He hung in there these last years for us, he was ready to go, but he heard us
when we told him it was too soon to leave and he had to fight. This time, when he
got sick, he tried to fight but it wasn?t working. We all told him it was OK to let
go, we understood. He said ?Thank You? and passed on.
He is in a better place and his pain is gone, so celebrate his life and give thanks for
we will meet again.
Dad, we love you.##
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