In
Memoriam
Feb. 19, 1929 - October 25, 2002
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Fred
Littauer
never wanted to retire. He loved life, loved his
life and loved what he was doing. He never did
retire. But everyone who knew him was shocked by
the sudden news that he had quit working, more
accurately, his heart quit working around 4:00PM on
October 25th, 2002.
Florence
and her two daughters, Lauren and Marita, were all
together in New Mexico at the Glorieta Christian
Writers Conference where Florence was scheduled to
present two keynote messages on the evenings of
October 24 and 25, with the conference ending on
the afternoon of the 26th. While she was on the
stage doing her final presentation, Lauren and
Marita were in the Resource Center working on some
conference details. A security guard from the
conference center came in asking for Florence
Littauer, stating that there was an emergency phone
call for her.
This
felt very strange. Since Florence was unavailable,
Marita picked up the house phone. After determining
that she was a family member, an Officer Furgeson
asked if Fred had any medical conditions. Marita
affirmed that he had had a heart attack, had
angioplasty and a pacemaker. He then advised her
that Fred was dead. Lauren was standing by. Marita
handed her the phone as Lauren excels in
emergencies.
Lauren
got the details from Officer Furgeson. At 3:05 Fred
called their cleaning lady to tell her that her
check was ready. She told him she would be there at
4:30. She rang the doorbell and did not receive an
answer. (As she had worked with Fred and Florence
on their in-home-conferences, Upper CLASS, for some
time, she knows that if "Mister Fred" says he will
do something, you can count on it happening.) When
he did not answer, she was alarmed. She looked into
the windows and thought she saw him sitting in the
chair in his office. She got the security guard
from the complex where Fred and Florence live who
confirmed that he was in his chair and appeared to
be asleep. They called the police and Officer
Furgeson arrived shortly thereafter.
As
Fred was at home alone, the police were not sure
whom to call. It was later learned that someone
with whom Fred had a telephone appointment-which he
had missed-had been calling repeatedly, concerned
because she had not heard from him. She called
while the police were there and discovered the
situation. She got on the internet, went to
www.florencelittauer.com and looked up Florence's
speaking schedule and found that she was at
Glorieta. She searched the internet for Glorieta's
website, found a phone number and gave that to the
Officer-who then called the family in New Mexico.
Lauren,
Marita and the friends, employees, and staff
members who happened to be in the hallways or the
Resource Center rather than in the meeting, were
instantly thrown into a state of shock, but had to
think quickly to determine the next step.
Fortunately a wonderful support team was available.
Marita called Chuck, who was already in his car on
his way from Albuquerque to Glorieta, just north of
Santa Fe, to be with Marita for the closing. She
gave him the news. He was there within ten minutes.
Everyone joined together to help. It was agreed
that Florence should continue her speech without
interruption; that Lauren and Marita would go to
their room at the conference center and wait for
Florence; that Craig Sundheimer-who was doing the
music at the writers conference-would do the
closing song and then usher Florence off the stage
and to the room where Lauren, Marita and Chuck were
waiting with long-time family friend and
CLASSeminar staff member Betty Southard. Meanwhile,
Gayle Roper gave the audience the news and an
instant prayer meeting took place for the family
and especially for Florence.
If
you knew Fred well, you know that he would have
wanted the "show" to "go on." While friends and
family were sobbing together in the room, the
evening sessions continued as planned-as did the
next morning's program, ending with Fred's favorite
hymn: "How Great Thou Art."
Looking
back on that evening, Florence recalls, "For the
closing Friday evening session, I did an adaptation
of my 'Timothy Message,' based on II Timothy, that
I use to close our CLASSeminars. I brought the
staff of over 50 up to the platform and as they
were coming I explained that we staff members had
played the role of 'Pauls' to the audience of
'Timothys' challenging them to use what we had
taught them and go back to their home areas and
become 'Pauls'-taking what you've learned here and
share it with others through writing and speaking.
As a dramatic closing, we sang the Gaither song
"Something Beautiful." As we sang, my eyes searched
the auditorium looking for my daughters. They knew
they were to join me, one on each side, for these
closing moments of the week's conference. Where
were they? As the last note faded, one of Marita's
staff, Craig Sundheimer, took me by the arm and
rushed me off the stage. 'Can't I stay and greet
the people?' I asked.
'Not
tonight,' Craig said, 'Marita needs you.' I tried
to imagine what she needed me for. Where was she?
Why hadn't she and Lauren come up on stage? Craig
pushed me through the crowds in the foyer. As I
paused to greet a friend, someone reached out for
my hand, Craig smiled and moved me along to my
room. As I entered, Lauren, Marita and Chuck were
there to meet me. 'What's wrong?' I
pleaded.
'Mom,
it's the worst news. Dad has died.' Lauren
sobbed.
'No!
He can't be dead!' I uttered in disbelief. I'd
checked in with Fred around noon that day. He was
his usual cheerful self. He was going to the
doctor's that afternoon for a routine check-up and
he was coming home and having two phone
appointments. Fred told me he had some surprises
for me when I got home and concluded our
conversation with, 'I am so happy. This is the very
best time of our life.'
'Dead?
He couldn't be! I just talked to him. He can't be
dead!' I looked around the room. There was Betty
Southard, Craig and his wife. They were all in
tears. Was it true? Could my joyful Fred be dead?
It was true. This was no longer the best time in
our lives."*
After
several tough and tearful hours together, it was
decided that Florence, Lauren and Marita would fly
to California the next day-leaving the remaining
conference details in the hands of the capable
staff. Chuck called the airlines and made
reservations. He helped them pack up and drove them
to the airport on Saturday afternoon.
The
family arrived in Palm Springs around 6:00PM and
were greeted by both Lauren's and Fred Jr's family.
Fred and Kristy have a beautiful new (6-weeks old
at the time) baby girl, Lianna Marita Littauer.
Having this precious new life there brought great
joy and softened the pain of the loss.
As
Fred and Florence were some of the airport's most
frequent flyers, the security staff all knew them.
They had heard the news from Lauren's husband Randy
and hugged Florence as she came through security,
sobbing with her at the loss. "We can't believe
he's gone." "He was the nicest person who ever came
through here." "Fred always made people feel
special," was repeated over and over
again.
While
the shock and pain were great, there were several
blessings-many of which were not apparent for days.
- When
Florence was on the road without Fred, she
usually called him in the evening. On October
25th, she called him at noon and knows he was
happy and healthy at that time.
- He
had an appointment at 1:00 that day to have his
pacemaker checked. The doctor reported that
everything was in good order and that nothing
could have been done differently.
- It
is an example of God's provision that Florence
was surrounded by friends and family at the time
she received the news. Just days before,
Florence and Fred were speaking in Tulsa. Fred's
heart could have stopped while they were on the
road, surrounded by strangers. Immediately
following the November CLASSeminar, they had
plans to go to Australia for five weeks. It
could have happened there.
- The
time of Fred's death is the exact time Florence
usually takes a nap. If she were at home, she
could have awakened, called for him and gotten
no response and then found him while she was
totally alone.
- Fred
did not suffer. He died peacefully in his office
that he loved.
- It
is as if Fred knew-though he felt wonderful. He
had recently cleaned up many loose ends, like
refinancing the house, updating the will and
closing several small bank accounts. Florence
had expressed the desire for a new mattress as
the current was hurting her back. While she was
in New Mexico, Fred had bought a new bed, had it
delivered and had it all made up-one detail she
did not have to worry about.
The
next week became a dim haze of activity in
preparation for the funeral. An influx of relatives
and friends came to offer love, support and
help-with everyone wanting to do something, but not
knowing what. Amidst the confusion, Lauren became
the obvious leader. Enough Choleric relatives arose
as her committee to make order out of potential
chaos and to develop systems and plans: The funeral
would have a "Silver Box" theme. Florence's
minister brother, Jim, would do the service. Her
grandsons would sing and the youngest, Bryan, would
do a eulogy. Six people would speak on what Fred
had done for them. The service would end with "How
Great Thou Art." Lauren and Marita worked
diligently to produce a beautiful and meaningful
program.
During
that week, Marita had her 44th birthday. Her Bible
Study Buddies from Albuquerque had planned a major
event of celebration, but because of the change in
plans they sent a catered dinner for the family and
guests providing a pleasant oasis in a difficult
week. Several days later, CLASS friends also
arranged for a catered meal that was enough for two
more family dinners.
A
committee developed to open and categorize sympathy
cards and take note of those who phoned and sent
flowers. Sympathy greetings poured in from people
as diverse as Dr. and Mrs. Bill Bright, Campus
Crusade; Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family;
authors John Maxwell, Kevin Leman, Liz Curtis Higgs
and Patsy Clairmont; friends from Australia, New
Zealand and Canada; CLASS staff and hundreds of
CLASS friends plus all those Fred had helped
through the years.
During
this week of the funeral preparations, the American
Airlines staff at Palm Springs Airport hung up
Fred's picture and newspaper obituary on the wall
behind the counter for all to see. In Fred's honor,
they explained to all that asked, he was their most
friendly customer and they were going to miss
him.
As
many people who wanted to attend the funeral were
unavailable on the Saturday of the service-several
had speaking engagements, and everyone knows Fred
would not have wanted them to miss them-so, the
evening before the funeral the extended family met
at the mortuary for a time of visitation. All three
Littauer children and their mates, the three
grandsons and little Lianna Marita were present.
All of Fred's siblings came to honor Fred: Richard,
Marita, Steve and Bill, and their spouses from New
York, Florida and Utah, Fred's nephew Dwayne from
New Orleans, niece Dierdre from New York, and niece
Linda from Los Angeles. Florence's family was
represented as well: her brother James, the
officiating minister and his wife Carolyn from
Ohio. Her brother Ron, the radio personality from
Dallas and his wife Nance and Ron's daughter
Melanie and two sons from San Fransisco. People
arrived from near and far.
With
the prayer support from friends from all over the
country Florence felt an amazing strength and
greeted everyone that came. Toward the end of the
two hours, her brother Jim took her by the arm and
led her back to the casket in the front of the
chapel. Fred looked so peaceful, still handsome in
repose. "Thank you for being my Silver Box," she
whispered as she kissed him good-bye for the last
time.
At
Glorieta, when family and friends originally heard
the news of Fred's death, many of them were already
wearing black. A comment was made about being
appropriately dressed. Then, after giving it a
moment's thought, everyone realized that Fred would
not want black, that he would want a celebration as
he is now with the Lord. Florence confirmed that he
did want a "celebration." With that in mind,
everyone was invited to a celebration of Fred
Littauer's life and his "homecoming" and was asked
to "dress accordingly."
The
next morning brought a perfect California day,
bright blue sky and puffy white clouds, emerald
green grass and multi-colored flowers. Hundreds of
people came from far and wide to the First
Congregational Church in Redlands where the service
was held. In between the music, personal eulogies
were given by those whose lives were changed in
some way by Fred's ministry and
friendship.
Some
of the highlights included Becky Tirabassi, who
said, "Fred Littauer believed in the dream God
placed in my heart. Fred Littauer helped fulfill
that dream."
Bob
Barnes, Fred's best friend of over 25 years, gave
the eulogy. "Fred taught me a lot about ministry,
about being a Christian man-one who loves his wife,
loves his children, loves his
grandchildren."
Several
others told how Fred had impacted their lives. The
youngest grandson, Bryan, 16 years old, adlibbed,
"I tried many times to write this speech, but I
decided instead to speak straight from my
heart…" With speaking in his genes, he talked
about his grandfather. "His ministry saved people
who were lost in a world of sorrow, all hope was
gone. He brought them back. What he did was both
noble and just. Everything he did was in the name
of God. He didn't care who they were or where they
came from, he was there to save them. There is a
void that can never be filled."
Bryan
concluded with a story relating to his
grandfather's ability to get upgrades on their
airline tickets. He bought coach tickets and used
frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class,
preferably 1A & 1B whenever those seats were
available. "Many of you have heard my grandfather's
story about being seated on a plane in seats 1A and
1B. I'm sure if there were seats in heaven for the
way he's lived his life, he's sitting in 1A today
and the day my grandmother follows, hopefully very
long from now, she will be sitting right next to
him in 1B."
Florence's
brother Jim gave a homily based on Fred's
three-point answering machine message. As Jim
finished this part of his message, he walked down
from the platform saying, one life is ended, but we
have the opportunity to celebrate new life.
Surprising everyone, he went over to darling little
Lianna Marita who was quietly sleeping in her
mother's arms wearing a pale green taffeta bouffant
baby dress. Jim picked her up and held her where
all could see. He introduced her to the audience
and said in his rich bass voice, "A baby is God's
opinion that the world should go on."
He
carried her back up to the platform and continued
his homily. Holding baby Lianna, he said, "Here is
the promise, that God says the world will go on,
there will be more, it will continue. There is a
line from Shakespeare when Hamlet dies, one of his
friends says, Good night, sweet prince, may flights
of angels wing you to your rest." Choking back his
own tears, Jim concluded, "Fred's taken a lot of
flights, but this one is on the wings of angels who
take him to his rest, knowing that life goes on and
that love triumphs over all. Amen."**
Fred
Littauer didn't retire. He set people free to be
all God created them to be. His work continues in
the thousands of people whose lives he
touched.
*********************
*
Read Florence's touching tribute to Fred in the
final chapter of her autobiography Behind
the Personality; My Life Story
**
A complete video recording of the service is
available through CLASS by calling
800/433-6633
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