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Daughter�s funeral was the toughest Talent resident Elliott Lovelace faced an event Sept. 9 that would break the heart of any parent: He attended his child�s funeral. Not only that, but, as a longtime pastor at the Talent Bible Church, he led her service. "It was hard, but I wouldn�t have wanted anyone else to do it," he says. We parents expect and want our children to outlive us. That�s supposed to be the natural order of things. Our hearts ache at the mere thought one should die before us. As a minister, he has a faith that flows as strong and deep as the Rogue River. Yet as a father he also feels a painful loss. "I always knew I would outlive Deb," he says. "She had been a diabetic since she was 10. But it was still very difficult." Deborah Lovelace Jones, 45, a 1973 graduate of Phoenix High School, was the middle child of Elliott and Mary Lovelace. They also have son Daniel, 47, and daughter Hannah, 42. Since becoming a minister in 1950, Lovelace, 76, an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, stationed in England, has officiated at countless funerals. Nor was this his first funeral for a family member. Lovelace officiate at his father�s funeral in 1954. "That was also difficult," he says, then adds later, "But Deb was very special." While still in high school, she worked at a local nursing home. "Deb went into nursing � she always cared about others," he says. "In high school she would bring kids home we were wishing she wouldn�t have anything to do with. She reached out to help the down and out." Born in Idaho, she was a toddler when her father, who had been preaching for nearly a decade, took his ministry north to Canada. The family moved to Saskatchewan where he was a minister for 13 years. In Canada, they lived in Rock Glen, a tiny town on the prairie. The family moved to Talent nearly 30 years ago. Deborah would attend college at what is now Southern Oregon University, studying nursing. She married and settled in Clovis, Calif., with her husband, David. Although she had been on kidney dialysis for the past 11 years, she had continued helping others. But her health took a turn for the worse early this year. "A month ago when we were down there, I went out in the back yard and just cried," her father says. "I knew she was not going to recover. She was suffering a lot." Yet their daughter reached out to help them. In a letter before she died, addressed to friends and family, she wrote about the feelings and faith she shared with her family.Lovelace describes their faith as nondenominational, one that focuses on teaching the principles of the Bible. "The people who come to our little chapel come to learn the scriptures, not because of any devotion to any organization," he says. "That�s always been thrilling to me." He tapped that source of inspiration at the funeral. In addition to talking about his daughter and the faith they shared, Lovelace showed home movies reflecting his daughter�s life from the time she was 3 to 15. "I can�t watch them without crying," he says. "There is this one scene where she is out in a dandelion field. She�s probably 6 years old. She�s out there ..." He needn�t complete the sentence. Anyone who has children knows those special moments watching them innocently smelling the flowers or chasing butterflies. "And her love of horses," he resumes. "When the kids were young, Dan and Hannah were saving money to buy bicycles. Not Deb. When she was 8 years old in Saskatchewan, she saved up enough money to buy this great big gray mare." After the family moved to Talent, an uncle went to Canada, loaded the horse dubbed Pearl onto a trailer, and brought her to Talent. Deborah would eventually take the horse she loved to California, where it lived to the ripe old age of 30. "As parents, we�re going to miss Deb," her father says. "She was an integral part of our family. We have lots of good memories." One last memory will be made at a family gathering, probably next month, to spread her ashes at one of her favorite places in Saskatchewan, not far from that field of dandelions. "It�s for her," her father says, then adds, "I wouldn�t have want anybody else to do it." Nor would his daughter. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA