Pop’s funeral was the perfect celebration of his life. This is precisely what he would have wanted. His choice of Trinity Church in Canaseraga was ideal, as it was his daily place of worship and thus a fitting and wholly appropriate venue. The church was filled nearly to capacity, but not so much that those in attendance were left without seats. Pop has always championed the underdog, and Trinity, with its congregation advancing in age and declining in size and financial resources, is a prime target for closure by the diocese. Pop’s involvement with Trinity as its Warden was both as much about receiving nourishment from participating in something good and right, as it was about helping a small parish “on the ropes” avoid closure amidst declining attendance and dwindling support from the diocese for Trinity's role as a rural outpost of the Episcopal Church.

The weather-beaten exterior of the beautiful old church stood in sharp contrast to the vibrant sound of the quartet of bagpipers and the energy of the celebration occurring inside. Howard Shay and his family, one of the longstanding pillars of Trinity for many, many years, was a good friend of my father. Howard and my father stood together in a brotherhood of solidarity; their mission being to protect and sustain Trinity. Thank you Howard for your friendship and caring, and your regular calls during Pop’s illness to inquire about how he and our family were doing. I am confident Howard will continue to be an integral force at Trinity, fed by the strength of his faith, and I would also suspect a loving memory of my father.

The service was absolutely beautiful and the celebrants delivered a magnificent tribute to my father, his life, and his faith. I can attest that the people who knew and loved him were plentiful in attendance and moved by the experience. As the sound of the bagpipes faded, the funeral procession made its way to the cemetery for the Rite of Committal, where the bagpipes resumed and the celebration continued. Below are pictures of the bagpipers at Rural Cemetery in Hornell, courtesy of David Lind.





The celebration concluded with the final interment of Pop’s ashes into a hole in the ground in the Topping family plot. Everybody in the crowd was then encouraged to throw a bit of dirt on the cremains box to ceremonially send Pop off on his journey from the bounds of the physical earth and into the arms of God. Farewell Pop, you are well loved and now at peace, and you will never be forgotten.