My Tribute to Geri Allen
My Tribute to Geri Allen
Praise the Lord.
To the family, to the friends, to Rev. Timothy Jones, to Rev. Dr. Howard, to
the clergy, to Bethany Baptist and to all who are here today, honor to all.
Geri Allen and I
met at Cass Technical High School in Detroit when we were both fifteen years old. We
were both in the school’s jazz ensemble class at the time. We became fast
friends and our friendship ended up spanning forty-five years. We were the best of
friends and often defined our friendship as such. She was like a sister to me,
and still is.
In the earlier
years she’d have jam sessions at the house on Penrod and I’d catch the bus to
get there. I remember she and I talking for hours many times back then in the
basement of her home. Aside from her musical accomplishments, talents, and
gifts; Geri was demure, reserved, quite pleasant to be around, extremely
generous, humble, and soft spoken.
Geri was also a
Christian. She accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior on January 24,
2009; hence, her spiritual birthday. I remember because I made sure to write
the date down upon her confession of Christ.
I stayed with
her in her room while she was in hospice; me and Ora Harris, her loving manager
and friend of thirty-five years. And near the end when I was alone with her,
I’d anoint her head with oil and recite the twenty-third Psalm. I did this
three days in a row and ended up doing it twice more when the family had
gathered around her bedside to pray. It wasn’t planned this way, this is just
how it worked out. But I said to myself…‘hmm…five times.’
Five is the
biblical number of grace. And when I focused in on grace I realized that in
addition to the psalm, there were five people in the room including Geri upon
her passing and, if you count part of a day as a day, she was five days in
hospice.
…God’s word says
in the book of Ephesians that it is by His grace we are saved through faith,
not of works lest any man should boast. So, I just get the feeling that this
may have been God’s way of saying, “No worries, I got her; she’s with me” and
confirming her salvation in him.
I’ll leave you
with this; at one point during her hospice journey she looked up at me and
asked in that gentle sweet voice, “you comin?” As a matter of fact, it was the
last thing she said to me. Now, I didn’t know where she was at in her mind at
that point, but I decided to answer her in this way: I said, “yeah...I’m comin’; you’re going home to be with the Lord but eventually one day I’ll be there too;
so although you’re going before me…I’m comin’.” She seemed content with that. So
for me; this is not goodbye; this is instead simply…goodbye for now.
Love you Geri.
--Elreta Dodds
July 8,
2017
Homegoing, Bethany Baptist, Newark NJ
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)