Keith Titus talks about his late wife Ginny and her next celebration of life | News, Sports, Jobs

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News Photos by Darby Hinkley This sunny yellow flower blooms on a squash plant. Squash is Keith Titus’ favorite vegetable.

ALPENA – A satisfied old man sits in his well-watered garden, admiring his hundreds of plants and remembering the last love of his life.

The man is not well physically. But her heart is full. He’s lived a good life and he’s righteous with the Lord. He is not afraid of the day when he will see his beautiful wife again.

Keith Titus has accomplished a lot in his 82 years, including four decades with his wife Ginny Titus, who died on March 24 after a terminal battle with cancer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions on social gatherings, a funeral was postponed at this time.

Ginny, knowing her days were numbered, peacefully planned her own service of life celebration, which will take place on Saturday, July 31 at noon at the First Congregational Church in Alpena.

“These are all really good musicians that Ginny has chosen to do particular things,” said Keith, pointing to the list of programs. “She wrote this when she was in seminary. We decided not to have a funeral, as we usually think about it, it’s more of a celebration of his life.

Keith Titus circles his garden at full speed, pointing out various plants among the works of art created by his late wife.

After the service, friends, family and “interested passers-by”, in Keith’s words, are invited to a reception in the Lush Titus Garden at the corner of 1st Avenue and Dunbar Street.

Fittingly, “‘Posthumous’ is what we call,” Keith said of the garden, which they have looked after for over five years, with his daughter and son-in-law Dana and Rob Barnhardt, and their son Owen. .

“He’s mainly my son-in-law,” he said of the upkeep of the garden. “I do what I can, but it’s not much anymore.

Just like the heart of the Titus for humanity, the garden is overflowing with life.

On Monday, Keith circled the lumpy garden in his motorized wheelchair so quickly that this reporter had to step aside more than once to keep her toes intact. The man had a plan, and that was to take a tour of the garden, which has 30 raised beds, the perfect height for him to reach in his wheelchair.

Above is a bench adorned with the saying “Garden as if you were going to live forever,” painted by the late Ginny Titus.

What’s in the garden?

“You name it,” he said.

Almost every veg you’ve heard of, and some you haven’t heard yet, fruit trees, a variety of vibrantly colored flowers, and so much more, are beyond your senses row by row.

Even just passing through the garden, facial expressions ensue. Whether it’s a puckered forehead, wondering what you’re looking at, or a smile as you ingest all the colorful artwork that adorns the fence and throughout the garden, you have to be oblivious to not be intrigued by this glut of joy. . As you approach the front door, you kind of feel the love permeating from inside the fence. It is impossible not to be blessed once you step inside. It’s thanks to Ginny and Keith’s shared love for making people smile.

“I find that to be part of my spirituality,” Keith said in his deep, slow and soft voice. “The cyclical nature of ourselves, the food we put in our body and the way we take care of it. I have very negative feelings about how the food industry ended up adulterating the food we eat, so I’m very convinced of the importance of gardening and raising creatures.

A colorful bottle tree shines in the sun in ‘Posthumous’, the garden at the corner of 1st Avenue and Dunbar Street in Alpena, tended by Keith Titus and his family.

Although she has left the physical world, Ginny’s artwork survives in the garden, along with a tree planted in her memory, which will be dedicated to the July 31 reception.

When asked what kind of tree it was, Keith replied, “It’s red,” raising his hands in the air for lack of a scientific name.

Keith and Ginny moved into their 1st Avenue home next to the Barnhardts about five years ago.

“When we moved here, I had a garden in every place I lived, so that was really my salvation,” Keith said. “It has been a saving grace for me to be able to put my hands in the mud.”

Both ordained ministers, the Titus led a couples retreat called the “Marriage Meeting”.

Before coming to Alpena, Ginny was pastor at a church in Atlanta. Years earlier, the Titus had spent time on a Native American reservation in South Dakota.

Keith founded the Thunder Bay Theater in 1966 and ran it for 20 years.

They both enjoyed playing lyrics and songs together.

Ginny and her cancer had one thing in common – they were exceptionally rare – as rare as one in a million.

Ginny’s zest for life and abundant love for others shone through daily, as she shared her artwork, volunteered her time, and eased tensions just by walking into a room. He was a peaceful being.

Keith Titus poses in the garden next to some of the artwork created by his late wife, Ginny Titus.

“She passed away beautifully,” Keith said with a slight tremor in his voice, “which was typical of her. She was kind of a role model for the rest of the family because she kept saying : “I had a wonderful life. I had the opportunity to do all kinds of wild and wonderful things, and great love. How can I complain?”

While Ginny succumbed to rare cancer of the appendix, Keith recently found out that he had another type of cancer.

“So now I’m pretty much in the same situation,” Keith said. “And I’m able to say pretty much the same thing. I have a lot of illnesses. Cancer is the one that will probably catch me, but who knows? I have bone cancer, which is not my favorite. But it started with prostate cancer, and when they found out it had already metastasized to the bone.

He discovered it about a month and a half ago.

“I went to the hospital for something else, and they found out,” he said of the cancer.

When the natural “Oh, I’m sorry” reaction came out of this reporter, Keith replied, “Oh, hey, don’t be.” I couldn’t ask for more. It would be selfish of me. I am 82 years old and had a wonderful time.

In high school, he remembered his English teacher making them write about the three things they wanted to be when they grew up.

“I wanted to be: a priest was number one, a singer was number two, an actor was number three, and I got the chance to do them all,” Keith said. “Plus, I found myself on the reserve with wonderful people who taught me a lot about how to become a human being.”

It was on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

“This is where ‘Wounded Knee’ took place,” he said. “There is a cemetery over there, and in front of it there is a huge sign that said ‘The Battle of Wounded Knee’, but eventually changed to ‘The Wounded Knee Massacre’, because it is what it was. “

The couple lived there for 10 years, from when they graduated from the seminary in 1997 to 2007.

Keith is from Alpena and has lived here since he was 6 years old. He taught oral communication at Alpena Community College for almost 30 years, from 1966 to 1995. He served as Alpena County Commissioner for three terms.

He remembered the day he asked Ginny to marry him.

“I just walked in one day and said, ‘Hey Gin? Do you want to marry ?’ And she laughed and said, ‘Yeah. When?’ And I said, ‘What about this afternoon?’ “

They married on November 22, 1982.

“My favorite thing about Ginny is that she was the most honest person I have ever met,” he added, “which was really annoying sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it. wanted otherwise. “

He looks forward to July 31st.

“We will stay until all hours, telling Ginny stories, singing music and telling jokes,” he said with a smile.

This sign created by Ginny Titus can be found on top of the roof of the potting shed. It reads: “I swear allegiance to the world, to take care of the land, sea and air, to cherish every living being, with peace and justice everywhere”.

This tree was planted in memory of the late Ginny Titus in the garden called “Posthumous”, maintained by the Titus and Barnhardt families.

The late Ginny Titus created these whimsical panels that bring a cheerful touch to the garden.

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