A Tribute to Eleanor Bourn
Eleanor Bourn, Matriarch of North Kingstown United Methodist Church, Dies Easter Sunday
By Larry Price
Published April 9, 2007 Access savable PDF Version of this tribute
Charter member and one of the early founders of our church
On
Easter Sunday as Christians celebrated the joy of the resurrected Christ,
Eleanor Bourn, a charter member of North Kingstown United Methodist Church
and one of the original founders of our church, passed quietly into God’s
Heavenly Kingdom after nearly a century on this earth. She was 96.
When she visited Eleanor on Good Friday, Pastor Beverly handed her a palm cross. Eleanor clutched the cross for most of the next few days and died about 4 PM Easter Sunday with the cross in her hand. Pastor Beverly remarked “Easter was truly an appropriate day for Eleanor to pass into eternal life.”
A memorial celebration of the many blessings of Eleanor's life will be held Saturday, April 14th at 11 AM at the house of worship which will always be a legacy of her tireless devotion and love that spanned many decades.
Eleanor recently accepted
hospice care after a long and active life of service to God, family and the
church she so dearly loved and
was instrumental in creating. In 1965, Eleanor attended the first planning
session which laid out what Eleanor often called “the birth of a dream for a new
Methodist Church in North Kingstown,” a dream that became a reality October 30,
1966 when the church held its first worship service at the borrowed
Seventh Day Adventist Church on Post Road. She was among the original charter
members who were the driving force behind the construction of the new church
building and parsonage on Boston Neck Road.
Deeply
loved and revered as the matriarch of North Kingstown United Methodist Church,
Eleanor compiled and wrote the first extensive historical account of the church,
published for its anniversary celebration in 2000 (Birth
of The Dream). She was among the four surviving charter members who cut the
cake for the congregation’s 40th anniversary celebration in November 2006 (
40th anniversary celebration).
(photo above, Eleanor Bourn 1975)
(photo at left, Eleanor and her surviving charter members, Viv and Sam Flade (top row) and Ida Green (at right in photo) during the November 2006 celebration of the church's 40th anniversary. Ida's husband, Ken, also a charter member, passed away a few weeks before the celebration.)
A long life of service
Eleanor once told me she credited her longevity in life to “being born of strong Minnesota stock” in her native Faribault, Minnesota where she attended worship at the Fourth Avenue Methodist Church. After moving to Rhode Island and helping found our church, she was active in its physical and spiritual growth.
After a return visit to her native church in Minnesota where she saw a tapestry depicting stories of the Bible, Eleanor and another member of our congregation worked with a group of women at NKUMC to reproduce the tapestry which was dedicated October 14, 1990 as a gift to the church and to the glory of God. It still hangs on a wall in our sanctuary (History of the Tapestry).
Eleanor
said, “The idea for the
tapestry grew out of a visit by Maria Villanueva and me to my home
church, the Fourth Avenue Methodist Church in Faribault, Minnesota where the
original tapestry hangs. Upon seeing it, Maria said, ‘We must make
one for our church!’ Creating the tapestry became a major project for many
members of the North Kingstown United Methodist Church craft group.”
Despite being confined to a wheel cheer in recent years, Eleanor still attended many worship services and special fellowship events at the church, including the 40th anniversary celebration last November where she cut the first piece of the celebration cake with her surviving charter members, Ida Green, Vivian and Sam Flade.
Eleanor's spirit of volunteerism touched many lives. For many years she was active in F.I.S.H. -- a Rhode Island volunteer group which helped provide rides for people who had no way to get to doctor's appointments.
She carried out her dedicated work for her church with a smile and a proud remembrance of the spiritual creation she and others helped build. She bragged about our church, but never about the contributions she made. She was a role model for Christ’s concept of servant leadership. Although a tireless worker for church committees, festivals, and fund raisers over many years and with many pastors, she never forgot priority number one -- a deep and personal relationship with God and a spiritual walk with Christ. Her walk was longer than most of us will be blessed to experience, but forever how long or brief our time, Eleanor Bourn is witness to Paul's words, "I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." (Philippians 3:14)
A sense of history and humor
Eleanor had a deep appreciation of history and gratitude for how her church had suffered through its tough times in the navy base closing in the early 1970s to emerge stronger and more dedicated in its work for the Lord. In preparation for the church’s anniversary celebration on the dawn of the new millennium in 2000, despite her advanced age, she tirelessly pecked out on a manual typewriter the lengthy and vivid historical account, The Birth of A Dream, which was the center piece of the anniversary booklet presented to the congregation and comprises the highlight of the history section of our website, www.nkumcri.com.
Eleanor also had a keen sense of humor and a ready compliment. I will always remember and cherish her comment to me the first time I preached as a lay speaker at our church. I was fresh from the beginner’s basic course in lay speaking and Pastor Beverly scheduled me to preach just a few weeks later, no doubt knowing that if a lay speaker has too much time to ponder what God has in store for you, you might grow fearful of the pulpit. After I had delivered my first sermon, Eleanor walked up to me and wagged her finger at me and in a kindly, scolding tone said, “You must have been asleep when God called you ... because you're in the wrong line of work. You should have been a preacher!” It was the nicest compliment I have ever received and it brought a smile to my face and a few tears to my eyes.
In her historical account of our church, Eleanor wrote, “We owe so many, and most of all, our Father, who gave us the will and strength to continue in His name. I hope this gives the members something to remember of our past and to inspire us to continue with enthusiasm and spirit.”
We could pay Eleanor no greater tribute than to remember her words and continue our work with "enthusiasm and spirit," always thanking God for the blessings He has given us. If we do that, Eleanor Bourn will always be with us in our hearts, and wiping away our tears.
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In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial donations to North Kingstown United Methodist Church, 450 Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown, RI 02852
§ Born Faribault, Minnesota to the late Thomas Benson Brown and Armina (Bell) Brown on February 14, 1911.
§ Married the late Gerald R. Bourn.
§ Sister of the late Mildred Lieb of Faribault, Minnesota. Survived by two sons, Thomas, of North Kingstown, RI with whom she lived and Ronald of Seabrook Island, South Carolina.
§ Survived by four grandsons and two great-grandsons.
§ Moved to Glendale, California from Minnesota in 1938, where she later met and married her husband and gave birth to their two sons.
§ In 1955, she and her family moved, in succession, to Maryland, Germany, Minnesota, Florida and then settled in North Kingstown, RI in 1959.
§ Degree in Library Science from University of Minnesota in 1932. Masters Degree in Library Science at University of Rhode Island in 1970.
§ Worked as a librarian at Minnesota School for the Deaf, the Los Angeles County Library system, the North Kingstown Free Library, the Jacksonville, Florida Public Library and with Rhode Island State Library Services. Employed as school librarian at North Kingstown High School, 1962-1969; then as the school librarian at East Greenwich Junior High School from 1969 until her retirement in 1979.
§ Founding member of the North Kingstown United Methodist Church. She is also one of the original volunteers with North Kingstown Friends in Service to Humanity (FISH) serving from 1965 until February 2007 where she was a driver and later chairperson.
§ Memorial Service celebrating Eleanor’s remarkable life will be held Saturday, April 14 at 11:00 AM at North Kingstown United Methodist Church, 450 Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown.
§ Private burial at Pine Grove Cemetery, Templeton, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the North Kingstown United Methodist Church will be appreciated. For information and guestbook, visit: www.faganquinnfuneralhome.com