Reflections on the life of a 'good person,' Irene Witt

In discussing the idea for this particular column with a friend, her observations of watching people go about their daily routines while she was waiting to pick up children or grandchildren from school, work, or wherever were particularly striking.

"So many people all around me are just doing what they need to be doing. They are not loitering; they all have a purpose; they are just doing what they are supposed to be doing. That is how society functions. That is how good things get done."

How true.

All too often we're eager to recognize and honor individuals who do 'big' things - make what are viewed as major contributions to our communities through their work with multiple organizations or on specific projects.

Such leaders clearly play an important and vital role in our present and future well-being. We need them.

Equally important are all those other people - the ones who know their purpose and go about doing it on a daily basis. That's where most of us fit into the community picture.

It's most definitely the spot where a wonderful lady who passed away recently felt most comfortable. In that light, Irene Witt stands as a representative for the many others who work, serve, and make sure "good things get done."

It's impossible to conceive of Irene saying a bad word about anybody, or of her not being eager to provide help to a friend in need - or to a stranger. Her life was truly one of service to her family, church, friends and neighbors.

It was no surprise at all to me that her church home, St. Peter Lutheran in Riley, was filled to overflowing for the funeral service. She had touched the lives of so many people in her brief 69 years here, everyone wanted to touch her back one last time - at least in this earthly realm.

We all needed to draw just a bit more strength from her character - something to hold on to in times ahead when the physical presence of Irene can't offer consoling words, make and serve bountiful meals, or provide a helping hand.

She does live on, of course, in the form of her family: Lawrence, whose love of conversation and people made him a fitting complement to his wife; their children, Mark Witt, Joann Webster, Jane Carpenter, and Julie Witt, many grandchildren - and an adorable great-grandson who couldn't quite understand at the funeral home why great-grandma "didn’t wake up."

Someday he will realize that Irene is more awake than ever. She's continuing to do what she's supposed to - simple acts of service that make "good things get done."