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It's been almost three years since Maryanne Liscio's father left this earth.
But she feels his presence through the hummingbirds, which have visited her in the most remarkable of ways since George Downs' death in Sept. 2016.
"Dad was fond of hummingbirds," Liscio wrote in an essay, recalling how he liked to watch the “hummies” from his patio in western Henrico. "He delighted in their fast movements, flight patterns and stunning beauty.
"When Dad talked about hummies his words conveyed a sense of wonder and awe about these tiny creatures God created."
Liscio and her husband were living in California when her father had an experience with a hummie that he couldn't wait to share with her over the phone.
"My parents’ garage door had been open all afternoon on a hot summer day, and a hummingbird found its way in," Liscio says, "but couldn’t get out."
Liscio's father watched helplessly as the tiny bird flitted back and forth in a panic for awhile. Exhausted, it finally settled to rest on his workbench, and Downs was able to capture it. He marveled for a minute at the bird's incredibly fast heartbeat before taking it outside and gently placing it in the grass, where it soon flew away.
As Liscio exclaimed in wonder at her dad's tale, he told her, “Oh no, that’s not all. You will not believe what happened the next day."
While he was sitting on his patio, Downs said, "The hummingbird came right up to me and hovered in front of my face. He then circled my head and returned to hover again and flew away.
"This has never happened before in all my days of gazing at the hummies.”
When I asked my dad why he thought the hummie returned he said, “Oh, I know why he came back.
"He wanted to say thank you for saving him.”
Visits from the hummies
In three separate incidents since her father's sudden death – incidents Liscio believes are signs from God bringing her healing and hope – the hummies have appeared to her.
Her father died six months after she and her husband had returned to the Richmond area. Liscio got a call from her sister that Downs had collapsed and paramedics were working on him. By that evening, he was gone.
Downs had planned his funeral to the last detail, from listing his songs to writing the obituary. He also stipulated that after his cremation, he wanted a small family service at his graveside. Years earlier, Downs and his wife had picked a burial site at Hollywood Cemetery, overlooking the James River, and had joked about it to his daughter when they visited the spot.
"I sure hope you all come up here and visit me.”
Most of the funeral arrangements were complete when Liscio's sister learned from the funeral director that because Downs had fallen before he died, and head trauma was involved, a medical examiner had to see the body before cremation to rule out foul play.
The examiner's schedule was full, and they would either have to delay the service, or move it to the funeral home.
Liscio and her family were heartbroken to think they might not be able to fulfill Downs' wishes. So they chose a third option: praying for an opening in the examiner's schedule – which the funeral director assured them was most unlikely.
The next day Liscio received a call; there had indeed been a change in the schedule, and her father would be examined and cremated in time for the graveside service he requested.
After the call, Liscio went outside to sit on the patio and say a prayer of thanks. As she finished, a hummingbird flew up and hovered directly in front of her face, then circled her head and flew away.
"My heart must have skipped a beat," she recalls. "All I could think of was that my earthly dad was thanking us for not giving up."
She calls that moment the first step towards healing from her father's death, and named her visitor the "healing hummingbird."
Stuck in grief
A month or two later, as chilly fall weather settled over Richmond, Liscio was gloomily sorting through her wardrobe getting out winter clothes.
"Dad really loved this season," she recalls, "and the thoughts of not having him for the holidays were paralyzing to all of us.
"I knew Dad was out of pain and in a better place, but there was still such a strong sense of hopelessness."
As she ruffled through dresser drawers in a haze of melancholy, one of the dresser drawers she pulled refused to budge. it appeared to be jammed, even though there was nothing visible in the way.
Her husband came in to help, and eventually was able to free the drawer. But when he turned it over to look for the problem, they both could only stare.
There, etched into the bottom of the drawer, was the image of a hummingbird (pictured, at top).
After a moment, her husband said, “I bet this is a stamp the company uses. It’s probably under all the drawers.”
One by one they pulled out the other drawers to check for a similar stamp, but the stuck drawer had the only one.
Liscio now calls the imprint her "hopeful hummingbird," because at that moment, she was suddenly filled with hope.
"I knew Dad was doing fine."
‘Hallelujah’
The following March, Liscio attended an Ash Wednesday service at church, and went up to receive her ashes.
As she got back in her car after the service, she glanced in the mirror – and got a shock.
The ashes were in the distinct shape of a hummingbird – an image she quickly preserved with a photograph. She calls this one "my hallelujah hummingbird."
It's been awhile now since Liscio had a hummie visit. But savoring the memory of those three extraordinary encounters has helped her through many a rough moment, and significantly lightened her burden of grief.
Replaying good times with her dad, and telling his favorite stories and jokes, has slowly evolved from a bittersweet pastime to a pleasant one, and she has become more intentional about living a life that honors his legacy.
So Liscio takes special pleasure in following a piece of advice her dad gave her when she and her husband moved to California.
As they chatted on the phone about the move and their new home, Downs made a point of reminding her to be sure and place a hummingbird feeder in their yard.
"He wanted us to enjoy the hummies as much as he did," she explains.
Their move back to Richmond, however, took place only a few months before her dad passed so suddenly and unexpectedly. The Liscios had barely begun the process of settling into their Short Pump home.
"We had not yet purchased a hummingbird feeder for this house," she says.
"We have one now."
