I'm going to a funeral tomorrow. I know this is an odd title for one of my posts but I lost a dear friend last week. It was sudden in that everyone expected him to recover from the stroke he had in December. That was not to be; so today I remember my dear friend Peter Gomes. I've only know him for 5 short years but he wormed his way into my heart with that "twinkle in his eye" that made you know there was more to the story. I know that countless others around the world are missing him too as he was known and loved around the world. One of my early encounters with Peter was when he shared the paint color for his kitchen with me. That color became the color in my office and one wall of the studio. Check out the blog post http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2006/09/day-80.html#comments. I talked a little about painting the studio Pusey Room Red in that post. Every time I look at the paint in my studio I will think of Peter and smile! I remember wandering around his basement to find the paint can so I could take it to the hardware store and have them figure out the formula for me. Now if you knew Peter, you know that wandering around his basement was not something he normally did and painting was definitely not something he did. As he said to me when he first said I could use the paint, "Have your man talk to my man to get the formula". I replied, "Peter, I am the man!" That led to the wandering in the basement! But we found the paint and I got the formula and the studio office was painted "Pusey Room Red". Peter stated that he and I would be the only people in Plymouth to have this color in their house!
There are so many Peter stories. We had the great pleasure of having him officiate at our son's wedding this past July. It was a glorious event in Newport, RI and Peter did such a wonderful job. He was all decked out in what he called his "God" clothes, a beautiful red robe. He kept telling Jeff and me what a great couple they were and how much he enjoyed working with them on the wedding. WOW! The added bonus was that they both graduated from Bates College, his alma mater. Peter loved to do Bates Weddings! I will always cherish the wonderful time we had with him at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.
He was quite a loveable character. While he loved working at Harvard, Plymouth was his home and First Baptist was his church.
So, Peter has come home, not only to Plymouth where his church family will celebrate his life and mourn his passing but also to the God that he loved so much and the Word that he shared all around the world. Well done, good and faithful servant! You are loved and will be greatly missed. I know God will love hearing all your wonderful stories and seeing that "twinkle in your eye"!
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