The End The End do do To everything, turn, turn, turn. Here is a season, turn, turn, turn. And it comes to every person, underneath. A time of love and a time of hate. A time of warmth and a time of peace. A time you may embrace. A time to refrain from embrace. There is peace. There is peace. A time to build up, a time to break down, A time to dance, and a time to moan, A time to cast away stones, Oh, a time to get your soul together. So, To everything turn, turn, turn There is a season, turn, turn, turn And a time to everything under heaven A time of love and a time of hate A time of war and a time of peace A time you may embrace A time to refrain from this racism A time to gain and a time to lose What time do you reckon that time will show me? What time for love and what time for hate? What time for peace? I swear it's not too late. Join me in a word of prayer, if you would. Our Father, we are so thankful today that we can call you Father, and that you love us, especially at a time like this where we need you so desperately. We pray, Father, especially for the family that's here today, You would use this service and all the components of it, the songs, the stories, the scripture, all of it would be used to begin the process of healing within their hearts. We thank you for the hope that we have of life eternal in Christ. We thank you for the hope that we have of the resurrection. And we pray now, Father, that you would take these moments that we have together and that you would hallow them and that you would use them in each of our lives We pray in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. I remember the first time that I met Buck Owens. I moved here to Bakersfield in 1983 right out of seminary to become pastor here. In those days the church was much smaller than it is now. I met over on Airport Drive and one of the first members of the church that I met was a lady by the name of Macy Owens. Macy, of course, was Buck's mother, and she was a wonderful Christian woman, a godly woman that taught Sunday school in our church for many years until she went to be with the Lord. I'd only been here a few months when Macy became very, very ill. She was put in the hospital, and we really didn't know what was wrong with her at first. It turned out she needed to have gallbladder surgery, and she was okay after that. But she was in the intensive care unit, and I was sitting by her side, and Buck walked in. I introduced myself and we were making kind of small talk because we both thought Macy was asleep and we wanted her to be able to get her rest. And there was this kind of quiet voice that said, Buck, our church needs a van. Well, that was on Macy's mind because she taught the senior women's class. They didn't like getting out after dark and driving, coming to evening church. And so she had talked to me a few days before about it would be nice if the church purchased a van to be able to pick up these ladies. So that was on her mind. And that's why she said that, Buck, our church needs a van. Well, he was sharp, and so he knew what she was saying between the lines. So he looks at her, and he looks at me, and he said, how much would a van cost? Well, I was in an awkward position. I'd just met him a few minutes before and here he's mom's muscling him while she's in intensive care to buy a church band. And so I said, well, we found a really good used band that we think we can get for about $12,000. I think that's what it was back then. And there was this quiet voice that said, Buck, we don't want a used band. And so we got a brand new van that week that we used for many, many years. I had a unique relationship with Buck because I was his pastor for many, many years. Buck was quick to tell anyone that ever asked that he had been born again and that he was a believer in the Lord Jesus. We had many, many conversations about spiritual things. Sometimes late at night, he would be watching Christian television, or he would read something, and he would call me and want to know what the Bible actually said about some issue. I know that everyone that is here today that knew Buck personally could share stories about his life. And in some ways, that's a lot of what a memorial service is about. We're here really for two reasons this afternoon. One is to find a sense of comfort and hope in a time of death. And I really think that's done best as we direct our attention to the Word of God, which we will do in a few moments, and as songs of hope and faith are sung. But the other reason that we're here is to celebrate the life of Buck Owens. And that is done as we share memories, as we share stories, and what is a eulogy, which is simply a good word. And so Buck's longtime friend, Larry Daniels, is going to come at this time. He's a business colleague as well. He's going to represent the family as he shares a time of eulogy. Thank you, Pastor. Alvis Edgar Buck Owens was born August 12, 1929 in Sherman, Texas, the eldest son of A.E. and Macy Azell Ellington Owens, and passed away at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006 at the age of 76 of heart failure. A true child of the Dust Bowl, Buck's family worked as Texas sharecroppers with just the bare necessities and few frills except for music. As long as I can remember, he once said, we always had a piano around the house, and Mama would sit and play all the old hymns and we'd sing with her. A trip to California in 1937 ended in Phoenix, where eventually the Owens family settled in Mesa, Arizona. Married in 1948 to Bonnie Campbell, the two became parents with the arrival of sons Allen Edgar Buddy and Michael Lim. Buck moved his young family to Bakersfield in 1951, close enough to Los Angeles for him to find work as a studio musician by day and still play the legendary Bakersfield Honky Tonks at night. In 1956, Buck married Phyllis Buford, with whom he had a son, Johnny Dale. In 1957, just two weeks after Buck's 28th birthday, he was signed to Capitol Records by producer Ken Nelson and began a quick rise to stardom via a torrent of releases on the label. Starting in 1963, Buck had a string of 26 consecutive number one records. Buck was named Capitol Records Artist of the Decade, concurrent with the placement of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1963, Buck started his first of many media ventures, which included radio and television stations and print publications. He hosted his own nationwide television show, The Buck Owens Ranch, from 66 to 73, and later co-hosted the enormous, ever-popular television series, Hee Haw, from 1969 to 86. Anybody ever see that? Following the death of his friend and lead guitarist Don Rich in 1974, Buck concentrated his efforts on his radio stations in Bakersfield and Phoenix and married the former Jennifer Smith in 1979. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award. About that time he fulfilled a lifetime dream with the opening of the Crystal Palace Museum and Restaurant in Bakersfield. Buck's influence on country music can be heard in today's young crop of stars. Dwight Yoakam, Brad Paisley, Marty Stewart, and countless others carried his torch and introduced his music to new generations. Buck was preceded in death by his father A.E. Dad Owens, mother Macy, brother Melvin Owens, and sisters Mary McKinney and Dorothy Owens. He leaves behind to cherish his memory his son Buddy and wife Katie, son Michael and wife Kristen, and son John. Seven grandchildren, Paul, Doug, Amy, Jennifer, Brent, Demi, and Corbett. Three great-grandchildren, Macy, Jake, and Haley. Nephew Mel Owens Jr. and wife Diana. Nephew Larry Owens and wife Jan. Niece Sandra Petty and husband Nathan. Niece Nita Agee and husband Ray. Niece Ray Jean McKinney. Nephew Keith McKinney and wife Gail. And niece Kim Owens. Also grieving are numerous great-nephews and nieces, countless friends, and millions of admirers and fans worldwide. Often at the end of an interview, Buck was asked how he'd like to be remembered. He said, I'd like to be remembered as the guy that came along, did the music, did his best, and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few songs, and had a hell of a time. Well, Buck was the very first recording artist I had ever met. And when I was only 18 years old, I've been very blessed to have had him as a true friend along with other members of his family. Buck appreciated the fans and your loyalty. And he loved Bakersfield, so it's no wonder it's been crying time these past few days for all of us. But we're also here to celebrate Buck's life. He left a legacy we can all enjoy. If I could ask Buck for one final comment, with his sense of humor, he would probably have said something like, I wouldn't live in New York City if they gave me the whole dang town. Just give me the streets of Bakersfield. Thank you. Don't mother's Bible, it's covers worn with age, and though it's sold in wrinkle, Mama's there on every page The night the angels called her Mama called me to her side And handed me her hand Bible. Said, Son, let God be your guide. There's dust on Mother's Bible. And though it's old and wrinkled Mama's there on every page I picked up Mother's old Bible To my heart I pressed it tight And I heard her softly whisper But I'll meet you on the other side mother's old bible and i wiped away the dust all you never know until she's gone how you miss your mother's love there's the on mother's bible it covers one with age and though it's stolen wrinkles mama's there on every page Wow, he'd love this. He'd love to see all of this. Thank you guys so very much for being here. I tried to come up with a place to start my story and one in particular kept coming back and so I'd like to share that one with you. For a lot of years, we would have corporate meetings in Palm Springs in April and we would go to Carmel in August to celebrate Buck's birthday. During one of our corporate meetings, or during our corporate meetings, we would talk about our future and what we were going to spend money on in the future. And believe it or not, we couldn't all agree. And I believe it was Michael. Michael said, well, dad, don't you think we should vote on it? And Buck looked at all of us and he said, well, you boys go ahead and vote. And when you get through voting, do it the way I told you. Uncle Buck did things his way and it worked for him. I've been so blessed to be able to spend a great deal of my life with him and I will cherish that forever. I spent some time with him on Friday. He called me about 1115 that morning and asked me to meet him at the old bank building on North Chester Avenue. He said, I know you're busy and I know you got a lot to do. And if you can't, it's okay. We'll do it another time. I started to say, well, I do have an 1130 appointment and I was going to meet my wife for lunch after that, but something was tugging at my heart. And I said, absolutely. I'll see you there in 20 minutes. We met at the old building and he walked around just looking and reminiscing. He was stepping it off to see how long it was and how wide it was. And he said, Tom Clark wants to buy this old building so he can restore it. But I always wanted to restore it, too. He said, somebody very, very near and dear to me thought I should do that. And he felt it was pulling him in that direction. I saw him later Friday at the Crystal Palace. Johnny called me and said, Dad's in his office. I brought him in early so he could play his instruments a little bit before he went on tonight. I visited Buck in his office at about six o'clock. He was there enjoying his chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and gravy. And he looked at me and he said, I've had a lot of chicken fried steak in my day and I've eaten it at a lot of different cities, but the Crystal Palace has the best chicken fried steak I've ever had. And he was very proud of that, too. We talked a bit more and I said good night. He went on stage later that evening. And the next morning. God took him to a better place. How lucky he was. He enjoyed one of his favorite meals. Entertained on his favorite stage, went home to the ranch he loves and went to sleep. Uncle Buck, I love you. And I will miss you. Thank you for everything. I also would like to thank Buddy and Mike, Buddy, Mike and Johnny for sharing him with me. Thank you. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchased of God. born of His Spirit and washed in His blood. And this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest. I and my Savior am happy and blessed. I keep watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness. and lost in His love. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. I wrote down lots of things on paper. I'll talk about the last day. I took his instruments into the prison palace. Early in the morning, around 10 o'clock like I normally do, I went back to work on the ranch. He drove around the ranch most of that day. About 4.15 I get a call from Karen. He wanted to see me up at the house. So I drove up there and he wanted to go into the palace early. It's a little uncommon to go that early, about four o'clock. We get to the palace and he asked me if I'd go in with him for a little while. So we go in and just walk around. First thing you'd have before the chicken fried steak would be a small order of french fries. And those were the best in the world. We walked around and he wanted to go and sit down in his office and relax and of course told me to go back to work. So I called Karen and told her that Dad was up in the office and I called Mel and Mel came over and saw him. He loved an awful lot of people. He had a lot of A lot of love. I don't know how he did it. But he loved Bakersfield. He was never going to move from Bakersfield. This was his home. The people that lived here was his family. And I love him very much. Thanks. Buck told me one day, he said, son you ought to sing that low note you can hit in every song you do because that's really all you got going for you. I am a poor, wayfaring stranger Traveling through this world alone But there's no sickness, no toil or danger That bright world I'm going there to see my mother She said she'd meet me when I'd come I'm only going home I know dark clouds are gonna gather round me I know my way is a rough and steep But beautiful feet By just people Where the redeemed Dare to choose I'm going there To see my Father I'm going there No more to roam I'm only going, going over Jordan I'm only going over home I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger you My mother moved my brother and I here to Bakersfield when I was three years old. She and my dad were divorced. But the day he died, they became very good friends. She was always very thoughtful. I have to write this down because there are so many things I want to say. I might stumble over some of it, but bear with me. He was always very thoughtful, and almost every time we talked, he always asked about my mom, how she was doing. And though we didn't see a lot of him in his early years, because we were working so hard, Mom always made sure we knew what he was doing, and that he was working hard, and most of all, that he loved us very much. Through the years, she always had nothing but great things to say about him. A few years back, they both came to my house in Arizona for a Christmas dinner. Now, these two had been divorced for over 50 years, but for a few wonderful moments in my kitchen, they teased each other and flirted and laughed. She asked about all these little girls that he used to run around with, and he would just stumble back and try to get through it. They would giggle and it was so fun to watch. It's something I'll never forget. My grandmother, my grandfather, and my Aunt Dorothy also kept Michael and I up on what my dad was doing, working hard. I was about nine when I first heard my dad sing. My grandmother gave me his first Capitol record. It was a 45 called Come Back. I must have played that song a hundred times over the next day or so. He gave me a guitar when I was about nine years old and I didn't really care too much for it. It sat under my bed until I was about 14. Mom was a singer too and always having lots of country artists around you would have kind of thought that that country music would have been my calling and and that's what would have really turned me on but really it was the first time I saw the Beatles and their raw, raunchy sound that sort of made me catch fire for music. Dad liked all kinds of music and he really liked the Beatles music and I think a lot of it was the fact that theirs was a little raw and a little raunchy. I was in high school, had a couple little rock bands and we would go out to my dad's And he would let us use his music room out there. Thank gosh it was padded because we turned it up really loud. And he would always stick his head out there and just beg us to turn it down. But I always liked it loud and he did too. To Mike and I, he was always just Dad. I never really realized how popular he was, how big of an artist he was, until one day I attended North High School here and I came to school and the school was sort of all abuzz on this new song that the local rock and roll radio station was playing. It was called, I've Got a Tiger by the Tail. And I hadn't heard it. And the weirdest thing is that everybody was singing and they knew every word to it. That was pretty incredible to me. A few years later, the Beatles recorded Act Naturally. That was totally over the top for me. I thought this was just phenomenal. But I learned to see that he was a country singer. learned to really like his music and his sound at that time. I was about 17 when he put on a big show here at the old Bakersfield Civic Auditorium. It was called the Toys for Tots Show. All of his country pals here from Bakersfield and around the Southwest were going to be there. I surprised him one day about two days before the show and asked him if it would be possible that I sing a song. Well, he looked at me and he said, Do you know a country song? I lied and said yes. The night of the show there was over 10,000 people there and it was a beautiful night. Lots of great artists and everyone was having a great time, raising a lot of toys for needy kids who really didn't have a Christmas and he really wanted to help and that was his way. About the middle of the show, he was on last, about the middle of the show he introduced me. I was out waiting on the wings so nervous and pacing and he introduced me and as soon as I got up there he kind of said, just take a deep breath and do your best. I sang a song that most country song I knew was called Long Tall Texan and it was Actually, probably an old rock and roll song that I'd seen him play on his shows earlier. But when I did that, the crowd kind of took on to the little underdog and started applauding. And Dad, being always the showman that he was, he stood behind me and kind of went... I didn't know I was doing that. And what happened when he would do that, they would just applaud louder. Well, that was really cool. I saw pictures of it later on, and I think he was proud. The crowd was, like I said, very polite. He eventually, after they just wouldn't shut up, as in his words, asked me to do another song. The only song that I really knew that I knew was country was he had just released his first Christmas album. There was a song on there called Christmas Ain't Christmas Dear Without You. And I just loved it. So I quivered my way through that. Again, the crowd started going nuts. And he was again doing this. And 10 or 15 minutes later, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. And that was be involved and sing country music. I'm very, very thankful to him for encouraging me to do that and for all of his support all along the way. I was really raw and inexperienced. During the summer months, when I was in college, he asked me if I'd like to go and sing on his shows. And I thought, this is OK. For three or four months, I became a country music singer and went all around the world, all around the country. Had a great time visiting all these places and actually got paid for it. $25 a day. I went on to work at his radio stations, and he loved radio. He loved sales. He loved the DJ part of it. He just loved connecting with people and playing country music for them. In May of 1968, he asked me to record a song with him. And I was very nervous and taken back. And of course, what are you going to say? Yes, OK, I guess. Little later on, about a month later, a song called Let the World Keep on Turnin' was released, and it was a duet with Buck Owens and Buddy Allen. That was my stage name. And about a month after that, it became a number one song. So he didn't need to, but in his own way, he helped me jumpstart my career. And a little later on, I got to play on a lot of his recording sessions. I got to record my own music and I got to learn from the very best. The times traveling around the world and the country were very precious to me. I got to spend time with him on a daily basis and see people like Jack and Don Rich and spend time with Jim and Doyle and all the rest of the Buckaroos. They're among my happiest times. He truly loved to sing and entertain people. Over the years, I can't tell you how many country artists that have come up to me at the radio station or wherever we are and say how much Buck Owens was their inspiration and their fire to get into country music and to get into singing. Or an ex-GI who said, I'd have never made it through Vietnam if it hadn't been for Buck Owens' music. A man or a woman telling me that it was such a beautiful thing that for one hour on the weekends, he and the family would all get around and they would sit and watch Hee Haw, that it was a ritual for their family. The music he helped create, people called it the Bakersfield sound, and he was very proud of that. Likewise, he was very proud to call Bakersfield, California his home for over 50 years. And he never, ever once thought of moving. Dad loved animals, as a lot of you probably know. He had so many of them. I'd like to thank everyone for all your support, in Buck's name, to the SPCA. I know that's going to help them a lot, and he would have been very happy about that. He had such a big influence on music and on so many people. And I'm so proud, and I know he was too. He was a great example of how a father can help a son become a man. He could have just handed us anything, but he decided to make it tough on us. He always told us that opening the door to success, that's the easy part. Stepping in, getting in there, and staying in is the tough part. To all the people who worked for him in radio here in Phoenix and also in, I mean, I beg your pardon, in Phoenix, Arizona, and also here in Bakersfield, to the people who worked at his television stations and to the print, to all the people at the Palace, most of all to Leanne and to Jim Doyle and Terry and all the rest of the Buckaroos. He was also always so thankful for your loyalty, and he loved you all very much. I knew this day would come someday, but not this soon. I don't think we're ever prepared to lose our parents. We talked, but looking back, not enough. And I'll really miss him. I'll miss his talks, and I'll miss his corny jokes, and his wheezing out of little sports bets that we'd make, and his wise insight. But most of all, I'll miss his shining eyes and his loving ways. He loved his family. And he's with them again. Truck mother and truck dad, that's what we used to call him. And his brother and his sisters and Don, they're all likely putting him in his place right now. I'm sure of it. Over the past few days, the outpouring of love from his friends and his fans has been just incredible. I really don't know how we could have made it through without all of you. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your prayers. And most of all, thank you for your love. I love you very much. I hope you don't find it disrespectful, but I'm going to, in deference to Buck, wear my hat as I sing for him. Because he chastised me a lot over the years about various things. He encouraged me, but he would chastise me on occasion also. And one of the things is, Dwight, you know, you look good in that hat. I said, well, thank you, Buck. He said, well, you know, I wouldn't take it off as much as you've been lately in those movies. So if you'll forgive that, perhaps my mother will forgive me in a house of worship singing this next hymn with this guitar because I was raised where we didn't sing with any instruments. Buck and I used to talk about his beliefs and he was indeed a born again man. and was also a very, very, very dear friend to me and allowed me the opportunity to thank him for the countless thousands of musicians that he inspired and allowed all those other musicians who came to know him. I hope Brad feels that way and Garth that we were fortunate that we were able to know him, meet him and say to him what millions of other people didn't have the opportunity to say in person. I'll do this because he would want to hear it with guitar and with the hat. I come to the garden alone While dew is still on And the voice I hear Calling on my ears The Son of God Discloses and He walks With me, yeah He talks with me He tells me I am His own And the joy we share As we carry this None are there as they're there, no He speaks in the sound of His voice His so sweet, the bare touch they're singing and the melody that he sings for me within my ears is ringing and he walks with me and he talks with me. Tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we carry them I dearly, dearly love Buck Owens. have been blessed for having known him and for having had the privilege and the pleasure of his company. Buddy, Michael, Johnny, Mel, and all the extended family, thank you for allowing me to interlope with him. for so long and to share so much pleasure with him. And thank you all for coming to honor his memory today. You know, he would love this. He would love the applause. That's what he would love. He wouldn't want it to be somber. He would love people applauding. He would love the fact that all of his friends and family and fans were all here today. He'd stand up here. He'd look around the room. And then he'd say, so you all come to see old Buck. A wonderful experience has happened with this tragedy, and that is my brothers, Buddy and John, and my cousin, Mel, who we always thought of as a brother. We've had a wonderful bonding experience. We've eaten, we've drank, we've laughed, we've cried, but we've been there for each other. And I just want to say thank you guys, and I love you. Thank you. Dad was a wonderful, sometimes tough father. He impacted many lives in his lifetime, and he changed my life numerous times. For once when I was younger, I was 16 years old to be exact, I took his bright new red shiny Corvette while he was on tour without asking. I was going to pull the victory bell at our high school after I got off work. I was late, of course, and I got a speeding ticket with multiple violations. And I had to go to juvenile court. And there, sitting next to me, was Dad. Well, I thought I had smooth-talked this judge into just giving me a warning and giving me a very, very small fine. And just as the judge was about to render his decision, Dad stood up and said, Your Honor, I don't think this penalty is harsh enough. Boy, my heart sank. The next thing I know, Dad and the judge agreed to suspend my license, and I got a really large fine. Dad had my car put up on blocks. I lost my job since I couldn't drive. I had to change high schools from North High to Foothill, and all of this at the beginning of my junior year. And that was pretty tough on a little 16-year-old like me. Years later, I was going through a divorce, and Dad could see the pain it was causing me. We decided that I would move to Phoenix and run the radio stations there. This was quite difficult for both of us. You see, we were not only father and son, we were best buds. We played golf and tennis almost every day. Well, I moved there 28 years ago and got the work opportunity of a lifetime. Together with the help of a lot of other people, a lot of them are here today, we built a very successful operation. In addition, Dad, 26 years ago, I also met and married my soul mate and best friend, Kristen. Thanks, Dad. Dad liked to talk sports, and he liked to bet on sports, nothing big. a dollar, maybe five, but he always won. And when we bet on golf, and he might hit an errant drive that might be off to the right, you could see that he wasn't going to have a good second shot because that ball was right up against that tree. Well, by the time that I got over there, somehow that tree had moved. And he had a perfectly clear shot right into the green. His favorite club in his whole bag was his foot wedge. He'd just kind of kick it over there a little bit. He was competitive. He was a business and community leader. He was a big flirt with the girls. And he was a husband. Numerous times. And of course, he was a great entertainer. He always told me, leaving the stage, sometimes after an encore, maybe two encores, son, always leave them wanting more. Dad, you have left us wanting more. Your legend and the Bakersfield Sound will live on through others, your Crystal Palace, and your foundation. I know Dad is with Truck Dad and Truck Mother, Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Melvin, Aunt Mary Ethel, and he's probably with his best friend Don Rich up there right now, and they're picking and grinning, all of them together again. I used to look forward every Sunday night to my weekly phone calls with Dad, and we'd talk about numerous things. The conversations would sometimes last five minutes and sometimes over an hour. Well, today is Sunday. I'll miss these phone calls. But I'll be talking to you today, Dad. I just won't be on the phone. God bless you, Dad. I love you. God bless all of you for being here. with dad and our family. Thank you. There has never been a better friend to young artists and country music than Buck Owens. You can applaud. There's also never been a better businessman in the history of country artists. There's no doubt in the world. Buck loved to give advice and he was so supportive. There wasn't a song of mine that he liked that he didn't call the minute he heard it and tell me and say you're on the right track. He would also say you're on the wrong track now and then. He as a businessman he used to chastise artists for getting multiple buses and spending more money. You're just throwing your money away in diesel fuel. And as my career grew and we got several more buses, when we would play Bakersfield, they would park a couple of miles away from the Palace. And it's amazing how we fit 40 people in that one bus every time we play here. And in the spirit of that, I was faced with a dilemma about how to get here because I played last night in Memphis and the only flight that was commercial was a Southwest flight and it got in at 11.30 and somehow I miraculously made it here. I could have chartered a private jet but he would be setting up right now telling me, you know. And there would be two funerals today. But in the spirit, Buck would be proud to know that I had a free ticket on Southwest and I used that today. I loved him very much. When I cut this song, I had no idea that this would be something I would be singing for my friend. When I get where I'm going On the far side of the sky The first thing that I'm gonna do Is spread my wings and fly I'm gonna land beside a lion And run my fingers through his mane I might find out what it's like to ride a drop of rain. Yeah, when I get where I'm going, there'll be only happy tears. I will shed the sins and struggles I've carried all these years And I'll leave my heart wide open I will love and have no fear Yeah, when I get where I'm going Don't cry for me down here I'm gonna walk with my granddad And he'll match me step for step And I'll tell him how I've missed him Every minute since he left And then I'll hug his neck Yeah, when I get where I'm going There'll be only happy tears I will shed the sins and struggles I've carried all these years And I'll leave my heart wide open I will love and have no fear Yeah, when I get where I'm going Don't cry for me down here There's so much pain and so much darkness In this world we stumble through All these questions I can't answer There's so much work to do But when I get where I'm going And I see my maker's face I stand forever in the light of His amazing grace Here when I get where I'm going I will love and have no fear When I get where I'm going Let us hear the Word of the Lord. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. In where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. These are the words of Jesus spoken on the occasion of his impending death. He has just told his disciples that he is going to die. They are shocked and dismayed by that, and they begin to question that. And so as words of comfort, he tells them not to let their heart be troubled, that they believe in God, believe also in him." Basically, he tells his disciples three things. He said, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. It seems to us nearly strange that he said, I am the life, because he has just said that he is going to die. But yet now he says that he is the life. He has told them that he is going to die, and yet he says, where I am, there you may be also. And so obviously he is speaking about life after death. You see, every human being is both physical and spiritual. It's so easy for us to forget that because all we can see is the physical. And so we go days, sometimes months or years, and we never even consider that there's a spiritual component to a human being. But every human being is made up both of body and spirit. Years ago, my little girl, when she was six years old, was struck by a car and was instantly killed. She was, at the time that she lost her life, she was holding hands with her little brother, who was four at the time, Matthew. And so late that night we came back from the hospital and I had to explain death to a four-year-old, which is very difficult for them to comprehend. And so I told him that his big sister was with Jesus in heaven. He couldn't comprehend that because he had seen her body loaded into an ambulance and So I tried to tell him something about what heaven was like. And so I went to the refrigerator and I opened the refrigerator and I pulled out a can of Coke and I said, Matthew, what is this? And he said, it's a Coke, Daddy. I opened the Coke and I poured it down the sink. And then I held the can by him again and knelt beside him. I said, Matthew, what is this? And he said, it's a Coke, Daddy. And I said, no, Matthew, look, it's empty. It's not a Coke. It's just a can that used to hold the Coke. The coke is gone. And it's the same way with death. The body that we see and the physical person that we know, they're simply a container that contains the spirit. The real Buck Owens is not here this afternoon. The container, that which contains his life, is before us. But the Bible says that at the point of death, the spirit returns to God. And so when you think about it, death fundamentally is separation. It is when the body and the spirit are separated. That is what we call death. But now the Bible speaks of death on another level, and it's difficult for us to grasp. It talks about spiritual death. It says that the wage of sin is death. The penalty or the payment for our sin is death. There it is talking about separation, but not the separation of the body and the spirit, which is physical death, but it's talking about spiritual death, which is the separation of God and the spirit. God is holy. He has never sinned. We have sinned, and when we sin, our sin separates us from God. And so Jesus said, I am the lie. But then he also said, I am the truth. It was days later that Jesus stood before his judge, Pontius Pilate, and talked to Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, about truth. And Pilate very sarcastically said, what is truth? And when you think about it, that's the question of our day, isn't it? What is truth? Well, it was centuries ago that Plato said that truth is discovered through rational thought, and he became the father of rationalism and the father of philosophy in many ways. It is through pure intellectual endeavor, Plato taught, that you discover truth. Aristotle comes along and says, well, actually, truth is discovered through human observation. It's through our senses, and that became the basis of scientific experimentation and observation of facts. The Christian says, no truth is discovered through the Word of God. But now, in modern times, the argument is not about how is truth discovered, because that assumes that it exists. Now, in modern times, People say truth is not discovered, it is actually created. There are those that say truth is created by the culture in which we live, that we, as a community, we set the morals and the mores and the taboos of our culture, and we create truth. Others, worse yet, in America, say that truth is individually created. And so it's not absolute, it's relative. What's true for me may not be true for you. What's true for you may not be for me. But it's all relative based on pragmatism of what works within our life. But the fact is, God has fixed laws, both physical laws and spiritual laws. Now, our society, of course, was founded on tolerance, particularly religious tolerance. And at one time, tolerance meant that we treat with respect and dignity those with whom we disagree. But now tolerance has been redefined. It's not about respect and dignity. It's saying that every opinion is equally valid and equally true, that it's all relevant. But God has fixed laws in His universe. There are fixed physical laws, like gravity. I mean, it would be kind of fun if God just turned it off for about 10 minutes once in a while, but He never does that. We have chairs based on gravity. We can send a man to the moon based on fixed laws. In the same way, God has fixed spiritual laws. If there is a God, and if God is the Creator, then He must want something from us. We can assume that he has expectations of us. But the question is, how can we know this God? The philosopher will say, well, we can with rational thought determine that there is a God. The scientists sometimes, the great scientists of every generation have acknowledged that there's a first cause, that perhaps there's a supreme being. But though philosophy and science can come to the conclusion there is a God, we don't know whether he's malevolent or benevolent except what God has revealed of himself. And that's what the Bible is, is the self-revelation of God. That is true. So Jesus said, I am life. I am truth. But then he said, I am the way. That's what early Christians were called. They were followers of the way. When you think about it, if there is a heaven, then it's pretty important that we figure out how to get there, isn't it? I mean, most of us need a map to find an address across town. let alone to be able to find our way to heaven. But God has left us a map, and that map is called the Bible. So many people in our culture, they believe that if they stand before God, that it's going to be like giant scales, that God's going to weigh all the good you've ever done against all the bad that you've ever done, and you're going to hope that the good outweighs the bad. Well, that makes our relationship with God based on human performance. And the Bible is filled with verses that says that it's based on grace, that is based on God's love and His mercy towards us. There's others that say, well, all that God expects is for us to do the best we can. Well, then we should have a relatively short Bible. I mean, that's all the statement that's needed. There's not ten commandments needed, but just one. Do the best you can. But we have to ask ourselves, if it's about the good outweighing the bad, if it's about doing the best we can, if it's about human effort, then why did Jesus have to come and die? You see, the very word gospel simply means good news. But before the Bible gives us good news, it gives us some relatively bad news. And that is that every human being, except the Lord Jesus, has sin. Now, we kind of redefine sin in our culture, and we think of sin as a pedophile, or maybe a terrorist. But the fact is, when the Bible speaks of sin, it simply means the breaking of one or more of God's commandments. We live in a culture that we want to talk about the goodness of man, and certainly human beings do good things sometimes for one another. But all of us have sin. And so our sin separates us from God, but God loves us so much that He didn't want us to be separated from Him. And so He sent His Son, and somehow in the economy of God, Jesus' life was so precious that by Him dying physically, He paid this penalty. of us being separated from God. It sounds strange to us, but that's the good news of the Bible. The key word to God is grace, which means unmerited favor. That salvation is just a gift that He offers to us. The key word for human beings is works. We want to do some good deeds. We want to accomplish something in order that we might earn somehow God's favor. But God gives us this gift of eternal life simply when we ask. It's about faith on our part. Faith that when we come to the point where we say, yes, it's true, I have sinned. I acknowledge my sin. I want to turn from that. And I acknowledge that Jesus died for me. I believe that He rose again. And I accept Him as my Savior. Now, prayer is simply talking to God like we talk to one another. And the Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. When we turn from our good works, our dependence upon that, and we turn from our self-sufficiency, we acknowledge our sin and we say, Lord, forgive me my sin and be my Savior. We live in a culture, we don't like to face death. But when we're faced with the death of a friend like Buck, we're reminded of our own mortality. Nothing has happened to him that won't happen to all of us. Life, in fact, is so brief, whether it's a few years like my daughter or 70-some years like Buck, it is so very brief. All of us will face it. The stats on death are very impressive. It's one out of one. I mean, all of us are going to face death. But there's a hesitancy to want to deal with that as an issue of life. It was Picasso that would not allow anyone in his presence to say the word death. Most of us have been through Hearst Castle over on the coast. William Randolph Hearst built a magnificent castle there and entertained movie stars and celebrities of his day and politicians. They had parties and dinner parties. They talked about current events and politics and religion to a degree. But there was one subject that he forbid to be mentioned, and that was death. He didn't want to face it. And we sometimes don't want to face our own mortality. Jesus said it this way, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet he loses his soul? The most important decisions of life are not physical, they are spiritual. The most important decision of life is coming to that point where we acknowledge that we've sinned and we cannot rescue and save ourselves from that separation from God, but that we cry out for His mercy and we ask for His forgiveness. Alexander the Great was a man that virtually conquered the known world during his time. He died as a very young man. One of his dying requests was that when he died, he asked that his hands not be wrapped. In those days, they wrapped the body nearly like a mummy. He said, I want my hands to be unwrapped so when I'm carried through the streets, people can see that my hands were empty in death. He held the world in his hands in life, but he said, in death, I want people to know that I face God with my hands empty. And that's how all of us face God. The only thing that matters is, have we given our life to Christ? Jesus said, I'm the way. He said, I'm the truth. I'm the life. No one, he said, comes to the Father, except through me. Where I am, there you may be also," he said. That's the wonderful promise of God's grace. It's always difficult to know how to end a memorial service such as this. Death is a difficult thing for all of us, I know. And we think of the words surrounding death are even hard, like the word casket or the word coffin. But there's another word I want you to think about. I know that when I was growing up in Oklahoma as a little boy, I had an older sister. She had what was called a hope chest. It was really just a big cedar chest. I don't know if girls still do that back in that part of the country. Girls then had a hope chest and they put things in it of value that they would use when they got married, maybe a blanket or a quilt that someone gave them or some dishes and then they would use it when they got married. When I was just a little guy, I didn't think my sister had much hope of getting married, but she actually did eventually and so she used all those things. A hope chest then is a chest that something of tremendous value is placed in it to be used at a later time. Not only does the Bible speak about death, that the Spirit returns to God who gave it, but the Bible also teaches the resurrection of the believer in Christ. It teaches that someday the body will be raised again to be united with the Spirit and be forever with the Lord. And so for the believer, it's not a casket. It's not a coffin. But it's a hope chest. The hope that we have. of eternal life. That hope is not in us. It's not in the position or the prestige of life or the possessions of life. It is in that moment that we place faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. If you haven't done that, I hope that sometime you will. What a legacy that Buck could leave behind. Is that his memorial service someone leaves here in the quietness of their own heart, asks God to be their sake. We're going to conclude our service in a moment with another song. And then the family is going to be escorted out and the ushers will dismiss row at a time. A few special friends are going to have a final farewell. But on behalf of the family, let me just say thank you for coming. It is such a blessing to a family to be surrounded with so many friends on an an occasion such as this to help them through this process of grief. Our final song is Amazing Grace. And God's grace is so amazing. The man who wrote this song was a slave trader years ago, hauled literally human cargo. His life was a mess. He was transformed by the grace of God. And he says in the song about the God-sick wretch, he said, like me, That's the power of God. To change a life. To take a broken life and make it beautiful. God's grace truly is amazing. And I hope that you'll trust Him. Let's bow together for prayer. Father, thank You for these wonderful words that have been said today by family, friends. Thank You for the songs and the talent that has been used today draw our hearts towards Your message. Father, I pray that if there is someone that has not trusted You, that we would be gripped today by our own mortality, reminded of the brevity of life. Lord, that we could trust You, that our hope could be in You and in You alone, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Stop. I cannot leave here without saying a few things, okay? Buck was a part of two families. His family was here, but he had a second family. It was a group of a bunch of old country western singers, some crazy people like me. and some really special people like Mr. Sam Lovello and his family who is the producer of Hee Haw. He is here today. And we wanted to come to honor his memory from those in Nashville who cared so much for him. I was an 18-year-old child out of an orphan's home when I met Buck Owens. I met him in Dallas, where I'm not going to say. Okay? But we became very good friends and he used to tell me, you are the funniest thing I have ever seen in my whole life. Now, I was not into country music. I was a hippie child. I ate LSD and ran around in water fountains. Okay? He said to me one day, one of these days you're going to be a big star and I'm going to have something to do with that. Well, I'd flip that hat and say, keep talking, cowboy. My favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. It says, for I know the plans that I have for you. Plans not to harm you, but plans to give you hope in a future. And if you'll seek my face, I will be found. and I'll bring you out of the bondage." My friend Buck Owens was an instrument in God's hands because I would not be who I am today if it were not for Buck Owens. And I don't mean the Lulu Roman from Hee Haw. I mean the Lulu Roman, who is an ordained minister and who sings the gospel of Jesus. I believe that grace is God's empowering presence in our lives that enables us to be who he's called us to be so that we can do what he's called us to do right where we are. Buck was a major instrument in the calling on my life. He was a no-nonsense businessman. What his children have spoken to you is true. He never showed up late, not one time. And when he came in that studio, he came to work. He didn't bring any baggage. If he had problems at home, you never knew it. This man set foot on stage and we started to party. Yes, we did. I am so thankful that I got to know Buck Owens for 41 years, buddy. 41 years. And every time I'd see him as we walked down the hall, if we had a chance, we were all moving so fast, he'd either wink at me or just keep going, or from time to time he would stop. And he would say, you know, my mama loves you. He said her favorite song is Amazing Grace. So today, for my mentor, for my friend, and for my hero, I sing. Amazing grace How sweet, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once, I once was lost Oh, but now I am found I was so blind, but now I see And it was grace that taught this old heart to see And don't you know it's grace that fear relieved. And oh, how precious, oh, how precious did that grace appear. Jesus, I love, I love Thee. And when I Ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun We know, let's say, all we're gonna see Is a wonderful place, and in the way We know that day are we gonna see. It's a wonderful place, far away. We can't be alone. I want to say to my friend, I love you. I will see you again. And oh my, will we see.