Recommend a Tolkien passage suitable for a memorial service

Cafe Society
1

A close friend of mine passed away last week, and I am going to be assisting her husband in spreadiing her ashes at sea. I need your help to find a Tolkien passage that would be appropriate for bidding her farewell.

If you are wondering, why Tolkien?, you need to know a little about Billie. She was 56, in poor health with multiple medical problems, and had never read any of the Tolkien books. But she loved movies, and when The Fellowship of the Ring movie came out in 2001, I took her to see it (her husband declined to come along, as any movie that is not a Western is not worth the effort). She was mesmerized, and immediately became a Tolkien convert. We went to see it again, and she resolved to read the books, which I bought her for Christmas. Unfortunately, her poor vision prevented her from reading the fine print of the paperbacks I had purchased. She eagerly awaited the release of the next movie, and bought the DVD of FOTR as soon as it was available.

When The Two Towers was released, we stood in line in the cold gloom of an Alaskan December for opening day. Later that day, Billie suffered an asthma attack that landed her in the hospital, but when I visited her, all she could talk about was that movie, and how she couldn’t wait for the final installment. She begged me to tell her how it ended, then stunned me with an ominous prediction: “I don’t think I am going to make it until next December”. I was taken aback for a moment, then assured her that was nonsense, we would be there for opening day, and I didn’t want to spoil it for her. But just in case, I began looking in to audio versions of the Tolkien trilogy so that she could listen to a reading of the ending. But Billie’s health improved over the spring and summer, and I put off buying it, certain that she would enjoy the final installment with the same enchantment as the previous ones.

But it was not to be, and she passed away suddenly last Tuesday. She loved the world that Tolkien created, and revelled in adventures of the Fellowship. Billie was not particularly religious, and I would feel awkward reading anything from the Bible. I would appreciate your recommendations of something inspirational from the trilogy that I could read as we send her on her journey, as I think that would be a more fitting tribute to the friend I loved.

Thank you.

2

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the place where it began
Now far along the road has gone
And I must follow, if I can
pursuing it with eager feet
Until it meets some larger way
Where other paths and errands meet
And whither then, I cannot say.

For some reason I remember this from having memorised it two decades ago. You might want to check and be sure that’s exactly right (I’m not sure it’s the word “place” there)

3

Down from the door where it began.

Here’s a website of Tolkien quotes:
http://www.coldal.org/quotes.htm

4

Gandalf:

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end
of our fellowship in Middle-earth.
Go in peace!
I will not say: do not weep;for not all tears are an evil.”

5

pug, that is a beautiful choice. The last line always chokes me up a little.

6

Ilu ná vanya, fanya, ëari,
The World is fair, the sky, the seas,
i cemen, ar ilya i ëa tessen.
the earth, and all that is in them.
Nan lá ëa sére indonyan sinomë tennoio,
But my heart resteth not here for ever,
an sinomë ëa tyelma, ar euva metta ar i narquelië,
for here is ending, and there will be an end and the Fading,
írë ilya nauva nótina, ar ilya hostaina, i mettassë:
when all is counted, and all numbered at last,
ananta úva tárë fárëa, úfárëa!
but yet it will not be enough, not enough.
Mana tárë antuva nin Ilúvatar, Ilúvatar
What will the Father, O Father,
enyárë i metta pella, írë Anarinya queluva?
give me in that day beyond the end when my Sun faileth?

Excerpted from “Firiel’s Song” by JRRT

7

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.

Fellowship of the Ring JRRT

8

I finally found the passage I was looking for, praise of hope amidst grief:

“Far above the Ephel Duath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.”