Cowboy’s Last Ride

Hundreds gathered to celebrate the life of Michael Israel during a festive and spiritual ceremony at Whispering Hills.

Friends and family members pulled a wooden cart carrying Michael’s shroud-covered body along a path through the forest to his final resting place at the edge of a beautiful meadow. A riderless horse, carrying Michael’s shirt and hat, was part of the special procession that followed behind the pallbearers, symbolic of Michael’s last ride on Earth.

“We call it the cowboy’s last ride,” explained Daryl Fletcher, a good friend of Michael’s and owner of the SOOFA Ranch in Winston, Georgia, which is dedicated to helping people of all ages build self-confidence through their involvement with horses.

“Michael Israel cherished his time with family, and he truly enjoyed riding and caring for horses at the ranch. They had a positive impact on his life, and he spent a big part of his most recent years teaching inner-city kids about horses and sharing the joy and therapeutic benefits they can offer to everyone,” Fletcher explained. “We’re all here today to celebrate Michael’s life that will most certainly live on in all of us who he touched and inspired in so many ways, including the countless kids from all walks of life who he introduced to horses and the outdoors.”

A Passion for Nature
Michael was a true outdoorsman, according to Judith Israel, a close family friend who recalls Michael’s passion for hunting, fishing, archery, cycling, and horses. “Michael loved being outdoors close to nature, and he always said when his time comes he wanted to be buried in a shroud in a peaceful place surrounded by trees and rolling hills,” she recalled.

“We found that place for Michael, here on the edge of the forest at Whispering Hills, in a meadow that will fill with wildflowers every spring,” Judith shared. “Michael is now at peace in a setting he would surely love, under the trees just an hour from his home in Anniston, Alabama, and just over the hill from horses in the field.”

Michael was a 29-year Army veteran, a husband, a father and grandfather. “He was a quiet man whose actions spoke louder than words ever could,” his wife Basya Adi Israel shared after the ceremony that drew more than 200 friends, family, and fellow church members to Whispering Hills Natural Green Cemetery and Memorial Nature Preserve in LaGrange, Georgia.

A Memorable Celebration of Life
It was an incredibly memorable and moving celebration of the life of Michael Israel. Church leaders offered prayers, loved ones shared memories and framed photos of Michael, while dozens of friends and fellow church members filled the valley with the sounds of their spiraled Shofar horns in a touching tribute.

“It was such an unforgettable ceremony in an incredibly beautiful place that Michael would love so much,” noted Fletcher. “I will forever miss Michael, and I will surely visit him in the years to come in this special place that’s open to all walks of life. This is just the kind of setting I’ve envisioned for my own final resting place. I’m so glad to know it exists so close to home.”