Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — Julia Gilbert enjoyed traveling. After graduating in May, the University of Oklahoma student from Edmond planned to go to France and teach English to French children.
Her accent was so good that during one trip to Europe she received a rare compliment from a French waiter.
Family, friends and well-wishers remembered the 21-year-old through stories, images, prayers and Scripture during a funeral mass Thursday morning at The Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist. Church staff said the family consented to allowing media coverage.
Sunday afternoon a passer-by found Gilbert’s car lying upside down in a dry creek bed in Kingfisher County along Waterloo Road. The discovery ended a far-ranging multi-day search, but began her family’s time of grieving.
Musical selections including “On Eagle’s Wings,” “Remember Me” and a violin solo of “Amazing Grace” drifted through the nearly full, roughly 1,200-seat sanctuary. A slide show contained images of a young woman full of life. Scripture readings included an oft-read passage from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which speaks of there being a time for everything, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh.
Funerals are a time to pray, a time to remember loved ones and a time to offer families support, said Father John Metzinger, who officiated along with Father Dan Letourneau. They are also a time to remember Jesus, who came to earth, suffered, died and rose from the grave. He came to conquer sin and death, Metzinger said.
Metzinger said there often is an unfinished feeling after a youth’s sudden death. But that is not what Julia believed, Metzinger said. She believed we are God’s children now and that God has a plan for us, she believed in Christ as her Lord and Savior and she believed in eternal life, he said.
“She lived her life saying ‘Yes’ to Christ,” Metzinger said. “I’m sure the Lord has said ‘Yes’ to her.”
Those who knew Julia are sorry for the pain she suffered from Lyme disease, a tick-born illness with symptoms ranging from rash, fever, chills and body aches to joint swelling, weakness and temporary paralysis, Metzinger said. But it meant she spent more time with her family during the past year, what turned out to be precious time.
Metzinger offered condolences to Julia’s family, and said he believed during her 21 years she understood what is essential — walking in God’s love and sharing God’s love with others.
“May we honor her memory by loving God and others,” Metzinger said.
During the offering of petitions to the Lord, Letourneau asked for family and friends to be consoled, for them to be blessed and that all would return safely to their homes. Metzinger prayed for the people of Haiti, who are suffering from a devastating earthquake earlier this week.
Gilbert was eulogized by friend Andy Collins, who traveled from Ireland. Collins said his being there was testimony to the fact that Julia had friends everywhere.
“Just being around her made me realize how much she was loved and cared for,” Collins said.
Collins said his motto is: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
“Julia lived that way,” he said.
Gilbert was remembered as an individual possessing an adventurous, fun-loving spirit, someone with a sense of humor.
In closing, Metzinger referred to the turnout for Julia’s funeral and said he has seldom scene such an outpouring of love, a testimony to the way she lived and loved.
Following the service, Gilbert was interred at Edmond’s Gracelawn Cemetery.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 102
