J.D.’s TRIBUTE
Eulogy given by Mark Lowry at J.D. Sumner’s funeral,
November 19, 1998, which is also J.D.’s birthday.

I didn’t really know J.D. until we started recording the
Gaither videos. I’d see him across the room laughing at George
Younce or whispering a joke into Jake’s ear or telling the whole
crowd one of his tales. And I decided I had to know him. I knew
there was a lifetime full of interesting stories behind that
devilish grin.

My only motive for getting to know J.D. was to hear some funny
stories, but what I got was a friend and a five year journey
with one if the most interesting people . . . ever.

I’m not here to mourn the passing of J.D. Sumner. He’s in Heaven. He’s kickin’ up gold dust. I’m still here. He should mourn me. I’m here to celebrate the passing of J.D. Sumner. I am thankful J.D. Sumner passed my way.

I got to spend a lot of time with J.D. in the past five years. I wish it had been more. I only got to travel with him once, to Georgia. He told me not to eat. He had a great steak house he wanted to take me to. He said it was incredible. I said, “What’s the name of it?” He said he couldn’t remember, but it was worth the wait. So, I starved all the way to Georgia. When we finally arrived, we pulled into the parking lot of the ‘great’ steak house . . . . The Western Sizzler.

Our waitress was an older lady, a grandmother. She was very helpful. She brought us sweet tea and made sure there was enough ketchup for J.D.’s steak. She told us about her family, her life, and showed us pictures of her grandchildren.    

At the end of the meal she brought the check. J.D. pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and was reaching for the bill. (J.D. always carried a wad of cash in his pocket.) The waitress and I were in the middle of a conversation and she mentioned she had cancer and was working for justas long as she could.
J.D. dropped the whole wad of cash on her tray, instantly. Without thinking, or taking the time to wonder if she told this same story to everybody who ate at The Western Sizzler. He heard “cancer” and BOOM! The whole wad of cash fell from his hand.

Later, I asked J.D. if he knew how much money he had given
the lady? He said in that deep, booming voice, “No. And it
doesn’t matter.”

One time we were eating at Luby’s Cafeteria. J.D. was talking.
I was daydreaming. He was in the middle of one of his stories
and my attention deficit disorder kicked in. I could see his lips
moving. I saw his mouth fall open as he lunged forward and
laughed at himself.

But, I wasn’t listening. I was daydreaming. I was thinking
about how much I’m gonna miss him when he’s gone. I’ll miss
that booming “Hello!” when he answers the phone.

I’ll miss his stories.

I’ll miss our talks about “the great mysteries of life,” and
watching him mull those mysteries over in his mind, boil ‘em
down, and then wrap ‘em in an eighth-grade vocabulary that
everybody can understand.

He was still talking . . .

I was still daydreaming . . .

I’ll miss hearing him, at the end of every song, slide down the
scale an octave lower than the bass part requires.

I’ll miss these free lunches.

He was still talking . . .

All of a sudden, I interrupted his story and blurted, “I hope
you never die!”

He looked startled! My cover was blown! He now knew I
wasn’t listening to one word he was saying. He started
laughing, leaned forward, looked me straight in the eyes
and said in that deep voice, that bellowed across the cafeteria,
 “I’ll dance on your grave nine years after you’re gone!”

(He didn’t say “dance.” But we’re in church)

That was the only time J.D. Sumner ever lied to me.

He did die. He never did “dance” on my grave. He didn’t
keep his promise. So, I prayed and asked the Lord get him
back for me. In Heaven . . . . make him a tenor.

And make sure there’s an organ playing when he arrives.
(J.D. hates organ music)

A few weeks ago, J.D. and The Stamps Quartet recorded their
final project. The last words J.D. ever put down on tape were
these, “If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living
shall not be in vain.”

J.D. thanks for passing my way.

Copyright, 1999 Mark Lowry Productions       

JD Sumner's Funeral & Tribute

J. D. Sumner and Mark Lowry were best buddies. They spent a lot of time together when they were off the road in Nashville, TN, and at J.D.’s cabin in Gatlinburg, TN. Mark says it best about his friendship with J.D.

Printed by permission as it appeared on November 20, 1998
Released by Mark Lowry

We buried JD Sumner yesterday, November 19, 1998. (Which
was also his birthday. He was born in 1924.) The funeral
started at 11 AM and lasted until, well, I don't know how long
it lasted, Eva Mae LeFevre was still talking when everyone
left, so it could still be going on, for all I know. But it started
at 11.

Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, James Blackwood, Donnie Sumner,
George Younce, Bill Gaither, George Richey (Tammy Wynette's
husband), Tony Brown (The top dog at MCA records and former
piano player for JD), and I gave eulogies.

They started the funeral with a tape of JD singing, "God Still
Lives In This Old House." It set the tone for a celebration
rather than a funeral. Jim Hill sang the classic gospel song that
he wrote, "What A Day That Will Be." The Masters Five (consisting of James, Hovie, Jake, Bill Baize and John Hall) sang, "I'll Meet You In The Morning." The Cathedrals sang, "We Shall See Jesus" and "I'm A Child Of The King", Donnie Sumner sang, "Ship Ahoy,". The Stamps sang,"The Holy City." And, The Vocal Band sang, The National Anthem."

I sat in the choir loft with all the speakers and singers. The choir
has the best seats in the house. When you're sitting in the audience you only get to see one man behind the pulpit. When you're in the choir you can scan the crowd. If you get bored looking at one person you can look at someone else. I got a real good look at JD's funeral crowd.

That was an interesting bunch of characters. I looked on the back row and there sat Elvis. I leaned over to George Younce and said, "Wasn't that nice of Elvis to show up?" Is he still working at Burger King?" (For those of you who don't know . . . JD used to sing backup for Elvis, and a number of Elvis impersonators loved JD, and several showed up at the funeral.)
I felt right at home.

JD had a lot of different kinds of friends. Old friends, young
friends, professional friends, blue collar friends, pretty friends,
ugly friends, prisoners, thieves, vagabonds, and sinners. I saw one guy, several years ago, JD got released from prison early so he could be home for Christmas.

JD wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He loved to help people.
In fact, that was the running theme of everyone's eulogy .JD
was always helping the underdog. He understood the old scripture where Jesus says, " When you've done it unto the least
of these, you've done it unto Me."

Whoops! There's another Elvis .

I continued scanning the crowd as I moved from one face to the
next wondering why this person was here. What had JD done to
make that person love him enough to reschedule their day to
honor him?

I continue daydreaming. I started wondering, if there had been a
funeral for Jesus, who would've shown up?

Whoops! There's another Elvis . . .

If there had been a funeral for Jesus, and you could sit in the choir, what would you see? Maybe, a woman who had been caught in adultery. Or a tax- collector who was so short he had to climb a treejust to see Jesus. You might smell the stench of fish coming from a few fishermen in the crowd. You probably would see believers and non-believers, rich and poor sitting side by side. All having two things in common . . . they were sinners and they were friends of Jesus.

JD was a lot like Jesus after all. He, too, was a friend of sinners.

I don't know who would've shown up if Jesus had had a funeral.
but, I bet He wouldn't have more Elvis impersonators. These days you're lucky if you have one! JD had several. Way to go JD!  Jesus said we would do greater things than He did!

Way to go!
See ya,
Mark
P.S. I also saw Santa,Fred Flintstone and a couple of "The Seven Dwarfs" running around.

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