Everyone matters.
You do.
And, everyone else matters enough to be in the front pew of the funeral of the faithful friend of Detroit, Focus:HOPE'S, Eleanor Josaitis, who was celebrated Saturday in the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Woodward.
"Eleanor Josaitis had the power to bring people together, " the Rev. Tim Kane, Josaitis' pastor said, as he stood in front of the casket and looked out at the sea of people in attendance.
Over 800 people sat shoulder to shoulder with family, poor and rich, politicians and prelates, and paupers amid a Catholic Mass fit for one fondly remembered for her 43 years of service to the civil and human rights organization that morphed the lives of men and women from Motown to Oakland County and beyond.
Everyone seemed to be in the front row with a first-rate funeral for a first-class woman who made everyone feel deserving of the front pew at the two-hour service that began at 1 pm Saturday as throngs poured into the hugh edifice.
Pennies continued to press the hands of participants as others continued the practice of Josaitis to place a copper penny in the palm of people she met. Hope was her aim. Her faith made her do that it seemed.
In God we trust, seemed to say it all, as deep faith fueled this spiritual giant to make miracles happen in machinist training and engineer programs, food for infants, mothers and seniors and more at the social service outlet that emerged out of the 1967 riots in Detroit when whites and blacks faced off.
The late Father William Cunningham died in 1997 of cancer, and co-founder Eleanor Josaitis who also lost her battle with cancer Tuesday, joined together to make a difference in Detroit.
And, they did.
A big difference.
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