A few days
ago, Rick asked if I would say something at Deb's memorial celebration. And
while there are many things I could say about Deb, I’m going to focus in on two
things Rick said to me shortly after her passing that have haunted me ever since.
The first was that Rick said Deb was a “serial forgiver.” And the second thing
he said was that until recently, Deb didn’t think she qualified to be
considered an “artist.”
First, a
little context for why I’m here. I met Rick and Deb back in 1993, shortly after
they moved to Gambier from Chicago. They came to my house for dinner, and from
that point on were regular members of the household. Sometimes, we even placed
a couple of extra plates at the table, just in case they showed up at the door
needing some food and friendship after working ridiculous hours at the business
they came to Knox County to take over. Throughout the years, we celebrated
successes and milestones with each other, and comforted each other in times of
failure and loss. And perhaps the truest test of friendship is that we helped
each other move lots and lots of stuff, lots and lots of times, and lots more
times than any of us would like to admit, and we did so without second-thought
or complaining. What I’m trying to get across to you is that we became each
other’s chosen family. And even when Deb moved up to Maumee to be with Rick, we
continued to get together when possible. In between get-togethers, Deb and I spoke
by phone. And each of our conversations would always start the same way. We’d
chit-chat for a few minutes before getting down to real business, which always
started when one of us asked the other, “So: how are you
doing? Really.”
Over the
last two decades, I was privileged to be able to be there for Deb during
difficult times in her life, and boy was she ever there for me during my
struggles. One of the things I
came to learn about Deb was just how deep her ability for compassion ran. She was compassionate toward everyone,
and she was certainly compassionate towards me over the years. She realized
that everyone struggles with choices in life—some of us more spectacularly so
than others—and she realized that our demons sometimes shout down the better
angels in our heads and temporarily win. But she also knew that that didn’t necessarily
make you a terrible person in your heart. The thing that mattered to Deb was
whether or not there was any real personal recognition, and whether or not the
person strove to do better in the future.
Authenticity was important to Deb. While she was kind to
everyone, she had little time to invest in people who were false and took no
responsibility. But if you were sincere in wanting to clean up your mess, then you
had no greater cheerleader than Deb Yorde. So it came as no shock to me when
Rick told me a couple of weeks ago that he received an email from one of Deb’s
boyfriends of 40 years ago, who said that she never gave up on him, even when
he kept messing up: she saw there was real value in him, and miraculously found
a way to hold onto that and continue to cheer him on through his struggles. I
also experienced this first-hand with Deb. So this is the “serial forgiver”
part of her being.
The other
part, her not acknowledging until recently that she qualified to be considered
an “artist,” seems unrelated.
Interestingly, for her business name she chose “Craftsman Hill,” not
“Artist Hill.” Without getting into any lengthy philosophical discussion about
the differences between an artist and a craftsman, let’s just say that the terms
can overlap in many ways. But for me, the most important differentiating factor
is that real art has an “X-factor” that holds a message for us which
transcends the functional use of the craft, and can stand on its own, separate
from the product’s utility.
Now clearly,
Deb considered whether or not what she created was art or craft. But I’m not
sure how much she ever actually stressed over the question. I once
asked a successful business-leader friend of mine the question, “How do you
know if you’re a leader?” And his reply was “Look back over your shoulder… are
there people following you? Then you’re a leader.” I can apply this to Deb by
saying that if she looked back over her shoulder, she wouldn’t just see large
numbers of people happily wearing the things she made. She would see people
clamoring to touch, and feel, and simply look at her creations because they’re
so uplifting and beautiful. Her work just makes you feel good. They have that
X-factor… because Deb had that X-factor to her being. So when she had that
recognition recently that she was, in fact, an artist, I don’t think it was a
“Yay, me! I made the club!” type of moment, but more of a simple acceptance:
“Yeah… I guess I am an artist.”
What was important to Deb was not the end realization, but the process
of getting to that recognition.
As with
people she serially forgave, Deb realized that it’s the process of developing
as a human being that counts. We’ll never be perfect, but as long as we keep
confronting our issues and moving step by step slowly forward, that’s
what matters. It was the same with her craft-art; she simply kept putting one
foot in front of the other, eyes always on the process.
One of the
things I loved so much about Deb as a person was that, unlike some artists, she
never tried to push her work on you. Again, she was in it for the process, not
the fame and glory. She was a humble artist, which is probably why all these
years she didn’t even consider herself an artist. When I
look at her creations, I don’t see a shred of ego in them. What I do
see, though, is a reflection of who she was at her core: a person of rock-solid
values and character. She was someone who had her priorities in the right
places. Her output rings with such authenticity because that’s just who she
was.
Lastly, of
all of Deb’s work, the pieces that are most beautiful and significant to me are
the ones with lots of knots in them. We’re going to run into knots and
entanglements in our lives, and some of them just can’t be unraveled. But even
though that may be the case, Deb’s work proves to me that you can still have a
beautiful life by incorporating those knots into the big picture and moving
forward with your head held high. And for this simple recognition—as well as
her 21 years of friendship, cheerleading, compassion and love—I am incredibly
grateful.