The Celebration of Dot's Life

The Celebration of Life service held Saturday, Jan. 15th, was everything I had hoped it would be and much more! There were about 200 in attendance at First Baptist Church of Black Forest - about 100 of them were Sweet Adelines from the Velvet Hills chorus and surrounding Chapters. One member (Gwen) came all the way from Loveland (2 1/2 hours away)! I know Mom was honored by your presence but most of all your singing. You filled the church with beautiful harmony, and the words to "How We Sang Today" have new meaning for me.

The next morning at church, the Pastor, his wife and Mark Gibson (Worship Pastor) expressed their delight with the service itself, especially the Sweet Adelines. You all helped make the service a heavenly tribute to Mom and a beautiful memory for those of us still on earth.

And I get to listen to it again and again, as the entire service was recorded.

Thank you to all who participated and attended. We (the entire family) was very blessed.

If you were unable to attend, here are images of the program:

A Special Note from a Very Special Friend

Dottie, MY FOREVER FRIEND,

Thanks for all the good times, happy tunes, and all the precious memories of 53 years, keeping us close through time and eternity.

My love always,
Ina

Celebration of Life Service, Jan. 15 at 4:00

A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, January 15, to honor Mom. Please join our family, if possible, at 4:00pm at First Baptist Church Black Forest, 10915 Black Forest Rd., Colorado Springs. There will be much singing, of course - maybe even some live Barbershop harmony, and it will be a time to honor and celebrate the life of Dot, who touched so many lives.

Mom requested that an afterglow be held following her service - yes, she really did, so plan to come to my home following the service for food, singing, and memory-sharing.

Heaven has a new tenor

Sunday, January 9, 2011, Dorothy L. Hittenberger entered the arms of Jesus. Her family and close friends are sad that she's no longer with us on earth, but we are joyful that she is now at peace and in a better place.

The Heavenly Choir now has a dedicated and tenacious singer who is most likely in awe of the perfect singing to His glory. And the Heavenly Barbershop Chorus has a wonderful tenor, standing on the back row  - finally smiling all the time.

Please share your sentiments and stories by clicking on the comments link below this post.

An Answered Prayer

My Dearest Mom,

Life is different for you today. You're taking a path on your journey that we haven't experienced. God is good! He is answering our prayer and bringing you peace from the turmoil and agony of the last 3 weeks.You rested more easily last night, and today we will be at your bedside, releasing you into Jesus' arms when he calls you.

Our life on this earth will continue with its ups and downs, struggles and happy moments. There will be a sadness for those of us who can no longer walk beside you but a joy for the peace we know you are experiencing.

As several have said, we know you will immediately be in the Big Chorus in the Sky with singing so pure - matched vowels and vocal production, chords instantly locking, and a unity you've never experienced - all for the purpose of bringing glory to Him. And of course, you'll be singing tenor.

There will be more joy in your heart than you've ever thought possible, and you will be relieved of all the frustrations and sadness you've lived through here on earth.

The song, I Can Only Imagine, by Mercy Me expresses it like no other song I know:

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side.

I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me.

I can only imagine.

Surrounded by your glory what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for your Jesus, or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

I can only imagine when that day comes,

And I find myself standing in the Son.

I can only imagine when all I will do

Is forever, forever worship you.

I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

We love you Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma,
Friend, Colleague, and Singing Sister

A wonderful sentiment from a dear VA friend

Terry, I’ve not met your mom but I share her love for music and especially singing. Please tell her that her song will be sung for always in the hearts of her children, grand children and so on and so on. Her encores will be many and well deserved. Grand applause to you and Dot, Toni Jo Artz

A Little History...What part did you play?

I was adopted by May and Walter Tanner and grew up in Portola, CA - a small railroad town in the Sierra mountains on the Feather River. My father was a fireman on the Western Pacific Railroad. In high school I was a cheerleader and played the clarinet and sax in the band. After high school I took a secretarial course, which became the foundation for my administrative career. In 1946 I married Bill, and Terry was born a year later and David 4 years later.I didn't work outside the home till the early 1960s; one job was working for I.Magnin & Co. (exclusive dept. store in Palo Alto) in their millinery and accessory department (besides being a sales lady, I modeled too.). One customer of note was Shirley Temple Black.

And then I found Hewlett Packard and began a long career, starting on "the hill." In the early years it was common to converse with both Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard! I retired from HP in 1989 after 20+ years and moved to Colorado Springs to be near Terry.

My Sweet Adeline life began in 1950 when I became a member of the Peninsula Chorus. While in Region 12 I served as Regent, DMA, and then as an International Board member. But I loved the music most of all and was recognized as one of several vocal coaches in the region. Although I sang with the wonderful Mission Valley chorus for years, my heart was also with the small choruses, for which I directed several, earning the Small Chorus award. I competed with Mission Valley in the first International contest; we came in 3rd that year and 1st in 1976. What a joy that was.

In Region 8 (Colorado) I sang with High Country, Skyline and Velvet Hills Choruses, competing several times on the International Stage and placing in the top 5!

Quarteting has been important in my life too, and I've been in quartets that placed in the top Regional 3 or 4 several times, once with Terry. One special memory was singing tenor with the Outer Limits and being a part of the cruise entertainment to/from Hawaii. And in 1982 I sang tenor with Terry in a 3-month old quartet that placed 3rd! This last year I celebrated my 60th anniversary with Sweet Adelines International. Who would have thought?

I'm proud of my family too; I'm also Grandmother to 6 and Great Grandmother to 10.

There's much more I could share about my life, but I'll trust Terry to tell you some of those stories.

Thank you for sharing this last part of my journey. I am blessed to have so many faithful and true friends and special family members.

What is this blog and why?

The purpose of this blog is to provide timely updates about this portion of Dot's (Mom's) life journey for her many friends around the country and world and for her beloved son, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The out-pouring of comments, calls, email, and cards has been so overwhelming, that I (Terry) can't possibly respond to each of you, so my hope is that this blog will allow you to be more closely connected to Mom's last days. My intention is to leave no one out, so if you know someone who wants to know how Mom is, please forward this blog to him/her.

As a brief overview and to bring everyone up to date on Mom's current status...She had 1 or 2 strokes on December 17. She was transported 70 miles away to a hospital in Denver where she stayed for a week. On Christmas Day she was transported back to Colorado Springs and is in a nursing facility with her care being overseen by hospice. I'm not disclosing the location out of respect for her and to preserve her dignity. She would want you to remember her as you've known her - witty, vibrant, tenacious, and committed.

It's been 3 weeks since her stroke(s), and Mom is not able to communicate very easily. She often lives in the past, thinking of a variety of life situations that I've long forgotten. One thing that seems to still be with her is her love of barbershop music. She told me just a few days ago that I was a conceited lead! Has she been holding back that thought for all these years? Oh my!

We let her listen to YouTube recordings of Sweet Adeline choruses, and she becomes very intent. At times she'll attempt to sing with them. I've tried to bring her into the present a few times, asking her to counsel me on members for my new quartet. Of course, she has reserved the tenor spot for herself and told me so very directly. I'll be bringing a CD player and CDs to her room today so she can listen to good BBS as she desires. I'll let you know in a follow-up post how this goes over.

Please feel free to comment here. If you have any stories about your lifetime adventures with Mom, please share them. I might even talk to her about some of them.

Bless each of you. You have all touched me deeply with your prayers and concerns for Mom. Long time friendships are being renewed for me too, and I appreciate your concern and love for me.