When Michelle Clyne was little, her father, Henry “Hank” Clyne, had her convinced that he hunted dinosaurs. When she’d draw pictures of his grand adventures, her teacher would say what a great imagination she had.
To the Chicago resident who flew to San Antonio to attend UT Health San Antonio’s Burial of Ashes ceremony to inter the cremated remains of those who gave their bodies for student education and to pay tribute to the donors, the event provided a special opportunity to honor her father’s memory.
“I was not expecting to be this emotional, since it was three years ago that he passed, but this was the closest to a funeral that I was able to experience,” Clyne said.
Clyne, along with her sister, Jenni Stewart, and brother, David Clyne, recalled the beautiful details that made their father who he was. His great mustache. His love of broccoli cheddar soup. His compassion for animals. His sweet, gentle demeanor. His love of science and teaching.
“I’m a teacher, and he used to come to my classroom to teach how the planets rotate around the sun,” Stewart recalled. “And he did it for us kids when we were little with a flashlight and a basketball.”
The Clynes were among about 150 people who attended the interment ceremony at UT Health San Antonio’s Memorial Park on April 29. Attendees included donor family members and the university’s faculty, staff and students, who expressed their gratitude for the donors’ important contributions toward educating students.
Honoring donors’ generous, selfless contributions
The ceremony began with music, including an instrumental quartet composed of first-year medical students from the university’s Music and Medicine group, followed by a vocal performance by graduate students from The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Vocal Music Department and department chair John Nix, and rounded out with a rendition of “Amazing Grace” by internationally recognized bagpiper Robert Chalk. Chalk has participated in the event since 2004. He served as the supervisor of anatomical services for UT Health San Antonio’s Body Donation Program before moving to the University of the Incarnate Word’s School of Osteopathic Medicine as director of UIW’s Willed Body Program.
Omid B. Rahimi, PhD, professor and director of the Human Anatomy Program at UT Health San Antonio’s Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, welcomed the attendees and expressed appreciation to the donors’ family members.
“This ceremony reflects our profound gratitude and respect for all the participants in our body donation program and conveys our appreciation for the compassion and support of their family and friends, regardless of occupation, social standing, age, health or ailment,” Rahimi said. “Each donor’s remarkable gift equally contributes in shaping the well-being of future generations.”
Following the speakers, which included faculty and students, family members solemnly walked past the gravesites marking the donations of previous years and placed a red flower or a handful of dirt to pay their respects.
Click here to read the full article in Mission online, including heartfelt tributes from students and additional reflections from family members.