Victoria Noe

Award-winning Author, Speaker, Activist

blogpage

Blog

memorial services

Giving a Eulogy for a Friend

Giving a Eulogy for a Friend
Jan 19, 2016 by Victoria Noe
In the final book in my series – Friend Grief and Men: Defying Stereotypes – you’ll meet a man who gave the eulogy for his best friend. Neither man was old. In fact, both were 29. It wasn’t a task anyone expects to be given at that age.

I’m quite a bit older than that but it’s been a while since I spoke at a funeral or memorial service: almost eleven years. So I didn’t expect to be asked to speak at the memorial for my writing group leader, Jo Stewart. I’d already written about her here, a post that her daughter shared on Facebook. That was that, I thought. Then I got the email inviting me to speak. We agreed...

Going to a Friend’s Wake – Having Fun Yet?

Going to a Friend’s Wake – Having Fun Yet?
Feb 08, 2013 by Victoria Noe
A dear friend of mine died Saturday morning, from lung disease and complications from the flu. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to Chicago in the late 1970’s, and we worked in the theatre community. Mary Ellen was larger than life. She did nothing halfway and rarely hesitated to express her opinion. She was a teacher, director, collaborator, consultant and all-around creative genius. My memories of her are random:Finding her at a fundraiser, deep in conversation with Peter Ustinov.Coordinating the table decorations for my wedding reception.Helping her with a garage sale after her mother died.Getting really drunk one night after work and finding ourselves at a meeting of the Chicago Art Deco...