Rick Koepke, Obituary

PILGER — Services for Rick Koepke, 61, of Pilger will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church with military honors at the Pilger Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday from 3 until 8 p.m., with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m., at Minnick Funeral Home in Pilger and continue at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.

He died Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, at his residence.

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Richard Lynn Koepke was born March 27, 1951, in Norfolk to Junior and Doris (Mulinix) Koepke. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Pilger. Rick attended Pilger Public School and graduated in 1969.

Rick Koepke entered the U.S. Army Nov. 28, 1969, with basic training at Fort Lewis, Wash., and advanced infantry training at Fort Knox, Ky. He served as an armored reconnaissance specialist in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division and was later transferred to the American Division H Troop, 17th Cavalry.

In addition to numerous commemorative medals, he was awarded the Bronze Star medal for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces. Rick was honorably discharged in July 1971.

Rick returned to Pilger where he began working with his mother in her upholstery shop. In 1973, he became owner operator of Koepke Upholstery, acquiring a reputation for superior craftsmanship. In addition, he worked for various farmers and bartended at the Pilger Pump.

Following 18 years in upholstery, he partnered in a new business, K & K Pallet in Stanton. Rick was presently employed by J & L Trucking of Stanton.

Rick was a lifetime member of the Stanton VFW Post 3602, American Veterans Motor Cycle Club of Nebraska and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. He served on the Pilger Fire Department for a number of years.

Survivors include daughter Shella and Jeff Thoman of Concordia, Kan., and sons Noah and Isaac; son Jesse and Amy Koepke of Lincoln and sons Briar, Landon and Xander; sisters Sonja and Ray Lehman of Stanton, Linda and Rich Kuehler of Yankton, S.D., and June and John Horst of Wisner. Many nieces, nephews and great friends also survive him.

Rick was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Roger Koepke.

"Joy and sorrow both are for each other. If it were not for joy, sorrow could not be; and if it were not for sorrow, joy could not be experienced." -Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: Life is differentiated by the pairs of opposites.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/say/gayan_boulas.htm If there was no pain one would not enjoy the experience of joy. It is pain which helps one to experience joy. Everything is distinguished by its opposite. The one who feels pain deeply is more capable of experiencing joy. And personally, if you were to ask me about pain, I should say that if there was no pain life would be most uninteresting to me. For it is by pain the heart is penetrated, and the sensation of pain is deeper joy. Without pain the great musicians and poets and dreamers and thinkers would not have reached that stage which they reached and from which moved the world. If they always had joy, they would not have touched the depths of life.    ~~~ "Supplementary Papers, Miscellaneous VII", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)  There is the sun and there is the moon, there is man and woman, there is night and there is day. The colors are distinguished by their variety and so are the forms. Therefore to distinguish anything there must be its opposite; where there is no opposite we cannot distinguish. There must be health in order to distinguish illness; if there were no health and only illness then it would not have been (distinguished as) illness. ... Life is a puzzle of duality. The pairs of opposites keep us in an illusion and make us think, 'This is this, and that is that'. At the same time by throwing a greater light upon things we shall find in the end that they are quite different from what we had thought. Seeing the nature and character of life the Sufi says that it is not very important to distinguish between two opposites. What is most important is to recognize that One which is hiding behind it all. Naturally after realizing life the Sufi climbs the ladder which leads him to unity, to the idea of unity which comes through the synthesis of life, by seeing One in all things, in all beings.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIV/XIV_2_12.htm

"Death is a tax the soul has to pay for having had a name and a form." - Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: All that is constructed is subject to destruction; all that is composed must be decomposed; all that is formed must be destroyed; that which has birth has death. But all this belongs to matter; the spirit which is absorbed by this formation of matter or by its mechanism lives, for spirit cannot die.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XI/XI_I_12.htm That which the soul has borrowed he must give back when it has done its work; it was borrowed for a certain time and for a certain purpose. When the purpose is fulfilled, when the time is finished, then every plane asks for that which the soul has borrowed from it, and one cannot help but give it back to that plane. It is this process which is called assimilation. Since man is born greedy and selfish he has taken all things willingly, enthusiastically -- he gives them back grudgingly and calls it death. ... Death is nothing but the taking off of one garb and giving it back to the plane from which it was borrowed, for the condition is this: one cannot take the garb of the lower plane to the higher plane. The soul is only released when it is willing -- or compelled -- to give its garb to the plane it has taken it from. It is this which releases the soul to go on in its travel. And as it proceeds to a higher plane, after its stay there it must again give its garb back and be purified from it in order to go further. ... This knowledge also throws a light upon the question of death. Death is not really death; it is only a passing stage, it is only a change, as changing clothes.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIV/XIV_2_3.htm

"The lover of nature is the true worshipper of God." -Hazrat Inayat Khan. a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: A true worshipper of God sees His presence in all forms, and thus in respecting others he respects God. It may even develop to such an extent that the true worshipper of God, the Omnipresent, walks gently on the earth, bowing in his heart even to every tree and plant, and it is then that the worshipper forms a communion with the Divine Beloved at all times, when he is awake and when he is asleep.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_15.htm Anyone who has some knowledge of mysticism and of the lives of the mystics knows that what always attracts the mystic most is nature. Nature is his bread and wine. Nature is his soul's nourishment. Nature inspires him, uplifts him and gives him the solitude for which his soul continually longs. Every soul born with a mystical tendency is constantly drawn towards nature; in nature that soul finds its life's demand, as it is said in the Vadan, 'Art is dear to my heart, but nature is near to my soul'. ... Nature does not teach the glory of God; it need not teach this as nature itself is the glory of God. People wish to study astrology and other subjects in order to understand better, but if we study astrology then we are sure to arrive at an interpretation which is given by a man, whereas what we should read from nature is what nature gives us and not what any book teaches us. There comes a time with the maturity of the soul when every thing and every being begins to reveal its nature to us. We do not need to read their lives. We do not need to read their theories. We know then that this wide nature in its four aspects is ever-revealing and that one can always communicate with it, but that in spite of this it is not the privilege of every soul to read it. Many souls remain blind with open eyes. They are in heaven, but not allowed to look at heaven; they are in paradise, but not allowed to enjoy the beauties of paradise. It is just like a person sleeping on a pile of gems and jewels. From the moment man's eyes open and he begins to read the book of nature he begins to live; and he continues to live forever.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XI/XI_III_7.htm 'There is One Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture which can enlighten the reader.' Most people consider as sacred scriptures only certain books or scrolls written by the hand of man, and carefully preserved as holy, to be handed down to posterity as divine revelation. Men have fought and disputed over the authenticity of these books, have refused to accept any other book of similar character, and, clinging thus to the book and losing the sense of it have formed diverse sects. The Sufi has in all ages respected all such books, and has traced in the Vedanta, Zend-Avesta, Kabbala, Bible, Quran, and all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which he reads in the incorruptible manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, the perfect and living model that teaches the inner law of life: all scriptures before nature's manuscript are as little pools of water before the ocean. To the eye of the seer every leaf of the tree is a page of the holy book that contains divine revelation, and he is inspired every moment of his life by constantly reading and understanding the holy script of nature.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_I_1.htm

"Life is a continual series of experiences, one leading to the other, until the soul arrives at its destination." -Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: The truth is to be realized from all things, from religion, from philosophy, from science, from art, from industry. The only difference is that one takes a shorter way and the other takes a longer way. One goes round about and the other takes a straight path. There is no difference in the destination; the only difference is in the journey, whether one goes on foot or whether one drives, whether one is awake or whether one is asleep and is taken blindly to the destination, not knowing the beauties of the way.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_21.htm 'I passed away into nothingness -- I vanished; and lo! I was all living.' All who have realized the secret of life understand that life is one, but that it exists in two aspects. First as immortal, all-pervading and silent; and secondly as mortal, active, and manifest in variety. The soul being of the first aspect becomes deluded, helpless, and captive by experiencing life in contact with the mind and body, which is of the next aspect. The gratification of the desires of the body and fancies of the mind do not suffice for the purpose of the soul, which is undoubtedly to experience its own phenomena in the seen and the unseen, though its inclination is to be itself and not anything else. When delusion makes it feel that it is helpless, mortal and captive, it finds itself out of place. This is the tragedy of life, which keeps the strong and the weak, the rich and poor, all dissatisfied, constantly looking for something they do not know. The Sufi, realizing this, takes the path of annihilation, and, by the guidance of a teacher on the path, finds at the end of this journey that the destination was he. As Iqbal says: 'I wandered in the pursuit of my own self; I was the traveler, and I am the destination.'                  from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_I_1.htm The individual soul is a shoot that springs from the all-pervading Spirit, its goal being its origin; and every attachment it has on its way is, no doubt, a detaining on the journey. The soul is never fully satisfied so long as it has not reached its destination. The love of the external world is a rehearsal before the performance, which is the love of God, the Inner Being.    ~~~ Sangatha II, Tasawwuf, by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

"Life is what it is, you cannot change it; but you can always change yourself." - Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

In Sufi terms the crushing of the ego is called Nafs Kushi. And how do we crush it? We crush it by sometimes taking ourselves to task. When the self says, 'O no, I must not be treated like this,' then we say, 'What does it matter?' When the self says, 'He ought to have done this, she ought to have said that,' we say, 'What does it matter, either this way or that way? Every person is what he is; you cannot change him, but you can change yourself.' That is the crushing. ... It is only in this way that we can crush our ego.

Every time that we notice its pinprick, every time that its thorns appear before our eyes, we should crush it and say, 'What are you? Are you not thorns, are you not the cause of unhappiness for others and myself as well? I do not want to see my own being in such a form, in the form of thorns! I want my being to be turned into a rose, that I may bring happiness, pleasure, and comfort to others.' If there is anything needed in spiritual teaching, in seeking truth, in self-realization, it is the refinement of the ego. For the same ego which begins by being our worst enemy, will in the end, if developed and cultivated and refined, become our best friend.   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_40.htm

"Think, before envying the position of your fellow man, with what difficulty he has arrived at it." - Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: There are experiences such as failure in business, or misfortune, or illness, or a certain blow in one's life, whether an affair of the heart or of money or a social affair, whatever it may be -- there are blows which fall upon a person and a shell breaks, a new consciousness is produced. Very few will see it is an unfoldment, very few will interpret it as such, but it is so. Have you not seen among your acquaintances how a person with a disagreeable nature, a most uninteresting man to whom you were never attracted, perhaps after a blow, a deep sorrow, after some experience, awakened to a new consciousness and suddenly attracted you, because he had gone through this process? As we unfold at every step in our life, so we do with every experience. The deeper the experience touches us, the greater the unfoldment.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIV/XIV_2_19.htm There is a story of a slave called Ayaz, who was brought before a king with nine others, and the king had to select one to be his personal attendant, The wise king gave into the hands of each of the ten a wineglass and commanded him to throw it down. Each one obeyed the command. Then the king asked each one of them, 'Why did you do such a thing?' The first nine answered 'Because your Majesty gave me the order'; the plain truth cut and dried. And then came the tenth slave, Ayaz. He said, 'Pardon, sire, I am sorry,' for he realized that the king already knew it was his command; by replying, 'Because you told me,' nothing new was said to the king. This beauty of expression enchanted the king so much that he selected him to be his attendant. It was not long before Ayaz won the trust and confidence of the king, who gave him the charge of his treasury, the treasury in which precious jewels were kept. This made many jealous, this sudden rise from a slave to a treasurer of the king, a position which many envied. No sooner did people know that Ayaz had become a favorite of the king than they began to tell numerous stories about him in order to bring him into disfavor with the king. One of the stories was that Ayaz went every day into the room where the jewels were locked in the safe, and that he was stealing them every day, little by little. The king answered, 'No, I cannot believe such a thing; you have to show me.' So they brought the king as Ayaz entered this room, and made him stand in a place where there was a hole, looking into the room. And the king saw what was going on there. Ayaz entered the room and opened the door of the safe. And what did he take out from it? His old ragged clothes which he had worn as a slave. He kissed them and pressed them to his eyes, and put them the table. There, incense was burning, and this that he was doing was something sacred to him. He then put on these clothes and looked at himself in the mirror, and said, as one might be saying a prayer, 'Listen, O Ayaz, see what you used to be before. It is the king who has made you, who has given you the charge of this treasure. So regard this duty as your most sacred trust, and this honor as your privilege and as a token of the love and kindness of the king. Know that it is not your worthiness that has brought you to this position. Know that it is his greatness, his goodness, his generosity which has overlooked your faults, and which has bestowed that rank and position upon you by which you are now being honored. Never forget, therefore, your first day, the day when you came to this town; for it is the remembering of that day which will keep you in your proper place.' He then took off the clothes and put them in the same place of safety, and came out. As he stepped out, what did he see? He saw that the king before whom he bowed was waiting eagerly to embrace him; and the king said to him, 'What a lesson you have given me Ayaz! It is this lesson which we must all learn, whatever be our position. Because before that King in whose presence we all are but slaves, nothing should make us forget that helplessness through which we were reared and raised, and brought to life, to understand and to live a life of joy. People told me that you had stolen jewels from our treasure-house, but on coming here I have found that you have stolen my heart.'        from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_III_2.htm