Below is the eulogy that daughter Regna spoke at Justine's Funeral Mass on Friday, January 9, 2009. (Please click on the Gallery link at left to see photos with captions, and feel free to add your own stories and pictures.)

"I'm Regna Merritt, daughter of Justine.

On behalf of my brother Stephen and sisters Gail, Ann and Susan, and Justine's entire family, I thank you for joining  us to celebrate her life.  Your love for Justine and your connection to her mean a great deal to us and to the Earth.  We already miss our passionate and compassionate Mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend.

Our mother, the firstborn child of Roy, a riverboat captain on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and Lucile, a teacher, grew up in Saint Louis - a beauty and a debater. Her keen intelligence led her to Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois, where journalism was her first love.  Our father, Glenn, was her other early love.

Together they built a life and a family. A teacher in their early years together, Justine felt certain that, when it came to having a family, she would be the proud mother of five sons.

First came Stephen, then came Regna, then Gail, then Ann, then Susan.   That was one of many surprises in her life.

What is not surprising is that we all benefited from her love and affection, and have so many fond memories.  Memories of handpainted birthday cards, homemade dresses at the beginning of each school year, hats made out of  hydrangeas,  hot dishes like Blanche's casserole, and warm blueberry muffins served on the beach.

I should note here that, while Justine's desire to cook vanished after decades of feeding a large family, her appreciation for shared meals, hot fudge Sundays, Expresso Madness ice cream, and regular TGIF gatherings lived on.

We remember Justine as a voracious reader, who appreciated her writers' groups, great literature, murder mysteries, and a favorite movie "Babe."

Justine was creative through all phases of her life, finding beauty everywhere and honoring that beauty through her poetry and embroidery, some of which you'll see later today. Her art became a rich expression of soulful prayers and her passion for social justice and peace .

Justine was fearless.  She fought racism during tense times in Chicago; took a trek to Africa without friends or family; anchored a half-way house for troubled men in Denver; and, when nearly penniless at age 50, took a summer job as a salad prep cook.  

She loved the Earth and all its inhabitants.

And this was one of her biggest surprises: she was called to convert to Catholicism in 1975.  Four years later she made formal vows to live a life of simplicity and devotion to God and, in 1982, she was called to work for peace.  During a silent retreat that year, she dug beneath her fear and pain to face the reality that, in her words: 

"the lives of my grandchildren are in jeopardy; that every shell, flower and bird are in jeopardy and that nuclear weapons make each one an endangered species."

She went on to do the improbable – what some thought impossible -- crisscrossing the country and the globe, inspiring and activating thousands to tie a gorgeous Ribbon made of 25,000 individual segments around the Pentagon. Ten thousand people encircled this symbol of war with her symbol of peace on August 4 th, 1985 - the 40^th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Justine changed thousands of hearts and minds through that colorful, peaceful demonstration and through the intense work of building hope. The work she started with the Ribbon continues today internationally. 

And she forever changed the course of my life by introducing me to a participant in the Ribbon, Joseph Miller, Jr.  Joe, who died in 2007 at the age of 96, worked with a passion and discipline similar to my mom's. He inspired me and many others to work together to protect the stunning forests that provide Oregonians with pure drinking water and critical wildlife habitat.  

Justine has been a profound inspiration to us.  She showed us that each one of us, drawing on our own creativity, courage and love, can make a huge difference.  Each of us can leave a legacy for future generations. 

And she proved to us that a life of simplicity can be a very rich life indeed. 

In closing, we thank our sister Ann, her husband David Coleman, and friend Mary Ryan who provided Justine with special love and care since she chose Eugene as her home in 2002. 

And I also want to recognize and thank her dear friends in the Saint Mary's community who provided steadfast spiritual support and strength over these years. 

Justine's enormous light has moved on but her spirit and love remain here in our hearts."