John and Marie Isaacs, married on 30 August, 1958
The following text is an excerpt from the tribute to our mother Marie Isaacs. The tribute was written and and presented by my sister Bridgette A M Isaacs, at our Mother’s funeral in September 2022.
“This love story began in Rae Town, Jamaica at Buxton High School where our mother Marie met our father, John. They were friends for many years before they began their official nine-year courtship. When our Daddy died in July 2014, they were just two months shy of celebrating their 56th Wedding Anniversary.
Both coming from humble beginnings and shared values, they used education as a way of bettering themselves. Starting with modest resources they were able to provide for themselves, their family and countless others. As a virtuous woman, our mother was resourceful and our father appreciated that. As a wife, our mother did not make any demands on our father that he could not fulfill.
They did everything together, from balancing the checkbook, to spontaneously singing hymns throughout our home, to traveling the world. It was a sweet sight to see Mummy and Daddy holding hands walking through the streets of Bethlehem. This pilgrimage to Israel was made even sweeter when Mummy was able to kneel down and kiss the birthplace of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Nativity. This occasion brought her two loves together. Her unbreakable love of our father John and her unconditional love for Jesus Christ. Our parents’ love was pure and Godly with Jesus Christ as their guiding light.
Our Dad was our Mum’s heart. He was her first and only romantic love. She never left his side during his prolonged illness with Alzheimer’s Disease, embodying their wedding vows, “through sickness and health until death do us part” I’d like to think that our mother’s love for her husband was her greatest love, but truthfully, I believe that their love ran a close second to her love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for whom there is No Greater Love. “
“Put me like a seal on your heart,
Song of Songs 8:6-7a
Like a seal on your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
[A most vehement flame] the very flame of the Lord!
Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can rivers drown it…”
A poem I wrote in memory of my parents.
The silent breath undergirds our living, loving and giving.
And here in earth’s physical realm, two hearts, two souls, thrived together throughout life’s bittersweet blessings.
With one breath, in gentle surrender, they each slept their way into eternity.
Like the sun, their light can never fade. In the beauty of their afterglow, we continue their legacy of love and service.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. That’s why glory matters.
Glory Matters 