Truly Funny: Skip Stories

My sister, Kathleen’s late husband, Francis (Skip) Marx, was terminally ill in the spring of 1999.  He was a very faithful Christian Catholic and a very funny man.  Two of my greatest laughs from Skip came in his waning days.  

First, a life-long art professor, one of his most difficult students who he had not seen for years visited his death bed to apologize for his many misdeeds.  When the student had left, Kathie returned to Skip’s side and said, “how did that go?”.  Skip answered, “I suggested he come back more often”.  

Then, he asked my sister and I to help prepare his homecoming service.  We came up with the faith songs he loved and then he made a special request for the communion reflection song.  With great confidence a life well-led would result in his reward, he asked us to hire an opera singer friend of his to sing what he thought would be a great entrance song as we sent him off to heaven.  The song?  “Stranger In Paradise”.   

I can’t make this stuff up.