Garrett Barry Fuller’s Eulogy to Kathleen Barry:

My mother’s death comes as no surprise to most, if not all, of us here today. Her last ten years on this earth were filled with more than enough emotional and physical suffering than any one person should have to endure in any single lifetime. Many of us here, especially me, numbed ourselves to this pain years ago in order to cope with the tragedy of losing her – watching her slowly atrophy to a faint whisper of the person that she was.

As I reflect on her passing these past couple days, I find myself in a state of confusion, anguish and disbelief - unable to come up with the right words to express the deep loss that I feel for losing her. I cannot begin to represent the magnitude of her life in simple words - of the warmth and tenderness that she shared with her family and friends over the years, of the gift of wit and charm she was known most for to all that she touched in this life.

My loss and biggest regret is not having more Time with her – time to undo some of the things done and to do so many of the things undone. Time to express my forgiveness to her for being human and for making mistakes - time to strengthen an estranged relationship. Time to tell her how wonderful she was - to thank her for the countless unheralded hours calming a sleepless child and mending a skinned knee – to thank her for being a parent – even when she didn’t want to be. Time to watch her incredible spirit captivate a room. Time to watch her grow older – to see her know her grandchildren and to discover that little part of her in each one of their eyes.

To each one of us in this room today, Kathleen Barry was something different. To me she was simply Mom.