Wayne Wilson was a Vietnam veteran who died at age 67 on May 28, 2019.  According to sources, Wilson died without any surviving family members.  It was that fact that led some of his friends to call out the community of Niles, Michigan to attend his memorial service last Wednesday in Niles.

With the help of some publicity from Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Services, those friends had hoped for an additional 10-15 people from the community to show up to pay respects.  What they didn’t count on was that the word would get out and strangers from Tennessee, Iowa, and Florida would make the trek to Niles, Michigan to honor a deceased veteran.

As a matter of fact, according to this article and news video from WMTW, about 3,000 people showed up at the service held last Wednesday.

Richard Stuart, who is in charge of the American Legion Post 51 color guard that performed at the ceremony, stated that this service was the biggest, in terms of people, that he had participated in on 10 years.  Stuart stated, “None of us figured that it would be as big as it was. . . Every veteran has the right to have a funeral like this.  You are showing honor to a veteran that has passed away.”

Part of the notice that the funeral home was able to publicize said this, “Mr. Wayne Wilson was a heroic soldier for our country, becoming wounded in the Vietnam War.  Wayne was proud of his country and proud of his city.  Every year, Wayne was the first person at Silverbrook Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day Parade.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  Our hats are off to Wayne Wilson’s friends and the Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Services staff for honoring an American veteran like this.  Something about this gentleman and his service hit a nerve with many people and the result was the large crowd that gathered to pay their respects.

I think it shows that we have a caring nation and those who have served are still revered in our eyes.  The freedom we have. . . is because of them.

Hearing of this crowd and how people respected the life of Mr. Wayne Wilson brings me back to my childhood.  I can remember a plaque that was fastened to the wall of the arrangement room in our funeral home back then.  It was a quote from William Gladstone, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the period from 1868 to 1894.  This quote, which I can vividly remember, read:

“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.”

In my opinion, it is funeral directors like us, who have a duty to make sure that this nation continues to care for its dead in a way that upholds the high ideals that our nation was founded on.  All of our dead need to be respected and revered for the life they have lived.  If funeral directors do not show that respect. . . who will?

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