On March 26th, 2005 I was honored to play at the memorial services of Travis Stewart. Travis Stewart played an important role in the Democratic party in Georgia and was a powerful Washington D.C. lobbyist for many years. Travis had 5 children. One of Travis’s lovely daughters, Rebecca Stewart, was accompanied by her significant other and Atlanta royalty, Ted Turner.
The memorial service at Druid Hills Baptist church was very touching. I played the family in and out of the chapel, and played “Amazing Grace” as an interlude. Bill Stewart, Rebecca’s uncle, sang a beautiful solo for his brother bearing a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.
After the church service, everyone drove to Rebecca’s gorgeous fishing lodge. I played my pipes by the river for probably 30 minutes as quests arrived and prepared for the riverside ceremony. Each of Travis’s 5 children had a portion of his ashes to sprinkle in the river. However, just before they sprinkled the ashes, I played “Amazing Grace” and everyone sang along. As everyone sang, a remarkable and astonishing spiritual event occurred. Although the singing was average, literally dozens of fish leapt repeatedly out of the water, and continued leaping for the entire verse. When the singing stopped, the fish stopped jumping out of the water. It was truly amazing.
I then played “Taps” and Travis’s children began sprinkling his ashes in the river. Later I had my picture taken with Ted and Rebecca, who were extremely gracious hosts.
Samples of Songs Played at This Memorial Service:
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