ED BERGEN

Pastor and friend

Words at Carl Barks' funeral:

We are here today to celebrate the passing of a legend, but also to acknowledge and smile about his work and his profound influence which we know will inspire generations yet unborn!

Carl had a dynamic intellect and artistic skill and vision that, he used to like to remind us, came from being educated in a one-room schoolhouse. But we also know, dear Carl, that it was also innate - and God-given!

What I will always remember about my good friend, Carl, is how he used his God-given gifts to show us ourselves, point us to the best, and then, for those of us who knew him well, embody the best himself ... and then liberally shared his time and his talent, creating 'family' with us all along the way!

Carl was truly an 'incarnational' human being: he embodied and lived what he believed with all his heart!

You know, I was particularly intrigued by my 'phone conversation with Serene, one of Carl's care-givers, a couple of days ago. Serene told me how Carl loved her little daughter, Hannah, who's now 3 years old! I'm so thankful I got to see her grow up, Carl said near the end, the 'little boss lady', as Carl would call her, as the light in his eyes whenever he would see Hannah awesomely revealed the 'heart of a child' in himself that Carl never lost! I remember Jesus himself saying in Scripture that one 'has to receive the Kingdom like a child or one will never enter it!'

Oh, how important children, and a child's vision of life, were to Carl both in his stories and artwork but also personally for they REFLECTED HIS OWN HEART! ... and his own INTERNAL RHYTMS!

You know, I will FEEL CARL'S PULSE every time I gaze on one of his exquisite images on pencil, ink, or oils! We will TASTE HIS SPIRIT every time we read again and again one of his wonderful and insightful stories! But we will KNOW HIS HEART each time we remember with fondness Carl's child-like warmth, his gentle humor, and his keen insights as he touched and will touch us all with his sharp intellect, his solid integrity, and his profound perspective on the nature of our own humanity! God gave us a great gift when he gave us CARL!

May Carl's giftedness continue to bear fruit in us all that we too might be, and increasingly become, gifts to each other as CARL'S family and friends!

For ... no one did it better!

REST IN PEACE, CARL BARKS!