Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Art Earley was an inspiration to me even though I never got to know him well. I am a member of Hurlbut Church and each week Art and Courtney would come and sit in their "usual pew." Sitting in the choir I could always look out and see them faithfully there. To me, their very presence on a regular basis was an upbeat witness to the importance placed on serving the Lord with their life activities. As my own mother is almost 94 and tries to attend as often as possible, we know it represents a true comitment of energy to be faithful in this way. I'm so glad I had opportunity several times to express this to Art. I am very sorry that we only learned in his obituary of his past activities as Trustee for the Cleveland PlayHouse. He and my mom could have shared conversation and anecdotes. O.ur family arrived in Chautauqua in 1948 because Dad was the Scenic Designer and Technical Director for the PlayHouse in reperatory here.They probably knew many folks in common.Courtney, I plan to take to heart this oversight lesson learned, and as my personal tribute to Art, I plan to make a conscious effort to discover more about the contributions of time and talents of people who cross my path. This will not show up anywhwhere as a memorial gift, but it will be my way of saying an ongoing "Thank-you" for the memory of Art sharing his presence among us.May God Bless you and Art's family with the comfort of knowing he is home with the Lord
