Memorial Service for a WW II veteran
The band I’m in (The Beat Goes On Marching Band) played a memorial service yesterday. It was close to 100 degrees and we were in “dress” uniform. It was a small turnout but all strong musicians. I thought I would put this up, also add some of the notes from the band website (in quotes).
“Ken Tate (father of TBGO trumpet Tom Tate) was a long-standing friend of the band; we even got to party with him on his 98th and 99th birthdays. Now it's time for us to celebrate a life well-lived. “
Mr. Tate was a WW II Army veteran who served every day of the conflict and then some. I think he might have been a “brown boot” soldier who signed up before Pearl Harbor. He was pretty active and used to show up for band events and practices to support his son, a trumpeter like me.
The service was in a big old Presbyterian church just off Sandy in northeast Portland. We did a stand-up show outside and then went inside and played three tunes in the sacristy. Tom chose the set list:
“Music for the memorial was chosen by Tom and notes appended to the tunes are his.
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
Confident (that was dad)
Unchain My Heart
Shut Up and Dance (my parents danced so well)
I'm Shipping Up to Boston (his mother's parents)
Tribute to America
Veterans Salute (5 years, 11 months, 23 days - WWII - Sergeant)
INSIDE THE CHURCH
America the Beautiful
Over the Rainbow
Closer Walk / The Saints”
The last tune was a medley of New Orleans funeral procession standards and the arrangement did really dixie it up. Churches usually have good acoustics, but this one was incredible! We sounded like a 100-piece band and we really gave Ken a sendoff.
I stopped at the barber shop on the way back to show off my outfit ….. the barber, Devona knows the family. I mentioned there seemed to be a lot of unaccompanied women in their 70s and 80s who showed up. She replied, “Oh yeah! That was Ken!”
jn
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