Obituary

Eulogy and Obituary for Paul R. Cope

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Eulogy for Paul Cope

March 31, 2023

by John Partridge

(Note: You can find the live stream of this memorial service here: https://youtube.com/live/X8K5O0xwOwY?feature=share )

Paul Cope was born in Alliance, Ohio on August 31st, 1926, to Paul and Mabel Cope.  He graduated from Alliance High School, and although he was not mechanically inclined, started driving a city bus in Alliance when he was only 16 years old.  Paul served in the Navy for two and a half years during World War II, first at the Great Lakes Naval Station, our nation’s largest Navy base, and the basic training facility for every sailor we’ve trained since 1911 and then was stationed not far away at the Glenview Naval Air Station outside Chicago, which, until 1995 was a naval aircraft training facility. Paul eventually rose to the rank of Seaman First Class.  After the war, Paul got back to work.  He was married to Kathryn and then widowed with two children when she died suddenly at the age of 24.  Not long after that, Paul met Shirley at her place of employment, which was possibly the electric company.  Shirley said that her first impression of Paul, was that his ears made him look “like a taxicab with both doors open.”  That may not be the most positive first impression, but they were married in September of 1951.  Shirley immediately took over the care of Paul’s children, who were then 3 and 5, and eight or nine months later, added Cindi. 

Paul was always busy.  As the president of Cope Furniture, Paul consistently worked 12 hours a day, every day, except Sunday, where you can be sure that you’d find him at Christ Church.  And, after church, you would find him having a Sunday lunch with his grandparents followed by a game of UNO.  That tradition of making Sunday a family day still runs in the family because of Paul’s inspiration and guidance, but with everyone’s busy schedules, it’s gotten harder to do.

In the few years that I’ve known him, I knew that Paul was kind of quiet guy, but his family told me that he’s never really talked much because Shirley always did it for him.  One day last year, Paul surprised Cindi and Andy when the normally quiet Paul suddenly announced from the backseat, “You know, men and women don’t think alike.”  No one is sure what inspired such an announcement, but clearly, he was thinking about something profound.  Paul was always a bit of a ladies’ man, and although he settled down and was faithful to one woman, he still liked to look at pretty girls and did not apologize for it. 

As a family, they often went camping in the summer or they went to Florida together.  Amy remembers spending Spring Break with her grandparents at Jensen Beach in Florida and Paul could almost always be found relaxing during the popular neighborhood cocktail hour holding a martini with one green olive.  At home, despite Shirley being unable to swim, Paul had a boat and  often took the whole family water-skiing on Berlin Lake.  At one time, Paul also had an automatic shift motorcycle with matching gold helmets for he and Shirley.  I’m told that, whenever Paul wanted something, he would pursue it, relentlessly, until Shirley, or Cindi, or whomever, gave in and he got it.  This is how he got his motorcycle, his motor-home, his boat, new cars, assorted toys, and even a leaf blower when he already lived at Copeland Oaks that has its own groundskeepers.

There is also the story of Paul’s riding lawn mower.  Paul liked mowing his yard, I think, but one day, before the advent of safety interlocks, he got off of his mower to pick up some sticks, with the mower still running, and managed to mow a toe or two.  With blood streaming from his foot, Paul calmly walked into the kitchen and, Cindi tells me, this image of her father is why, to this day, that she does not care for the sight of blood.

Paul was always a part of his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren’s lives.  When Shirley worked at Cutty’s Paul changed diapers and babysat his great-grandchildren.  The funny thing is, that before his grandchildren were born, and maybe before his great-grandchildren were born, Paul had never one changed a diaper.  And so, on his first try, and Cindi never quite figured out how, while he got it on, it was on completely backwards.  Paul was supportive of his family at every activity that he could and he had season tickets to their football games just so that he could watch the band at half-time at all the home games.

In the last few months there were many changes to Paul’s life.  He wasn’t too happy about giving up his car and despite the explicit orders of his doctor, he complained about it and insisted that we go ask Bobbi Wright because, Paul said, “She will tell you that I’m a good driver.”  And, shortly before this most recent decline, Craig asked Paul if he was okay with moving from his villa to an apartment in the assisted living building.  Paul answered that he knew that it was coming, and probably should have happened sooner.

In the end, Paul was a man who loved his life, who lived it well, and had fun doing it.  He loved his family and would do almost anything for them.  He knew what he wanted, he worked hard at whatever he did, and was faithful to his wife, to his family, to his friends, to his Jesus, and to his church.  The old joke is that you should live your life so that the preacher doesn’t have to lie at your funeral, and Paul Cope did that and more.  We often say that the mission of the church is to change the world, and if those of us who remember Paul can live our lives as faithfully as he lived his, we will do exactly that.  Paul Cope was just one man, he could not change the world by himself, but he definitely changed his corner of it and made the world a better place for everyone who knew him.

Memories of my Dad

(by Marsha Miller)

My Dad was one of a kind! Without him and Mom, I would be what I am today. 

They took very good care of me, Cindi, and Howard.  They taught us how to be obedient to everyone, no matter what.  They taught us how to respect and treat everyone as we wanted to be treated!

We always had food on the table to eat and you had better eat it or go hungry!  Mom always made sure we not only had clean clothes to wear and that we had clothes to wear.

Dad was a great grandfather and a great great-grandfather. The all loved him very much.

Paul R. Cope

“A Sweet and Gentle Spirit”

March 31, 2023

by Rev. L. Chris Martin

Dear friends in Christ:

We gather here in this sacred and familiar place to worship the God of the ages in loving memory of Paul R. Cope. As I have thought about Paul’s life since his passing into eternal life a little over two weeks ago, I realize that what stands out as most memorable about this kindhearted and considerate man, over the fourteen years I have known him, was his sweet and gentle spirit. Paul was almost always the first person to arrive for the Searcher’s Class, the adult class I have been privileged to teach for the past twelve years. Paul was a man of few words so that when he did have something to say, we all listened. It was a true delight to share the classroom with him.

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Paul was a reliable and predictable sort of guy, the kind of person one could count on to do whatever he agreed to do and to follow through on whatever responsibility he knew was his. Having served as a Seaman First Class in the United States Navy in World War II surely helped to teach Paul the need of completing the tasks before him in an efficient and reliable manner. It was a lesson that he never forgot through his long and fruitful life.

Paul had been married to the love of his life, Shirley, for 59 years at the time of her passing in March of two-thousand eleven. Shirley was so full of life, living each moment of each day fully, and loving and caring for every member of her family in ways that cause the precious memories they have of her to this day. Paul’s memories of the years of their married life sustained him through the last twelve years of his life where Paul lived each day remembering the happiness of the years he spent with his beloved Shirley. Paul thoroughly enjoyed his two daughters and their extended families, and his son, Paul Howard, who preceded him into eternal life.

In addition to what I have shared to this point about Paul and the life he lived, Paul was also a treasured child of God, loved by God with an unconditional love. Just a few days before he passed into eternal life, Paul said to me while he was hospitalized in Alliance, “I really don’t understand why I am here, I’m not sick.” That was a day that Paul seemed to rally, after which his health began to fail. I am convinced beyond any doubt that Paul realized in those last few days of his life that it was time to go home to God, where he could be reunited with his treasured Shirley and the others that preceded him into eternal life.

One of the songs that sustained Paul and the members of his family in recent days was a song first written by John Newton in 1779. The song is “Amazing Grace.”  In 2006, Chris Tomlin wrote an addition to the original song. After the second verse, that reads: “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”  Tomlin added these words: “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, My God, My Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.”

The last verse reads: “The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine. But God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.”  To this verse, Paul would add: “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.” Paul now lives for all eternity, wrapped in unending love and amazing grace. But his sweet and gentle spirit lives on in our memories.

Amen.

Obituary for Paul R. Cope

August 31, 1926 – March 15, 2023 (age 96)

Paul R. Cope, age 96, passed away on March 15, 2023.

He was born on August 31, 1926, in Alliance, to Paul W. and Mabel (Roath) Cope.

Paul graduated from Alliance High School in 1944. He was the owner and President of the former Cope Furniture. Paul served honorably in the United States Navy as a Seaman First Class in WWII.

Paul was a member of Christ United Methodist Church where he was in the Hallelujah Bell Choir, the church choir and was a member of Searchers Sunday School Class. He also helped make peanut brittle at the church for many years and was a Boy Scout Master of Troop 50 for three years. Paul was a former member of Alliance Rotary Club, Washington Ruritans and BPOE #467.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Marsha Miller of Arizona, and Cindy (Andy) Magda of Alliance; nine grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Patricia Ludwig; and two nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Shirley G. Cope, whom he married September 16, 1951, and who passed on March 12, 2011; and his son, Paul Howard.

A celebration of life will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Friday, March 31st at 11:00 a.m. with a visitation one hour prior. The service will be co-officiated by Pastors John Partridge and Chris Martin.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church Music Department, 470 E Broadway St. Alliance, Ohio 44601, or the Copeland Oaks Foundation, 715 S. Johnson Rd., Sebring, Ohio 44672.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601.

Eulogy and Obituary for Judge James H. Williams

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Eulogy for James H. Williams

February 18, 2023

By Rev. Chris Martin

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: we gather in this sacred space to worship the all-powerful and compassionate Creator of the universe and his only begotten Son, our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ, in loving memory of James H. Williams.

There is no other place on the face of the earth more appropriate for us to gather than in this House of Worship, where Jim and his beloved wife of 67 years Peg, first came to worship in 1961. A celebration of Peg’s life was held in this room on the twenty-sixth of August last year. Jim continued to be active in both the Sunday School and worship of this congregation through Sunday, February fifth – just two weeks ago tomorrow.

Jim served in every lay leadership capacity that this church had to offer, including over 40 years as an adult Sunday School teacher, a position he entrusted to me about twelve years ago. On several occasions since his retirement from teaching, I asked him back to teach when I had to be away. He never once said “no” and taught the class as recently as eight weeks ago. Jim Williams was, without exception, one of the godliest, righteous, friendly, intelligent, noble, dignified, strong (in a gentle way), serious (in a fun-loving way), faithful, and committed Christian gentleman I have ever met in 52 years in ministry and 75 years of living in this world. Jim was as “genuine” a person as God ever created. There was nothing timid about Jim’s faith or Christian witness. Jim knew clearly what he believed and modeled his faith daily in the life he lived.

Each of the scripture passages you have heard read today speak eloquently about Jim Williams and the profound faith in Jesus Christ he lived each day of his life. The depth of Jim’s faith was universal – it showed through every aspect of his life, not just those parts of his life related to the church. The list of his accomplishments related to his legal profession and the list of his many activities and leadership positions within the community of Alliance both before and after his formal retirement in the year 2000 indicate that Jim was a person willing to invest his time, energy, expertise, strength and leadership capabilities in a wide variety of activities and organizations that sought to make life better for large numbers of people.

There is another passage of scripture that eloquently describes a man of God like Jim Williams. In the first chapter of the book of Psalms it reads: “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who ponders that law both day and night.” Not only did Jim fulfill the words of this passage of scripture in his professional life as a highly esteemed member of the legal profession, where his colleagues in the law respected his opinions and valued his wisdom; he lived his life following a code of ethics that reached far beyond the law of the land. Jim lived his life according to the rule of God, giving himself and his expertise to those in need.

In the one hundred and twenty-first chapter of Psalms, the psalmist writes: “I will lift my eyes to the hills: from where shall my help come? My help shall come from the Lord who made both heaven and earth. He will not allow me to stumble. He will guard me from all evil; he will protect my soul. The Lord will guard my going and coming both now and forever.” This psalm offers comfort to each of us for a variety of reasons. It was especially a comfort for Jim and Peg after Peg’s diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Jim and Peg took such sweet and loving care of each other when times of sickness came. When Jim underwent procedures with his heart and when Peg underwent chemotherapy – they leaned into one another and cared for one another, along with the ever-vigilant care of their children, Jim Jr., and his wife Lynda, and Sue, and her husband Steve, and the words of encouragement they received from their grandsons.

Let me stop right here to say: your parents and grandparents deeply loved each of you and took pride in every one of your accomplishments.  They also knew and felt keenly the love and support of a compassionate and healing God, who would protect them, walk with them, and love them every step of the journey. They also felt deeply the support of their church and the always caring members of the Searcher’s Class. The folks in the class have been together for decades and genuinely feel the loss of their dear friends. Through the times of illness and the struggles that come with aging, Jim and Peg knew that God was always with them. When I was serving a recent three-month interim for a pastor on renewal leave, my wife taught the class. She reminded me that, in a discussion of the afterlife, Jim asked: “What kind of a job will God have for me in heaven?” Given all of Jim’s many talents and abilities, I am certain there will be a job for him in heaven. I am equally certain that if God doesn’t have an immediate job for Jim, I bet Peg will think of one.

In the apostle Paul’s second letter to his youthful friend Timothy, Paul writes: “Timothy, my son, I am nearly at the point of my departure from this life. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is awaiting me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me. Not only will that crown be mine; it is reserved for all who love God without measure.” Well, dear friends, I can tell you with complete certainty that Jim and Peg Williams have received those crowns of righteousness in the Kingdom of God because I know that both “fought bravely, and without complaint, the good fight; that they both finished the race with God’s grace and peace; and that they both kept the faith in genuine and concrete ways.”

Before we consider the lesson from John’s gospel, permit me a moment to lift up a brief passage of scripture that reflects the beauty and strength of the life we celebrate here today. In the Old Testament prophetic book that bears his name, Micah makes the following inquiry: “What does the Lord require of us?” Having asked the question, Micah provides the answer, saying: “To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” I cannot think of anyone I have ever known that more honestly fulfills the requirements of the God of our Fathers than Judge James Williams. His personal and professional life demonstrated his intense concern for justice. The way he related to individuals on a day-to-day basis revealed his kindness to all people. Walking humbly with his God was how Jim lived his days on this earth.

Finally, what does Jesus have to say to us today from the gospel of John? He says this: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also.” I submit to you that Jim believed and lived those words throughout his life and the truth of the Lord’s Word sustained him, and those surrounding him, at the moment of his death and passage into eternal life.

In the final moments of his life, Jim was embraced by his loving daughter Sue, his son Jim Jr. and his daughter-in-law Lynda. What more needs to be said? Only this: the greatest memorial, the greatest tribute any one of us can give to the life of this wise and strong man will not be achieved by engraving his name on a bronze plaque, although that may well be done. The greatest memorial and tribute we can make to his life is to live our lives, to the very best of our abilities, the way Jim Williams lived his life: “Seeking justice, loving kindness, and doing everything in our power, to WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD.”

Judge James H. Williams – “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the Kingdom of your Father forever and forever” – where there is no suffering, no sickness, no pain – only unutterable JOY in the presence of a loving God and your beloved wife, Peg, who was waiting for you at the gates of Paradise. Amen!

Alleluia! Amen!

L. Chris Martin

Christ United Methodist Church

Alliance, Ohio

February 18, 2023

Remembrances of Jim Williams from Family and Friends

Jim Williams, Jr. (Son)

Dad’s Lesson

We heard through the years of Dad’s career as a judge that in his quiet and stern way he ran a very smooth and efficient Bankruptcy Court. It was well known, if you were a lawyer, and you appeared in front of Judge Williams unprepared, you only did it once!

I too was the recipient of these quiet lessons, but one story in particular defines Dad’s style:

As a teenager with a new driver’s license, I had a midnight curfew. Our folks usually retired early, but Dad had an ingenious way of getting me home on time. He had an alarm clock, set for midnight, on the night stand next to the bed. I was to return home on time and shut off that alarm clock before it woke him up. One Saturday night I was out with friends and got home in time to turn off the alarm. Feeling safe, as if I beat the system, I sneaked back out to join my friends again, and returned home a second time well after 2AM.

Tiptoeing quietly in the back door, I thought I’d pulled off my little caper, only to come face to face with Dad standing in the dark hallway, arms folded with that terrifying stare. He only said these words: “Sunrise service at church starts at 6:30 … you’re going.” He turned and walked away. I went to church. Lesson learned.

Stern but fair…dignified and persistent…loving, generous, faithful, and devoted: These are the qualities that shaped Dad’s life. He was my most impactful example of how to live – and love – and to be remembered as a good man. He is my hero.

Sue Zempke (Daughter)

“Our dad…faithful, honest, compassionate, generous, loving, always present. All these words describe who he was. He was a man who carved his name on the hearts of all who knew him.

And he was so funny…a new restaurant came to town and all the city dignitaries were going to the grand opening. I asked him if he was going, and he said he didn’t even get an invitation because he was pretty sure new businesses weren’t likely to invite the local bankruptcy judge!

And speaking of that, I admit I used his title to my advantage as a young girl whenever the need arose. If I was in a situation where someone wasn’t in agreement with a point I was trying to make I had no problem saying, “I’ll ask my dad. He’s a judge!” Funny how that remark settled many arguments for me!

I will sure miss his wit, his charm, his unwavering faith, and most importantly the fierce love he had for his family. I love you, Dad. You will live on in our hearts forever.”

David Williams (Grandson)

“Never has a man been more deserving of the title “honorable.” Granddad was the epitome of honor, integrity, and stability. He was a man of few words, but those words were always poignant, always considerate, and sometimes, downright hilarious. That sharp wit has permeated through the generations, and any time my dad, my brother or I make a smart remark, we all know where we got it. As the patriarch of the family, I could not think of a better example of work ethic, fairness, and of course, great comic timing. I love you, Granddad.”

Matthew Williams (Grandson)

Granddad was a man I admired. Not only because he was my granddad, but because he was a man worthy of admiration. His and Grandma’s life together was an inspirational love story. He was generous. He was a man of outstanding principles. A man full of love for his career, his community, and above all, his family.

As a kid I used to challenge Granddad to staring contests because “The Judge” was unbreakable. He was intimidating, if you didn’t know he was as nice and gentle as a man could be. As I grew older, I became astounded at his quick wit. He was hilarious, with a dry delivery that frequently offered a sarcasm that I’m told is hereditary.

Our time together was special. Our annual family vacations are something I will not only remember for the rest of my life, but something I would love to carry on in the future. Granddad showed us the things that truly matter, and he lived a life anyone would be proud of. A man to be admired.

Grandsons Andrew and Kevin Zempke

“Never in our lives have we met someone who is more steadfast and devoted as our grandfather. He was a very serious man but also very family-oriented and cherished the finer things in life. He made sure we all got together for a big family vacation every year and some of our fondest memories came from those trips. Regardless of where we were, he made sure everyone was having a good time. As long as we were having fun, he was having fun.

Seeing him speed off in his brand-new Porsche Boxster was a sight to behold. He was such a cool dude. It’s hard to not admire someone like that. I, Andrew, remember looking over at him sitting on a couch at my cousin Matthew’s wedding in a nice suit, drinking his drink, and thinking to myself, ‘I aspire to be that cool one day!’ I, Kevin, often look back on all the family vacations we would go on, none of which would have been possible without him. Whether we spent our vacations on the Outer Banks, or in the Rocky Mountains, the time spent with Granddad and the rest of the family are moments I will remember for the rest of my life.

We will miss you deeply.”

With love,

Andrew and Kevin

The Honorable Ann Womer Benjamin

Mayor of Aurora, Ohio

“I was a new lawyer at Black McCuskey in Canton in 1978. My expertise was probate law, and I had no bankruptcy experience, nor was I admitted to practice before the Federal Court. Nevertheless, as a young associate at the firm, I remember being sent to Judge Williams’ court at the last minute on a matter. I was quite terrified because I had to ask the court’s permission to appear, then had to present on behalf of my firm’s client before a room full of people. Judge Williams couldn’t have been more gracious and helped this amateur navigate the proceeding successfully. I will never forget Judge Williams’ patience and understanding during that challenging first experience for me in Federal Bankruptcy Court.”

Obituary for Judge James H. Williams

Judge James H. Williams, age 88, passed away on February 12, 2023 surrounded by his family.

He was born on February 20, 1934, in Salem, to Howard H. and Lucy Williams.

Jim was raised in Berlin Center, Ohio and graduated from Berlin Center High School in 1952. He earned his B.A. degree in pre-law studies at Kent State University followed by a Juris Doctor Degree from The Ohio State University Law School in 1957. Jim began working as a Staff Attorney with the Ohio Depart of Highways and as an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus. In 1961 he joined what became the law firm of Blumenstiel, Williams and Blumenstiel in Alliance. He was appointed one of eight United States Bankruptcy Judges for the Northern District of Ohio in 1972. He remained in that position until his retirement in April 2000. Judge Williams served the Court as its Chief Judge from 1988-1997.

Active in his community, Judge Williams was a past President of the Alliance Jaycees, a past National Director of the US Jaycees, a JCI Senator, a member and past director of the Alliance Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow,  campaign chairman and past president of the Alliance Area United Way, chairman of the Republican Party in Alliance, member of the Stark County Board of Elections, past president of the Stark County Bar Association, and was  a life member of the Ohio State Bar Association and Fellow of Ohio Bar Association.

Following his retirement, he served as board president of Copeland Oaks Retirement Community, to which he and his wife relocated in 2013, board member of the Alliance-Minerva Chapter of the American Red Cross, president of the Alliance Family YMCA and a founding trustee of the Greater Alliance Foundation. He was also formerly active on the District level of the Buckeye Council, Boy Scouts of America and was a former member of Fillibusters and the Alliance Country Club. Judge Williams became a member of First Methodist Church in Alliance, now Christ United Methodist, in 1961 and served in most of the lay leadership roles of the church. For more than 40 years he was an adult Sunday School teacher.

Those left to cherish his memory are his children, James H., Jr. (Lynda) of Franklin, PA and Susan M. Zempke (Steve) of Mt. Vernon, TX; and four grandsons,  Matthew J. Williams (Kelsey) of North Hollywood, CA,  David Edwin Williams (Racheal Kimeu) of Jersey City, NJ,  Andrew S. Zempke (Kimberley) of Arlington, TX, and Kevin W. Zempke of Plano, TX. 

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Margaret Williams, whom he married August 27, 1955 and who passed on August 21, 2022.

A celebration of life will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 18th at 11:30 a.m. with a visitation from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Pastors John Partridge and Chris Martin will officiate. A private family committal service and entombment will be held at Highland Memorial Park later that afternoon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 E. Broadway, Alliance, Ohio 44601 or The Oaks Foundation, 715 S. Johnson Rd, Sebring, Ohio 44672.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601. 

Eulogy and Obituary for Daniel Kirkendall

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Eulogy for Daniel Kirkendall

February 25, 2023

By John Partridge

Daniel Kirkendall lived a life that made him indispensable to the people around him.  He did anything and everything to help anyone who needed it.  At church he could be found volunteering to serve food or run games at our annual community carnival, and had a good time doing it.  At home, he did just about everything.  When he lived out west, he cared for his former in-laws, and after they passed, and he retired, he moved back to Alliance.

Not everyone would move home as an adult and move back into their parents’ house to help out, but Daniel did.  He was there to take out the trash, walk down the hill (and back up again) to collect the mail, mow the lawn, shovel snow, work on cars, help with grocery shopping or cooking, all around handyman (and could fix anything), and just about anything else that his mom needed.  In fact, Sharon told me that they had fun together going to the grocery store even if they occasionally “lost” one another.

Daniel had a good heart, liked going to church, loved riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, he genuinely liked cooking, and he loved his dog Zizz.

We struggle with the hole that his departure leaves in our lives.  He would be bothered by leaving behind unfinished business.  He had more life to live and more help to give.  He had already given Jeff a guitar, and he wanted to teach him how to play it.  But his passing is a painful reminder that our world is broken.  Moments like this just feel wrong.  Parents should never have to bury their children.  And we can find words in scripture that echo those feelings almost exactly.  Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our world has been filled with pain, suffering, violence, sin, and death. 

But we have hope. 

We have hope because God has promised that our world will not always be this way.  We cling to the promise of God, and our hope in Jesus Christ.  We know that one day Jesus will return and fix what has been broken, set things right again, and return the world to the way that God intended so that once again there is no mourning, crying, pain, or death.  But until that day, we know that Daniel walks with Jesus and we wonder if Jesus likes Harley Davidson motorcycles.  Because of Daniel’s faith in Jesus, and because of ours, we look forward to being reunited with him when our days here on earth also come to an end.

Today we mourn because Daniel did many things for many people, and especially for his parents.  We mourn because we will miss his tender heart and his love for his family, his church, and the people around him.  We can never replace the love that we have lost. But we look forward to the day when we are reunited, when mourning ends and joy returns, and we are comforted because we know where Daniel is, and we know that he is happy, and walking with Jesus.

As it says in Matthew 24, as the women were looking for Jesus in the garden tomb, they encountered two angels who said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  Daniel isn’t here.  He isn’t in this box, but he is alive with Jesus.  And we are confident that one day we will see him again.

Obituary for Daniel W. Kirkendall

  Daniel W. Kirkendall, age 62, of Alliance, died at Mercy Medical Center Monday, February 13, 2023.

He was born October 18, 1960 in Alliance, Ohio to Jerry L. Kirkendall and Sharon K. (Ullman) Kirkendall Riddle.

Daniel attended Alliance High School and Amarillo Community College.

 Daniel drove truck for many years, before retiring from A.E.P.

He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church and enjoyed cars, especially Corvettes.   Daniel could fix anything and liked playing the guitar and riding his Harley Davidson.

Survivors include his mother, Sharon (Casey) Riddle; special friend, Barbara Lung; uncle, Michael (Jeanne) Ullman; half-sister, Heather Kirkendall Trent; aunt, Patty (Russ) Heacock; niece, Alyssa (Kevin Gibbons) Kirkendall; great niece, Cheyenne Gibbons; great nephew, Jeff Gibbons; as well as other nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his beloved dog, Zizz.

He was preceded in death by father; grandparents, Wade and Geneva Ullman; brother, Jeffrey Kirkendall, aunt, Virginia Ottle, and uncle, Joseph O. Ullman.

A Memorial Service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, February 25, 2023 at the Alliance City Cemetery Chapel with Pastor John Partridge officiating.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 E. Broadway, Alliance OH 44601. 

Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

Friends may register online at http://www.ctcfuneral.com.

Eulogy for Judith A. (Judy) Kingan

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Eulogy for Judith A. (Judy) Kingan

February 14, 2023

by Rev. John Partridge

In 1947, was only two years after the end of the hostilities known as World War Two and automobiles, for the first time since the war began, were once again rolling off the assembly line for the average consumer.  At the same time, India and Pakistan proclaimed their independence from Great Britain, the United States launched the rebuilding of Europe with its Marshall Plan, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time, the transistor was developed at Bell Labs, Jackie Robinson played his first major league baseball game, and “The Miracle on 34th Street” was released to theaters.  And in the midst of these auspicious events, Judy Kingan was born to David and Mildred Hostetler.  She became a “Preacher’s Kid” with all of the expectations and baggage that go with that.

As a freshman in high school in 1962 or 1963, Judy asked Don to go with her to the “Gold Digger’s Dance” and having chosen wisely, they dated throughout the rest of their high school years.  After graduation, Judy went to Goshen College in Indiana to get a four-year degree in home economics, while Don stayed closer to home pursuing an associate degree, and joining ROTC, at The University of Akron and Don tells me that a great deal of mail passed between the two of them. After finishing his two-year degree, Don joined the Air Force, they were married, and then Don shipped out for Thailand during the conflict in Vietnam. 

Upon his return home, Don found a new job in Galion, Ohio, they moved, and eventually had three children.  Somewhere around 1980 they moved to Canton, and Don’s new job at Mercy Hospital, and then to Alliance where they spent the last 30 years together.  For her part, Judy worked at a pet store for a while, as a Mary Kay consultant, taught at the Alliance Christian Center School for 10 years, taught job training courses for adults for three or four years, and then took a job at the hospital in food service and, after several promotions, eventually retired.  It’s also worth noting, in light of her time at the pet store, that Judy really liked dogs, but she loved cats.

Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, fought it, and two years later was told that they “got it all.” And they did… for a while.  Until it came back in 2015.  And, when it came back, they said it was aggressive and it progressed rapidly.  But even so, she fought like the warrior that she was for seven years and, according to her family, never once complained.  No matter what Judy was going through, she always thought about everyone else.

And that was Judy’s trademark.  Her family told me that Judy’s love was felt every day in everything that she did.  Friends were always welcome, bread or cookies would be made at the drop of a hat, and the friends of her children often said that if they had a problem, they needed to “talk to Mrs. Kingan.”  She was everyone’s “substitute Mom.”  One of the hardest things that she did was being isolated by the pandemic.  Being immune suppressed while fighting cancer, her doctors told her to stay in, stay home, avoid crowds indoors or outdoors, and even recommended that the grandchildren stay away.  Judy dearly loved playing in the bell choir where she stood, and shared stories, next to Lynn Goldrick.  But she had to quit because of her battle with cancer and even when she was feeling better, and though she might be able to go back for a while, she just didn’t have the strength to stand behind the bell tables long enough.

Anyone who knew her knew that Judy was a crafter.  She loved sewing, calligraphy, scrap-booking, making greeting cards, gardening, animals, flowers, and almost any other craft.  One winter the family was snowed in, school was cancelled, and she and Annie sewed in the basement for an entire week.  They made school clothes, pajamas, stuffed animals, doll clothes, and anything else they could think of.  At one point, Judy entered her doll clothes and some of her homemade bread into for judging at the Stark County Fair and came away with blue ribbons for both.  What’s more, Judy’s grandchildren always looked forward to visiting because they said that grandma always had crafts and “fun stuff” to do together.  Judy also loved making cloth banners, and many of the banners and other decorations that we enjoy each year at Christ Church were the fruit of her labor, passion, and skill.

Judy loved her family and everyone around her, she loved her church, she loved her Jesus, loved cats and crafts of all kinds, and she was a warrior who was not to be trifled with.  She did battle with one of humanity’s greatest enemies and did so for ten years of her life while still doing the things that she loved, loving the people in her life, and living, and loving, as normally as possible and with all the fun and style that she could muster.  We know where Judy has gone.  If she has gotten her way, by now Jesus has a new pair of pajamas to go with the warm cookies that she made, and there are some new banners in the works for the God’s throne room or wherever she’s allowed to put them.

Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus know that when our day comes, Judy will be there to welcome us.  And I am sure that she will and remind you all that she never stopped praying for you, bugging God on your behalf, and you know that she will never stop loving you.  Because she loves you even more than cats.

From Jackson Tittle

(Don and Judy’s son-in-law/Annie’s husband)

To know Judy is to see Christ truly alive in a person.  Judy understood what it is to be Christ to people.  She understood what it is to love.  Those who knew her know of her joy and of her love and compassion for others.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7 ESV)

Judy got Christianity right, she knew how to receive the love of God and then share it with all, unreservedly.  She kept no record and laid down expectations, she simply loved.

Those who know Judy, knew that she lived out the following:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

(Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

(Philippians 2:3-4 ESV)

For believers, to live here should be to love but to also have a longing to be home with our savior…Judy is home! We know with all confidence that she received the greeting we believers all long to hear… “Well done, good and faithful servant…Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt 25:23)

“So, we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NLT)

From Annie Tittle

(Don & Judy’s daughter)

“Mama’s Hands” (written by Annie Tittle)

My Mama’s hands were beautiful,

I’ll always remember them well.

There was always something for them to do, And what a story they’d tell.

Mama’s hands were busy,

But never too busy for me.

No matter what project she had to do,

She could always stop for a cup of tea.

Mama’s hands were nice and strong,

To stitch, or write, or bake.

She could lift a person up to God,

With the thoughtful cards she’d make.

Mama’s hands were teachers,

And taught me things I needed to know.

Like how to be a mother,

To cook, be kind, and sew.

But most of all, I tell you true,

My Mama’s hands were from God.

Every touch, every hug, every card, every word, Told me how much I was loved.

I pray that God will take my hands,

And make them just as well,

A blessing like my Mama’s hands,

And give them a story to tell.

Judith A. Kingan

by Rev. L. Chris Martin

February 14, 2023

Dear Friends:

If someone were to describe you and your attributes in a few words, what would they say? Would they highlight your personality, your distinct features, or maybe your interests or family? Perhaps they would focus on your unique talents or abilities that make you stand out in a crowd. The scriptures are full of snapshots of characters that were important to the spread of the good news of the gospel. Sometimes we get more details than others. In other cases, we listen in on dialogs that give us glimpses into their lives. It is in these studies, as we lean in, look, and listen, that we find truths that can transform the way we live.

Such is the case with a woman named Lydia in the New Testament. Lydia was well known because of her work with precious fabrics, especially the much sought-after rich purple fabric. I introduce you to Lydia in the New Testament because many of the qualities and unique characteristics that she possessed were also acquired by Judy Kingan – at least the qualities and characteristics that I admired the most in Judy.

Growing up Judy was lovingly nurtured in the Christian faith by her parents the Reverend David and Mildred Hostetler, two of the most dedicated and spiritual people I have ever known. Judy learned early on what it means to be and become a committed follower of Jesus Christ. The light of Christ burned brightly in everything Judy did as she shared her faith and the talents bestowed upon her by the eternal God of the ages.

Judy was a very special person to each of us here this morning. Her infectious smile could light up a room. Like Lydia in the early church, Judy always focused on priorities that made life better for those who crossed her path each day. Again, like Lydia, Judy had a depth of creativity that she shared with everyone she met. In the church, Judy loved playing in one of the hand bell choirs, and designed and fashioned worship banners for the Chancel that are among the most creative and stunning banners this Pastor has ever seen. All of Judy’s banners are still in use at Christ United Methodist Church in the appropriate season for each. Judy also invested much time in creating unique greeting cards and in reviving the ancient art of calligraphy.

Far more important than all other attributes, Judy, like Lydia before her, shared the hospitality of her hearth and home with others. Judy profoundly believed that the lives we live in this world determine how others view our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And because of that belief, Judy did everything humanly possible to share her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with everyone she met in life. As a woman of influence and reputation, Judy served as an encouraging example of how our lives can be a testimony to God and his love.

Thank you, Judy, for being such a delightful mirror of God’s unconditional love for each of us.

Indeed, thank you!

L. Chris Martin

Cassaday, Turkle, Christian Funeral Home

February 14, 2023

Obituary for Judy Kingan

Judith A. Kingan, age 75, passed away on February 9, 2023.

She was born on November 1, 1947, in Wooster, to David and Mildred (Warner) Hostetler.

A Photo of Judy Kingan laughingJudith graduated from Goshen College in Indiana with a bachelor’s degree in home economics. She taught K-12 at Alliance Christian Center School for 10 years and then taught adult education in Alliance for several years. Judith was also the breakfast supervisor at Alliance Community Hospital for many years until her retirement in 2014. She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church where she was active in the bell choir and making banners. Judith was also active in the Alliance Calligraphers Club. She enjoyed making greeting cards and sewing.

Those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Donald; her sons, Jason (Kathy) Kingan and Zachary (Shawna) Kingan; her daughter, Annie (Jackson) Tittle; thirteen grandchildren; and two sisters, Sue Hostetler, and Becky Christner.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A visitation while be held at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home on Monday, February 13th from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, February 14th at 11:00 a.m. The funeral service will be live-streamed and can be viewed at the bottom of her obituary on the funeral home’s website.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601. 

Eulogy and Obituary for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

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Eulogy for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

August 01, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

 Almost exactly two years ago, many of us were in this same place as we remembered the life of Arden Tuttle and today, we are here to remember the love of Arden’s life, Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle.

As I spoke with Bud’s family this week, much as we did two years ago, much of our conversation revolved around travels and adventures.  And all our talking about travels and adventures got me to thinking about JRR Tolkien’s books, particularly “The Hobbit” which was recently made into several movie.  At the beginning of the story of “The Hobbit,” Bilbo Baggins, who is a hobbit himself, says,

“We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner!”

But, unlike Hobbits, some human beings seem to be born into a life of adventure and are just built for a life that is filled with them.   Bud Tuttle was one of those people.  Bud’s parents were travelers and, not surprisingly, when they did, Bud went with them.  And whatever happened on their travels together, the traveling, and the spirit of adventure that often found there, got into Bud’s blood.

But before we talk too much about Bud’s adventure, let’s go back closer to the beginning.  Bud was born in Knightstown, Indiana, and grew up on a farm.  In high school, Bud was small, and by small, I mean thin.  Really thin.  And when his mom gave him an ultimatum, to either play football in the fall or go with his friends and drive to California over the summer, Bud’s adventurous spirit won the day.  And, after high school, he found his way here, to Alliance, to study at Mount Union.

In 1948, while he was at Mount Union, he met Arden.  Now, understand that Arden was a looker.  When she arrived, it seemed as if every male on campus noticed her arrival.  She had 14 dates the first week, and Bud, who met her on her first day here, was one of them.  But although she was the center of attention and had plenty of men competing for her attention, Bud was the one, and she took the bull by the horns and told him that she loved him.  Maybe it was because rather than trying to impress her, Bud had spent their time together teaching her how to play bridge.

Soon after college, they were married, but then Bud was inducted into the Army, in the finance office, during the Korean Conflict, and Arden was by his side as he went to training and then stationed in Indiana, and later in Germany, while everyone else that Bud had trained with went to Korea.

In the story of “The Lord of the Rings,” JRR Tolkien wrote, “It’s a dangerous business… going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.”

And, before long, Bud and Arden were regularly being swept off down the road to all sorts of adventures.  They visited 103 countries on six continents and, of all the places that they went, London was far and away Arden’s favorite. (She visited there 15 times!)  Early on, Bud had also made it a goal to visit all 50 states, and he did, even if he had to drive several hours out of his way so that he could get out of the car, and add another state to his list.

And after that first date playing bridge in college, they loved the game together, and continued playing, often twice a week, and sometimes Bud would substitute for Arden and be the only man playing in the ladies’ bridge group.  Bud was a member of the Rotary club for something like 43 years, and over the years he also belonged to the Shriners, Indian Guides, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and was a member of Alliance Country Club pretty much forever.  His children said that, as they were growing up, anytime there was a leadership position that came open in one of their youth organizations, Bud would step up and fill it.  And he was still doing that last year when I asked him to serve on a committee at church.  If it needed done, he did it; if it needed moved, he moved it.

If you knew Arden, you knew that she was not a fan of sports, but Bud was a different story altogether.  Despite taking a trip to California to avoid playing football, Bud was athletic and played basketball throughout high school, and somehow ended up on the football team anyway.  At one point he was the city champion ping-pong player, and we all know how much he loved to play golf.  He tried skiing in his 30’s but that experiment ended so badly that Bud not only never skied again, he could never really go bowling afterward either.  But, as much as Bud enjoyed athletic activities, he never much cared for, or participated in, any kind of exercise just for the sake of exercising.

Bud liked to watch sports as well as participate in them.  He was a big fan of the Ohio State, and the Cleveland Brown (at least in those unusual years when they were fun to watch), and no matter where their travels might have taken them, Bud always needed to know the score of the latest Mount Union game.  He played basketball with Jim, but when he attempted to play with his grandchildren, they were worried that it might just be too much for him and insisted that they play HORSE instead.  And, along those same lines, as much as Bud loved golf, everyone noticed that as his age began to catch up with him, the rules of golf began to, um, relax, a little.

And Bud’s love of competition didn’t stop at sports.  Their family was a family of games players.  They played all kinds of card games, and all kinds of board games, although Bud was not a fan of Risk and Arden did not like Monopoly.  And if Bud was alone, he challenged himself by solving jigsaw puzzles.  Not easy one, and as you or I would define them, not even hard ones.  But huge, ridiculously complex puzzles.  Puzzles with 10,000 pieces (seriously).  And even that wasn’t difficult enough for Bud, so he would work at those gigantic puzzles with specific rules that he made up to make them even harder, or he would turn the puzzles upside down and solve the blank side without the picture.  And woe to the poor unfortunate soul who might offer him help or assistance or dared to move the pieces because he seemed to know exactly where he had left every single piece.

But just as Bud grew up idolizing his father who travelled a lot, Bud’s children grew up travelling with Bud and Arden.  Whenever there were two or three weeks of vacation time, they would set out.  JRR Tolkien once said, “Home is behind, the world ahead.” And that could have described their family vacations.  At 6:00 am every morning they were on their way and would try to add a few new states to Bud’s list on every trip but would almost certainly stop at every tourist attraction and museum that had a sign along the road.  Sometimes they stayed at Howard Johnson hotels, but for two or three years, when Bud was the General Manager at a trailer factory, they would rent a trailer for their journeys. They drove to the New York World’s Fair in 1965, they drove to Yellowstone National Park with a playpen in the back of the car, and there was on time when Randy accidently leaned a folding chair against the side of the crank-up trailer, and it stayed there until they were preparing to pull out for the day’s journey when one of his brothers was cranking down the trailer, and it got jammed… and stuck.  That year, the rented trailer was, eventually returned, but not exactly in its original, undamaged, condition.

But Bud wasn’t all about work and competition either.  He was proud to be from Alliance, and he was proud of anyone who had come from Alliance.  When hometown boy, Len Dawson was scheduled to play in the first Super Bowl, Bud made sure that he sent Len a telegram to wish him luck in the game.  Bud also collected stories, and jokes (and occasionally his jokes were funny).  He liked listening to anyone who could tell a good story.  He knew a zillion of them and would tell them when the time was right, which was almost always.  One of his most famous stories was of a trip that he had made with a friend, in which they got lost in the fog in Tallahassee, and found themselves, as Bud would describe it, going “bumpity, bump, bump” down the stairs of the Florida state capitol building in their car.

And, even though they were separated by four or five states, Bud attended many of his grandchildren’s graduations and other events.  What’s more, Bud was always curious about the lives of his grandchildren, the events in which they participated, and he always remembered what they told him in every conversation, so that the next time he would ask how things went.

Despite his age, Bud was surprisingly good with new technology.  Better, in fact, than some people who are several decades younger.  Bud was pretty savvy on the computer, he printed all of his checks on his computer rather than write them by hand, he regularly used his Apple watch, and lately he has been participating, weekly, in the Rotary Club as well as his church Sunday school class via Zoom meetings.

In the last few years, Bud’s children tried to convince him to move to Atlanta to be closer to them but, not surprisingly, his roots here were just too strong.  His friends were here, his home… and his heart, were here in Alliance.

But finally, Bud has left his home and begun the greatest adventure of them all.  Truly, “Home is behind, the world ahead” and eternity awaits.

May those of us who remain behind be as faithful to our communities, to our churches, and to our families as Bud was.

Bon voyage, sir.  Clear skies and fair winds to you.  Fare thee well.

 

Obituary for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

Ward TuttleWard M. (Bud) Tuttle, age 91, of Alliance, passed away early in the morning on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at Alliance Community Hospital.

He was born November 18, 1928 in Knightstown, Indiana to Benjamin and Fern (Dennis) Tuttle.

Bud graduated from Mount Union College in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. At Mount Union, he was a member of the ATO fraternity.

Bud served in the US Army from 1950 – 1952 and was stationed in Germany for part of his service.

He had a long career as a Finance and Accounting professional, holding management positions, e.g. Comptroller with Alliance Machine, ET Rugg Company and Northern Petrochemical. He then bought and operated Lake Cable Travel before selling the business and travelling the world.

Bud visited 6 continents, 103 countries and all 50 states. He also truly enjoyed being a parent and grandparent, playing golf, bridge and board games and gathering with his friends for Wednesday dinners and Monday coffee. He also was an avid sports fan supporting Mount Union, Ohio State, and the Cleveland Browns.

Bud was married to Arden E. (Davis) Tuttle, his world-travelling partner, for 68 years before her passing in 2018.

Bud was a member of Christ United Methodist church. He was very active in the Alliance community life. In 2009, Bud and Arden were awarded the Alliance Mayors Citizenship award for continuous involvement in the Alliance Community. Some of his civic memberships included Rotary, Shriners, Indian Guides, and Cub and Boy Scouts. He also was a long-time member of Alliance Country Club.

Survivors include : 3 children in Atlanta, Ga – Jeff Tuttle, Jim (Beth) Tuttle and Joyce Tuttle and 1 son in Columbus, Indiana – Randy (Edna) Tuttle; Brother, Robert (Marilyn) Tuttle of Harrisburg, Virginia; and 7 grandchildren, Josh Tuttle of State College, Pennsylvania, Jaime (Martin) Gutfeldt of Chicago, Illinois, Ben Tuttle of New York, NY, Courtney Tuttle of Atlanta, Georgia, Cristy (Derek) Hanke of Columbus, Indiana, and Megan and Bryan Tuttle also of Columbus, Indiana.

Calling hours will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 1st at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home. Interment will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.

Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

Eulogy and Obituary for Robert Crum

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Eulogy for Robert Crum

July 10, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

We remember 1925 as the beginning of many things that shaped history.  In California, the first ever Mo-tel, or Motorists Hotel, opened for the first time, F. Scott Fitzgerald published “The Great Gatsby,” the site that would eventually become Mount Rushmore was selected and dedicated, the Chrysler Corporation was created and manufactured it’s first automobile, Sears and Roebuck opened their first store in Chicago, Illinois, Adolf Hitler published “Mein Kampf”, Benito Mussolini took became the dictator of Italy, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the President of the United States and, in Alliance, Ohio, Robert Crum was born.  Many things were happening, and the economy was booming as never before, but, only four years later, in 1929, the bottom would fall out as with the greatest stock market crash in modern history.  And all these things would shape Robert’s life, and the lives of his family.  Through it all, Robert and his sisters were close, if not the closest, of friends.

Maybe it had something to do with the stock market crash or the Great Depression but early on, Robert’s father, without announcement or explanation, just up and left his family.  And so, Robert, and his sisters, Shirley and Maxine, and took care of one another and, at the same time, took care of their mom.  Robert went to work early in the morning before school assisting a dairy man in his morning deliveries.  At the end of their morning route, the dairyman would drop Bob off near Mount Union and Shirley would ride her bike there to pick him up and ride them both to school.  At the age of 18, Shirley went to work at the West Ely Street Market and a few years later, when the owner retired, she took it over, eventually bought it, married Bob’s best friend Milton Carberry after he returned from World War II, who then learned to be a butcher and joined her there.

And of course, Milton Carberry wasn’t the only young man from Alliance to go to war.  Robert did too.  After he joined the Navy as a gunner’s mate, Robert may have served some of his time on an aircraft carrier, but “his” ship was the USS Dorthea L. Dix, a transport ship that carried troops and supplies on the way in, and carried wounded on the way back again.  I’m not sure exactly when Robert joined her crew, but the Dorthea L. Dix earned six battle stars during the war in support of the Normandy invasion, the invasion of southern France from the Mediterranean, then with Robert aboard, passed through the Panama Canal, on Christmas Eve, when Robert was 18 years old, and into the Pacific Theater where they travelled to San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, the Aleutian Islands, and then landed troops in support of the battle at Okinawa, carried a ship load of the wounded back to San Francisco, and then transported troops back and forth from the Philippines until the end of the war.  Robert often told the story of their transit of the Panama Canal and he was fiercely proud of his service.  For the rest of his life he attended his ship’s reunions from Norfolk, to Boston, to South Carolina, and many other places.  He told his daughters that his time in the Navy were some of the best years of his life.

While he was at sea, Robert knew that his mother and his sisters were struggling, and so he sent half of every paycheck home to help care for them.  But what he didn’t know, was that despite her need, his mother was too proud of him to spend any of it.  And so, when Robert returned from the war and went shopping for a new car, she gave it all back.

After his return from the war, Robert started working at Babcock and Wilcox, got married, had three beautiful daughters, then got divorced.  But despite their separation, Robert was always a good dad.  Not long after his divorce, however, a mutual friend introduced Robert to Sandy, they became friends, and have spent the last 50 plus years having adventures together as often as their busy schedules permitted them to be together.

Robert often missed his daughter Joni.  She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of twelve, had chemo and radiation until she was eighteen and survived.  But then, several years later, because of the damage caused by the cancer and by the chemo, she developed Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and passed away at the age of twenty-seven.

Robert didn’t have any trouble finding things to do.  He worked at B&W for 45 years (but got “passed up” by his daughter Carol who has 48), but also had a lifelong love of horses.  As a boy he helped a local farmer just so that he could be near his horses.  He got to be so good on the back of a horse that he earned the nickname, “flash.” and, as an adult, he bought ten acres of land on McCallum Ave. in Lexington Township where he put up a barn, put in a garden, helped the neighbors bale straw and, at least for a while, kept a horse of two of his own.  He would go out to his place every day and do a little work, and sometimes spend the entire day there.

Along the way Robert also bought a house on Main Street two blocks from where he was born, and he lived there for 68 years.  He knew everybody, and talked to everybody, and knew everything about everybody.  And because he did, everyone just started calling him the “mayor of Main Street.”

Robert also joined the bowling league at B&W, as well as the bowling league for the Elks club and his teams almost always seemed to win.  He loved to help at the VFW fish frys and steak frys or anything else that they did, and he jumped in to help fellow veterans whenever, and wherever he could.  It seems as if Robert knew how much, during the Great Depression, that his survival had depended on the generosity of strangers, and just how much our nation owed to our veterans.   And so, he chose to give back whenever he could.  He would buy piles of shirts to give to a collection for local veterans, or sponsor veterans at Christmas, he never missed a Memorial Day parade or the services to honor the fallen at the cemetery and he was a regular at Freedom Square for the events held there every Veterans Day.

And his children, and Sandy, will never forget all of their vacation travels together or Robert’s solo adventures.  They often spent time at a friend’s cottage at Berlin Lake where Robert also had a boat and together, they did a lot of fishing and boating together.  They vacationed in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Busch Gardens in Florida, Milwaukee, Mississippi, and of course, Las Vegas.  Robert loved Las Vegas.  His family went with him at least ten times but if they couldn’t go, he went anyway, and make more than fifty trips there.  And there were also all the times they spent together at the annual Babcock and Wilcox company picnics and amusement parks and other places as well as a few trips to the Mountaineer resort in West Virginia.  When Robert first started going there, they only had horse racing, but in more recent years he also enjoyed the casino.

In the end, as we all are in ways both great and small, Robert Crum was shaped by the world, and the time, into which he was born.  He was a member of what has been called our Greatest Generation.  He, like his best friend, and many others, answered the call and went to war to keep the world safe and he continued to give of himself throughout his entire life.  He worked hard, but always took the time to enjoy himself, even finding joy in his love of horses, and growing a garden.  But most of all Robert Crum enjoyed the times when he could be with his family and friends, to care for them, and show them the love that he had for them.  His life may have been difficult in the beginning, but it was in those times of struggle that he was shaped into a man of faithfulness, honor, and love.  His family and his friends will remember his presence, his service, his generosity, and his love and if his example has taught any of us anything, then he has been a part of shaping our world as well.  May we be as Robert was, may we live our lives so that we leave the world a better place than the one into which we were born.

 

Obituary for Robert G. Crum

Robert CrumRobert G. Crum, age 94, passed away on Saturday July 4th at the Gables of Canton Assisted Living.

He was born in Alliance, Ohio to Muriel (Elder) Crum on November 28, 1925. He attended Alliance High School before serving his country honorably in WWII in the United States Navy. His death is a fitting tribute to his patriotic spirit from the service to his country to pass away on the day of Independence of this great nation.

Robert was employed with B&W Tube in Alliance as a general foreman for 44 years until retiring in 1988.

He enjoyed bowling, fishing, horses, and traveling to Robert Crum2Las Vegas.  He was a life member of BPOE #467 and a Life member of the VFW Post #1036. Robert was a 75 year member of Christ United Methodist Church.

In honor of his military service, Robert is a “Hometown Hero” with his veteran’s banner at the corner of Union and Wayne, commemorating his dedication and service to his country. He was also selected with the distinction for the Honor Flight for WWII veterans with a trip to the nation’s capital.

Those left to cherish his memory include his daughters, Carol (Robert Sloan) Tallman of Boardman, and Sheryl (Jeff) Lain of Louisville; and longtime partner Sandra Stauffenger of Alliance.

He is preceded in death by his mother; daughter Joni Mastriacovo; and sisters, Maxine Lastivka and Shirley Carberry.

Funeral service will be held at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral home on Friday July 10th at 11:00 a.m., with Pastor John Partridge officiating. Friends may call one hour prior to the service. Interment will be held at Bunker Hill Cemetery. For the safety of the Crum family and visitors, please adhere to social distancing, and bring your own mask.

Memorial contributions may be made in Robert’s name to Christ United Methodist 470 E. Broadway Alliance, Ohio 44601, or to the VFW Post #1036.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 South Union Ave Alliance, Ohio 44601.

Eulogy and Obituary for Linda Montgomery

PastorPartridge Eulogy , , , , , , , , ,

Eulogy for Linda Montgomery

June 22, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

This is hard.

Being here is hard.  Watching this family suffer… is hard.  Losing a friend… is hard.  Not being able to have the celebration of life that Linda deserves, is hard.  All of this is hard.

Everyone that has ever met Linda Montgomery has a story that they remember, and they all want to tell about it.  We have already heard several of those stories.  And, most importantly, as I sat down with Linda’s family this week, they shared their stories with me for almost two hours.  It wasn’t boring or even difficult, but much like it has always been whenever anyone has ever talked about Linda, the stories about her, the love that they had for her, and the joy that she brought into their lives, just flowed out of them.  Everyone who met Linda, felt loved by her because she cared about everyone around her whether they were an old friend or a total stranger.  And in Linda’s world, strangers became friends almost immediately.

The difficulty that I have, is that between the stories that I heard, and those that have been emailed to me, I could stand up here and share with you for hours, and if we opened this microphone and offered you the opportunity to share, we could double that again.  But the reasons that everyone has great stories that they want to share, is because Linda cared about them.  She genuinely cared about everyone around her, she loved them, and more often than not, she put their needs ahead of her own.

One of Linda’s great loves was Mary Poppins, and like Mary Poppins, Linda was “Practically perfect in every way.”  She sang, she danced, and she made everything fun.  Linda literally sang her way through life and made up songs about whatever she was doing regardless of how trivial the task.  And, much like Mary Poppins, Linda brought a new and different energy to any room into which she would step.  In Mary Poppins, Mary and the children stop in the park to feed the birds and to make the acquaintance of the bird lady.  In Linda’s story, she was both Mary and the bird lady.  She loved birds, she loved watching the birds, and feeding the birds, and teaching her children and grandchildren, and anyone else, about the birds.  There was always a bird book near the window facing the bird feeder so that they could identify any unfamiliar birds that visited.  And she got terribly excited when a goldfinch stopped to have a snack and say hello and she made sure that Owen had a good set of binoculars so that he could see the birds too.

And loving birds was only a small part of Linda’s love of nature.  She loved the outdoors and was always happiest there.  She grew up camping and anytime that she went missing, everyone knew that you could probably find her near the fire circle.  And perhaps it was her time spent near the fire circle when she nurtured her ability to make the perfect smore.  She could toast a marshmallow any way that you liked it, from golden brown to crispy, to burnt.  Whatever was perfect for you, she could, and would, toast one just the way you liked it. She loved the water, but she loved being near the water and not on the water.  Whenever she was in a boat, she had white knuckles from holding on much too tightly.  But time on the shore had a much more relaxing and calming effect.

Linda’s father was a photography hobbyist and enthusiast and his love of photography infected her as well.  While she didn’t care to have her own darkroom or develop her own pictures, she was rarely without two or three cameras so that, wherever they went, she could get the perfect shot.

Linda always wanted what was best for her family, she did whatever she had to do, so that her children never knew how tight their money was, and she knew that she could never afford to send Jessica to college so she got work at Mount Union as a housekeeper so that, as staff, she would get a discount.  From there, she worked her way to the supply room, the key room, and the physical plant.  Then she had a heart attack and afterwards the university moved her to a less active secretarial position.  Somewhere along the line, she became “the duck lady” that could herd nesting ducks away from campus buildings and back to the lake.  Later she split her time between the physical plant and the chaplain’s office, and then finally full time at the chapel where, everyone knew that her gifts seemed perfectly matched to her position.  Mary Poppins, in the movie Mary Poppins Returns says, “Everything is possible, even the impossible.” And, Like Mary Poppins, Linda was known at UMU for doing the things that others thought were impossible.

One of things that often stood out, no matter where she went, was that Linda always put the needs of others ahead of her own.  Although she was often critical of herself, no matter who came in her office, she loved them.  Students who were far from home felt like they had a mom they could go to and no matter who she met, she liked to find the things that interested them.  Even when she was undergoing chemo, she was so focused on caring for others, and the needs of others, that many people didn’t even know that she was sick.  And even with all the things that she had on her mind, her friend Sarah Sherer told me that Linda agonized over whether she should retire or not because she didn’t want to leave anyone in the lurch.  She resisted taking sick days or Family leave days even when all of her friends and coworkers were urging her to do so, and to take care of herself, because she wanted to be sure that everyone else was taken care of first.

But as much as she cared for everyone, Linda’s family was everything to her.  As much as she gave of herself as work or at church, she did so many times over at home.  When she discovered that there was a Miami Dolphins playoff game being played while they were in Florida, despite the fact that she was not a Dolphins fan, and despite being undoubtedly expensive, and despite her dislike of driving in heavy traffic, Linda spent all day on the phone, found some available tickets, bought them, and drove to Miami so that Amanda, who was a fan, could have the once in a lifetime chance to see them in a playoff game.

Linda worried too much. She always knew what the weather was in Columbus before Amanda did and would call and warn her to take her umbrella, or to wear her galoshes, or a scarf, or whatever it is that mothers need to tell their children when the weather is bad.  All our moms did that, but Linda made an artform out of doing it long distance.  She worried about Amanda, and that created the need for Amanda to get an Instagram account and what she calls her “Amanda picture of the day.”  Every morning, Amanda would take a picture of herself, and send it to her mom, to reassure her that she was still alive and was doing alright.  This happened every morning, without fail, and if she was late, then Linda worried even more.

She was known for hot chicken sandwiches and cheesy potatoes, She and Sarah often made soup and salad for lunch for some of the faculty, staff, and students after chapel each week, and Linda always knew how to organize it and that chicken and rice certainly ought to be on the menu.  She wasn’t into fancy recipes, but she was a master at comfort food.  She, and her family, were obsessed with ice cream but she never drank alcohol.  This, of course led to a crisis for Amanda when she discovered that Linda was eating Rum Raisin ice cream.  In response to Amanda’s dismay at seeing her teetotaling mom “having alcohol,” Linda just explained that alcohol in ice cream “didn’t count.”

Linda was known for many things.  She was always smiling, rarely angry, she always made sure that the toilet was clean before company came, she had bright shining eyes that everyone noticed and remembered, even strangers would comment that she just smelled good, and somehow she made her favorite Clinique perfumes “Happy” and “Happy Heart,” smell different than they did on anyone else.  Her laugh, the “Linda cackle,” was well-known, could be heard from a considerable distance, often summoned friends who recognized it from around corners, and warmed the hearts of everyone withing earshot.   She loved all things Irish and, whenever the church basement sale received Irish themed items, they generally found their way to Linda before the sale ever started.  She was the favorite aunt that took them to the zoo and bought Evan his favorite dinosaurs and Ben said, “She was always comforting to me.  She always made me feel calm and endlessly happy, like being a kid all over again.  Being with her, and at her house, always relaxed me no matter what bad or stressful things were going on in the world.  I can’t think of someone who is more genuinely happy for others, so proud and thankful for her family, and so strong despite those fears and “quirks” she inherited from Grandma!”

There is so much more.

I know that I can’t tell you all of the stories that I have been told by Lynn, Jessica, Craig (whom she adored), Amanda, various church folk, Sarah, Ben, and Drew.  I apologize for not including them all.  I will add all of them to the text of this eulogy when I post it on by blog, but we just don’t have the time to share them all here.

For you who are her family, I hope that you remember that Linda Montgomery loved Jesus, and loved others like Jesus.  Linda loved others even at the expense of herself and her needs.  But as much as she loved others, she loved you more.  You were her reason to live and her reason to love.  You were her passion.  It was always your happiness that made her happiest.  Mary Poppins said that when the wind changed, it was time to go, even though the children were never ready for her to leave.    Like Mary Poppins, none of us were ready for Linda to leave.  But perhaps, it was just time.  Hold on to the love that Linda had for you.  Remember her laugh, her joy, her smell, her smile, her eyes, her love for others, and her love for you.  It was you who made her happy.  Hold on to the joy, the happiness, and the love that she gave to you.

And, because much of Linda lives on through you, I hope that you will share her love, her joy, and her happiness with the world around you.

Because life is hard, and all of us need more Mary Poppins-es and Linda Montgomerys in our lives.

Linda was indeed, “practically perfect in every way.”

Precious Memories

Linda Montgomery

Rev. Chris Martin

“Precious memories how they linger; how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness, of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”

Linda Montgomery was indeed a precious person. Regardless of the situation in which she found herself, Linda always wore a smile on her face. She showed kindness and compassion to everyone she met, always seeing the goodness in others, choosing to overlook anything less.  Her relaxed laughter made strangers into friends the moment she met them.  Linda was an easy person to love because she had the gift of putting people at ease in her presence.  While she was involved in so many things at Christ United Methodist Church, much of what she did was accomplished behind the scenes. She never sought recognition for what she did for others, preferring instead to work alongside others to share her talents and abilities.  Many of us at Christ Church knew her as the “reception” lady.  Often when there was a reception after a special program at church, Linda would not only solicit home-baked cookies from others, she would bake dozens-upon-dozens herself. Her emphasis was always on home-baked.

When the “Threads of Love” group formed to make prayer shawls for members and friends of the church who needed some additional love and concern, Linda took an active interest in this ministry. She was also instrumental in selecting and procuring a cabinet in which to store the prayer shawls until they were distributed.

When Lynn took over the responsibility of maintaining the church building and property, Linda was right there with him sharing in keeping everything clean and polished. Lynn and Linda had fun working together, often laughing as they completed their tasks.  Most of the conversations I shared with Linda were when I would stop at the church on Saturdays and she would be helping Lynn put the finishing touches on things so all would be ready for Sunday morning.  Those were truly precious times as Linda would talk about her daughters, Jessica and Amanda, and, of course, Owen.  I also remember Linda holding baby Owen in the back of the sanctuary during worship.  What joy he brought to her heart.  Jessica, Amanda and not-so-little-anymore Owen, your mom and Oma loved you more than life itself and still does as she watches over you now from her place in heaven.  Lynn and Linda loved and cared for each other in such a beautiful way, especially in the last months of Linda’s illness, when Lynn did everything he could to comfort and care for her.  Indeed, “Precious memories how they linger; how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness, of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”  Amen.

Chris Martin,

Pastor of Visitation

Christ United Methodist Church

Alliance, Ohio

Drew Shuster

Subject: Aunt Linda

I don’t have a particular story, but I did want to say that I will miss her laugh and her kind heart.   She had the kind of laugh that always made me laugh.   I will miss hearing her laugh at our family gatherings especially at Christmas when we always have such fun playing games and doing funny gift exchanges as a family.  She loved all of us kids so much and she always made sure we knew it.   Evan also wanted to say that she bought him his favorite dinosaurs when they were out together at the zoo and he will always think of her when he is playing with them.

Ben Shuster

Subject: My Aunt Linda remembrance

I just know that my mom and Grandma’s friends would always joke how Aunt Linda reminded them of Grandma Rickard — there was no mistaking she was Grandma’s daughter.  When I was a boy I loved going to Grandma’s house of course!  I always felt so at home there, a home away from my home.  Grandma would laugh and sit and watch us boys go crazy, say funny things, with love and happiness written all over face.

When Grandma passed, and as I grew up, and it became “Aunt Linda’s house” — every time I’d go visit I would think “wow, she really is looking more and more like grandma!”  Her laugh more like grandma’s, the way she’d sit and watch and laugh at us being silly adults.  And she became an Oma herself and it was official!  She was the new “Grandma.”

Since my dad passed away and we moved away, I’ve always felt so uncomfortable in Alliance — but not at that house on Glenwood, and not with Aunt Linda.  She was always comforting to me.  She always made me feel calm and endlessly happy, like being a kid all over again.  Being with her and at her house always relaxed me no matter what bad or stressful things were going on out in the world.  I can’t think of someone who is more genuinely happy for others, so proud and thankful for her family, and so strong despite those fears and “quirks” she inherited from Grandma!

I’ll keep remembering her like I remember my childhood — happy, laughing, joking, peaceful.  And I’ll plan to teach Alex what she taught us — that no matter how tall the odds or what fears we might have, you face them strong and you fight as best you can because your family loves you and will support you no matter what.

We love you Aunt Linda aka Oma!

Sara Sherer

UMU Director of Residence Life

Thoughts about Linda

Before actual “stories” I will say that the things that stood out to me most about Linda were how much she loved to laugh… and she had a great laugh.  She had a servant’s heart – she worried about other people working too hard, but she never stopped.  She loved her family and worried about them, but she was so proud of her girls, and her nephews and sister.  But, she just cared about people and was a great listener.  She was an awesome co-worker.  She always found a way to get things done, even when other people told you they couldn’t happen.

Stories:

  • When I first started working at Mount Union, I didn’t know my own office phone number… I thought I did, but I didn’t.  I had never lived anywhere where there were 2 exchanges in the same city… so I thought all Alliance phone numbers began with 823…. but my office line didn’t.  So, one time Linda called my office and told me that she called a friend and realized that the last 4 digits were the same as a co-workers… and her friend asked, is your co-worker Sara?  Can you tell her to stop giving out my number??
  • Similarly – I used to re-record my voicemail message every week.  We had to, to update who was the emergency contact on campus.  I hated it recording it and often it took several “takes” before I got all the way through the long message without saying something wrong.  Well, one day, I got a voicemail from Linda and she was just laughing so hard.  When I recorded my voicemail, I thought I was starting over with each of my do-overs, but Linda told me that each and everyone of them were recorded, back to back… and that it had taken me 8 attempts that time and she had listened to every single one, laughing harder with each of my attempts.
  • Then there was the time that I donated a coat to the church basement sale and in the coat pocket was a campus key!  Thank goodness Linda recognized the key and figured out it was mine (I was pretty new to church at that time) and got it back to me! That would have been an expensive loss!
  • I think that it may have been Susan Diser who originally invited me to come to choir… but it was sitting with Linda and Lucinda and Diane in the alto section that made it so much fun. The altos always got into trouble with Lanny, the director.  I’ve missed all of them in choir!  (although the altos still probably are the most unruly section!)  The biggest problem I had, besides getting in trouble with the altos, was that we sat beside the tenors, so often I would find myself singing tenor along with Lynn instead of the alto part!
  • Linda was the first person that Ian and I ever visited (outside of family).  I was on maternity leave (and living on campus) and Linda was at home recovering from a heart-attack, so I loaded Ian up in his stroller and we walked to visit Linda.
  • Similarly – I think that Linda was one of the first people to ever meet Mark… the week after he was born was VBS at church (combined with St. Joe’s that year) and Linda and Lynn agreed to pick up Ian and take him to bible school every night.  When she came the first night, she came in to meet Mark, but made a big fuss over Ian becoming a big brother and brought him a stuffed animal dog – of the golden-retriever variety.  Ian immediately named him Sandy and he was the precious stuffy that had to go on everywhere with us.  I was pretty certain Sandy would end up going to college with Ian.
  • For the last couple of years, Linda and I have planned and provided light lunches, often soup and salad, for a small group of students/faculty/staff after chapel service most weeks.  She was a great partner!  I needed a decision maker.  At the beginning of a semester I sent a whole list of fancy soups that I could make… and the one that Linda requested first was chicken and rice!  It was such an “old standby” that I almost didn’t put it on the list.
  • She agonized about whether or not to retire.  She didn’t want to leave anyone in a lurch.  She fought against taking sick days and eventually FMLA even when we were all urging her to take the time off and take care of herself.  She wanted to make sure that we were all taken care of first.

Obituary for Linda Montgomery

Linda Montgomery

Linda Rickard Montgomery, age 59, of Alliance, passed away on June 18, 2020 at the Cleveland Clinic due to complications after courageously fighting leukemia and lymphoma.

She was born June 25, 1960 in Alliance, Ohio to Kenneth and Marjorie Rickard. A graduate of Alliance High School, class of 1978, Linda worked at the University of Mount Union since 1995 where she held many positions, but finally finding her perfect niche in the Dewald Chapel. She was planning to retire this month.

Linda was a member of Christ United Methodist Church where she spent many years as part of the choir and Threads of Love. She also served as the head of the reception committee and a member of the Friendship II Sunday School class. Linda was also a long-time member of Rainbow Girls and the Eastern Star.

Linda loved camping and being outdoors, spending time with her family, Christmas, bird watching.  She was always smiling and bringing joy to others, especially with her famous laugh, the “Linda cackle”.

Survivors include her longtime partner, Lynn Goldrick; daughters, Jessica (Craig) Crider of Salem, OH, and Amanda Montgomery of Columbus, OH; grandson, Owen Crider; sister, Susan (Dieter) Kahle of Solon, OH; nephews, Drew (Erin) Shuster of North Ridgeville, OH, and Ben (Erin) Shuster of Arlington, VA; great nephews, Evan, Isaac, and Alexander.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A private funeral service will held.  She will be laid to rest beside her parents at Alliance City Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made in her name to American Red Cross (monetary or blood donations) http://www.redcross.org or Christ United Methodist Church 470 Broadway St. Alliance, OH 44601.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, Alliance, Ohio.  Friends may register online at www.ctcfuneral.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Linda Montgomery, please visit our floral store.

 

Eulogy and Obituary for Thelma Greiner

PastorPartridge Eulogy , , , , , ,

Eulogy for Thelma Greiner

May 20, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

 

Thelma wanted to have an excerpt of a poem shared at her funeral that was often memorized by grade school children in her day. She memorized it, and although I will share an excerpt of it, Thelma likely memorized all of it.  It became, and remained, a favorite of Thelma’s for her entire life and she often would mention it or recite parts of it.  It was a favorite of Joe’s as well.  If you’d like to read it later, I’ll attach a copy of the entire poem when I post it online.

It is called Thanatopsis.  Thanatopsis which is a Greek word that means meditation on, or contemplation of, death.  It is an elegy that attempts to console humans given that everyone must die.

Thanatopsis

by William Cullen Bryant

So live, that when thy summons comes to join

The innumerable caravan, which moves

To the mysterious realm, where each shall take

His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

We should have been having a birthday celebration today.  With the Coronavirus lockdown in place, many of the cards for the card shower were, and are, already on the way.  It seems ridiculously simplistic to say that this isn’t what any of us wanted to be doing today.  But we are here for the same reason that those birthday cards are in the mail, because Thelma Greiner invested her life in the lives of others.  Friends, church members, and people whose lives Thelma touched, took the time to send cards and well-wishes because her happiness mattered to them.  She invested her life in schools, and her sorority, and in church, and in her community, she loved them, and they loved her back.  And, as her family, you know that better than anyone.

Although her family always came first, Thelma was passionate about, and dedicated to, many other things.  She was an involved and integral part of Christ Church from the time a neighbor offered to bring her, she belonged to the original “Friendship” class, met her husband there, and continued her membership, and her involvement, throughout her entire life.  She was just as dedicated to teaching her students, and to the profession of teaching, whether she was teaching the alphabet and modeling clay in kindergarten, discussing Greek and Roman gods, or conjugating Latin verbs.  Retirement didn’t change that either because teaching never left her.  It was who she was, and it was always a part of her life.  But that passion, dedication, and commitment, carried over into everything else that she did.  Whatever she committed to do, she did wholeheartedly, dove in and became completely involved, and was willing to assume whatever kind of responsibility and leadership was needed.  Thelma was the person who got along with everyone and who didn’t get upset when things didn’t go exactly according to plan.

Thelma Shultz was born in North Jackson, Ohio and was always connected to her family, and to her family heritage, because she made the effort to stay connected.  She took her family on holiday visits to the family farm in Greenville, Ohio, visited family in Kansas and Florida, and took her family to the World’s Fair.  She taught everyone the family history, of which she was so proud, and made sure that they knew that they had family that came to the American colonies with William Penn, and others that arrived through Ellis Island.

Part of Thelma’s attachment to Christ Church, was the handsome young man, Joe Greiner, whom she met, while attending church, and later married.  Thelma was two years older than Joe, and that bothered her so much that she started telling everyone that there was only a one-year age difference.  Obviously, the difference of one year wouldn’t have mattered to her family, but they didn’t find out the truth until she was celebrating a birthday in her nineties and confessed that she was actually a year older.  Thelma and Joe both attended, and graduated from, Mount Union and married in 1945 after Joe graduated from dental school and became an oral surgeon, and before the US Army sent him to Fort Smith, Arkansas to work at the POW camp there.  After the war was over, Joe would remain in the Army Reserves, get called to Fort Knox and active duty during the Belin crisis and, over the years, many of their family vacations would be planned around Joe’s training.  When Joe went to command school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, then Thelma and the family would visit family nearby, and so on.

After Joe was suddenly taken from her in 1975 at the age 58, Thelma led the family alone, but she stayed just as busy, if not busier, than ever.  She continued to travel, but now, instead of Joe, she had Melinda by her side.  And later, her good friend and companion Wayne Jenkins travelled with her, especially to see Melinda and Art in Florida.  They enjoyed traveling and visiting together and were both were welcomed as extended members of the families of the Grainers and the Jenkins.

But no matter how many groups she was involved with, or how many projects that she had, or how much traveling she was doing, Thelma was always there for Mike and Julie.  She was always supportive, always helpful, and didn’t miss anything.  She saved articles about her family, and programs from their school and church activities, and maintained them in her scrapbooks.

Throughout her life, Thelma also had great affection for an “almost” family member, Charles Schulz.  Although his name and her maiden name were not quite spelled the same, she always felt as if they should have been related and virtually adopted him into her life as an honorary relative.  She loved the cast of characters from Schulz’s Peanuts comics, liked his sense of humor, and appreciated the wit and wisdom of his sayings so much that she often shared them with her family and others.  She often repeated saying like,

“Worrying won’t stop the bad stuff from happening; it just stops you from enjoying the good,”

“The smile on my face doesn’t mean my life is perfect.  It means I appreciate what I have and what I have been blessed with.  I choose to be happy,”

and, “Happiness is anyone and anything that’s loved by you.”

Thelma not only repeated these sayings, but her life embraced them.  She had Peanuts saying, and memorabilia to decorate her room for every season and every holiday.  And she especially liked to show off her tiny Schroeder piano that played his music when she touched the keys.

In the end, Thelma knew that her life wasn’t perfect, but she appreciated what she had for as long as she had it, and she appreciated the blessings that God gave to her.  Many of those blessings are here in this room today.  Although this day may not what we had hoped, the birthday cards that have been sent, and more that will likely come, as well as cards and letters of support and grief that you will receive, all stand in mute testimony to the love that Thelma shared for her church, her community, the people around her, and the love that they shared in return.  But I hope that you will never forget that more than any other activity, more than any other people, she loved you and she invested her life in you.  Thelma Greiner loved her Jesus and had confidence in both him and in her eternity.  She lived so that when the summons came to join the caravan to the mysterious realm, she went with an unfaltering trust…

“Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”

 

Obituary for Thelma Greiner

Thelma GreinerThelma Greiner, age 103, of Alliance passed away Wednesday May 13, 2020, at Crandall Medical Center in Sebring.

She was born May 20, 1916, in North Jackson, Ohio to Albert J. and Emma V. (Spell) Shultz.

Thelma grew up in Alliance, graduating from Alliance High in 1935. She graduated in 1938 from Mount Union College and was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She spent her life as an educator in the Alliance, Columbus, and West Branch school districts.

She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church for 93 years, where she was active in the Crusaders Sunday School class and United Methodist Women. Thelma was active in the community as a charter member and past president of Stark County Dental Auxiliary, past president of Alliance Garden Club and the Belleflower Garden Club, Postscript, past president of Alpha Chi Omega Alumnae, member of City Panhellenic, and Alliance Country Club. She also served as a former board member of the Alliance Woman’s Club, and the YWCA.

Survivors include her son, James J. (Jill) Greiner of Alliance; daughter, Melinda (Art) Bradley of Warne, NC; grandchildren, Michael (Jamie) Greiner, and Julie Greiner.

Preceding her in death were her parents; and husband, Dr. Joseph C. Greiner who passed away in 1975; sisters, Kathryn Plajer, and Lilyan Johns; and friend Wayne Jenkins.

The family wishes to thank the Crandall Medical Center caregivers and staff for their kind attention and compassion.

A private service will be held on May 20, 2020, with a memorial service to be held at a later date. Interment will be held at Alliance City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ United Methodist Church 470 E. Broadway Street Alliance, OH 44601.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, 75 S. Union Avenue Alliance, OH 44601.

https://www.ctcfuneralandcremation.com/obituary/Thelma-Greiner

 

Thanatopsis

By William Cullen Bryant

 

To him who in the love of Nature holds

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks

A various language; for his gayer hours

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides

Into his darker musings, with a mild

And healing sympathy, that steals away

Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts

Of the last bitter hour come like a blight

Over thy spirit, and sad images

Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,

And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,

Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;—

Go forth, under the open sky, and list

To Nature’s teachings, while from all around—

Earth and her waters, and the depths of air—

Comes a still voice—

Yet a few days, and thee

The all-beholding sun shall see no more

In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground,

Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears,

Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist

Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim

Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,

And, lost each human trace, surrendering up

Thine individual being, shalt thou go

To mix for ever with the elements,

To be a brother to the insensible rock

And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain

Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak

Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould.

Yet not to thine eternal resting-place

Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish

Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down

With patriarchs of the infant world—with kings,

The powerful of the earth—the wise, the good,

Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past,

All in one mighty sepulchre.   The hills

Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun,—the vales

Stretching in pensive quietness between;

The venerable woods—rivers that move

In majesty, and the complaining brooks

That make the meadows green; and, poured round all,

Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste,—

Are but the solemn decorations all

Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,

The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,

Are shining on the sad abodes of death,

Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread

The globe are but a handful to the tribes

That slumber in its bosom.—Take the wings

Of morning, pierce the Barcan wilderness,

Or lose thyself in the continuous woods

Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound,

Save his own dashings—yet the dead are there:

And millions in those solitudes, since first

The flight of years began, have laid them down

In their last sleep—the dead reign there alone.

So shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw

In silence from the living, and no friend

Take note of thy departure? All that breathe

Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh

When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care

Plod on, and each one as before will chase

His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave

Their mirth and their employments, and shall come

And make their bed with thee. As the long train

Of ages glide away, the sons of men,

The youth in life’s green spring, and he who goes

In the full strength of years, matron and maid,

The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man—

Shall one by one be gathered to thy side,

By those, who in their turn shall follow them.

So live, that when thy summons comes to join

The innumerable caravan, which moves

To that mysterious realm, where each shall take

His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

 

Eulogy and Obituary for Tim Barnhouse

PastorPartridge Eulogy , , ,

Eulogy for Thomas “Tim” E. Barnhouse

September 20, 2019

by Pastor John Partridge

 

I met with Tim’s family yesterday afternoon and, as I often do, I let them tell me stories.  And for an hour or more, the stories, much like the stories that Tim often told, just kept coming.  I’m not sure that I have time to share all their stories with you today, but I’m sure that all of you will be sharing stories of your own over dinner later.  And some of us will be telling, and retelling, stories about Tim for years to come.  But as I was thinking about all that had been said, and after I returned to my office and started looking over my notes, there was one thing that I noticed above everything else.  Usually, when I talk to families and prepare to write a eulogy like this one, what I end up with is a story about that person’s life, when they were born, where they went to school, where they lived, and a few stories that give us snapshots of who they were and what they represented to their families.

 

But Tim’s stories are almost all the same.

 

Almost every one of the stories that I heard yesterday, including the ones that I told, boil down to one consistent theme.  Tim genuinely cared about people.  He was regularly asking the people around him, “Are you alright?”  And he continued asking, even after it was obvious that he wasn’t okay.  The way that his family explained it was that Tim was passionate, and almost obsessive, about making sure that things (meaning the people he cared about, and that was almost everyone) were okay.  It started as soon as you met him.  Tim didn’t just say hello, he had to touch you and make a tangible and personal connection with you, when he said hello.  If you were at all familiar, his “hello” probably also came with a hug, and if you were family, you almost certainly got a kiss too.  With Tim, there were no strangers.  You started off as a friend, and quickly became family.  The way that Tim’s priorities were explained to me yesterday is that Tim always put family first.  After that, there were his friends, then Mount Union, and after that came everything else.  After he lost Doris, he began to refer to all of his female neighbors and friends as his “girlfriends.”  Maybe it was for the humor that he found in saying it, and maybe it was an effort to tell his family that he was doing okay and wasn’t as lonely as they feared he might be.

 

But he was a little lonely.  Tim always missed his mom and he missed Doris enormously.  Adjusting to being single again was hard.  Recently, at church, several folks noticed that Tim was even more isolated and lonely after we lost his friends Elvin and Jack Madison in the span of barely more than two months.  But Tim would never say anything about his own pain.  He did, however, confess that he was happier in Florida than he was here, and everyone knew that it was because he was constantly surrounded by his family while he was there.

 

And the word ‘family’ is a little difficult to define for Tim.  For most of us it’s our parents or our kids, but Tim’s family was, and is, bigger than that.  You all know that Tim was open-hearted and generous and was always there whenever anyone needed anything, but what you might not know is how that generosity, and his sense of what it meant to be a family, played out in his personal life.  Long ago, Tim’s brother took off, just disappeared, and left a wife and several small children behind.  So, Tim, being who he was, just took over as the father figure to his nieces and nephews and functionally became their “Dad” along with his own two girls.  For the younger ones, Tim was the only father that they ever knew.  And there were others that got adopted into Tim’s family circle along the way as well.  For all of these children, nieces, nephews, as well as their children, I’m just going to call them grandkids, all of them, rather than try to explain it all each time, for all of these grandkids, Tim showed up.  He was there for all the basketball games, football games, cheerleader competitions, band concerts, birthdays, and everything else.  If the kids were in it, Tim was there.  And Tim was there so often, that other parents knew who he was, even if they didn’t know his name because he was the guy that was always there.

 

That was sort of a hallmark of the Tim Barnhouse that we all knew.  He was there.  He was there for his family, he was there for his church, he was there for his school, he was there for his community, he was there for everyone.  If Tim saw someone in need, he was there.  If Tim saw something that needed done, he did it.  And no matter what else he was doing, he always had time for you (unless the timer on his dryer ‘dinged’ and then that had to be done before anything else).  Tim liked to talk…, but you probably knew that.  Tim would sit and talk forever.  Many of his stories would begin with “Well…” and then he would tell you the history of all the characters in the story, and all the places in the story, and then he’d finally get around to telling you the story.  He was the kind of a guy that could take an hour to tell a ten-minute story.

 

From the people who knew them both, I heard that Tim had his mother’s heart.  He was always loving, always non-judgmental, and he even adopted his mother’s habit of sending cards to everyone that he knew for birthday’s, anniversaries, and for other significant events.  It was so important to Tim that these cards went out, that in the last couple of weeks, when he wasn’t physically able to do it, he asked others to go out, and buy cards for some of his family that had birthdays coming up, and, although his hands were shaky, he signed them himself, and made sure that there was money inside, so that there would be card to open when those birthday’s arrived.

 

There are so many more things that just made Tim, Tim.  If Tim rode in the car with you, you were free to listen to whatever music you wanted to, but if you rode in the car with Tim, the only things that you would ever hear on the radio were the Indians game, or the news.  Tim wanted, needed, to focus on what he was doing when he was behind the wheel.  He was anxious about getting to where he was going.  Even when he wasn’t driving, he not only wanted to know where you were going, but how you planned on getting there.  Tim always wanted lots of information.  Tim was the guy, no matter where he was, that if the National Anthem was played…, he sang along…, at the top of his lungs…, even if no one else was singing.  He asked everyone if they had checked Consumer Reports, no matter whether the planned purchase was large or small.  He was a guy who loved his Mount Union Raiders but if he couldn’t be in town to see them play, he made sure to give his tickets to someone who could.  Tim was the man who visited everyone that he knew who was in a nursing home.  He was the guy who regularly paid for the altar flowers at church, even when he couldn’t be here to see them.  And whenever he paid for those flowers, he would take them to someone who was in a nursing home or in the hospital, and if he wasn’t here, he left instructions for one of us to take them to someone for him.

 

Tim was a big hugger, and he was a rule follower to the point of occasionally annoying the daylights out of his family, if there was a sign at the side of the road, he insisted that it be followed.  Except speed limits, which Tim often reminded his kids were, “The maximum speed that you can travel, but not the required speed.”  Tim always drove at, or below, the posted speed limit.  The only time that Susan thinks that he didn’t, was the day that she got her drivers’ license and totaled the car while she and Doris were going somewhere.  And, as often and Susan and Tim were at loggerheads with one another, she sat there, at the hospital, fully expecting to be ripped up one side and down the other, as well as hearing story after story about how expensive cars were and how their insurance rates would go up.  But none of that ever happened.  There was never an argument, never a single discussion, and not one mention, ever, of how much it cost.  Tim knew what was really important, and the car, and the money, weren’t it.

 

Tim was the guy who would go to Urgent Care for the sniffles or a sore throat because he wanted to be sure that he wouldn’t miss one of his grandkids’ events and so we know that his health had to be a concern.  Toward the end, it became apparent that although Tim worried about his health, he never shared his worry with anyone else because he didn’t want us to worry.  But, at some point, as he shared with his family, he knew that he wasn’t going to recover and it was at that point that he shared with one of the grandkids that, “The next few months are going to be hard.”

 

In his last days, Tim’s family was engulfed in an overwhelming outpouring of support because of all the lives, from Alliance, to Columbus, to Zanesville, to Florida, that had been touched by Tim Barnhouse.  And at the end, for the man who had lived by the rules, and who always drove at or under the speed limit, and who insisted in always being on time, died exactly on the hour at ten o’clock.  No matter what, no matter how much he was worrying, or suffering, Tim’s ever-present sense of humor endured all the way to the end.  Even at the very end, after everyone thought that Tim was no longer even conscious, as the family talked about Tim’s mom, and her wonderful chocolate chip cookies, cookies that were always available no matter when you visited, suddenly Tim began to struggle, he roused himself and seemed to be in considerable pain, but he did so just so that he could say three important words.  These were simultaneously words of remembrance, words of looking forward, and a reflection of his sense of humor, as Tim struggled with all the strength that he had left to say… “Chocolate chip cookies.”

 

Today, we know that Tim is finally healed.  He is finally at rest.  He has finally rejoined his mom, and God has restored to him a Doris that remembers who he is.  While we grieve, we remember that Tim has finally stopped worrying because the world in which Jesus has invited him, is, at last, perfect.

 

So, you see, in the end, the thing that was consistent and obvious to everyone, was that Tim Barnhouse… cared.  He sent cards because he cared, he visited because he cared, he got involved, he went to games and birthday parties, he told stories, he touched, he hugged, he talked, he was there, he loved… because he cared.  And as I wrote this story about Tim’s life, I was reminded of the words of Jesus from John 14:12.  Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  Earlier, I mentioned that one of the family said that Tim had his mother’s heart, but I also think, that in a lot of ways, Tim was who he was… because Tim also had the heart of Jesus.  And I have no doubt, that also has much to do with why Tim Barnhouse will be remembered as a man… who cared.

 

 

Obituary for Tim Barnhouse

 

Tim BarnhouseThomas “Tim” E. Barnhouse, age 79, of Alliance, passed away at 10:10 p.m., Thursday, September 12, 2019 with his family by his side.

He was born April 24, 1940 in Alliance, Ohio to Elmer E. and Helen E. (Hurford) Barnhouse.

Tim was a 1958 graduate of Alliance High School and a graduate of Mount Union College with a Bachelor’s Degree in math. He was employed by the former Cunningham and Pickett for ten years and The Hoover Company in finance for 35 years before retiring in 2002.

He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church for more than fifty years, serving as chairman on various committees. Tim was a former member of the Board of Directors of the former Family Services of Stark County, served on the Alumni Council of the University of Mount Union, and was formerly treasurer of the Sheep and Swine Committee for the Stark County 4H Club.

Survivors include two daughters; Susan E. Barnhouse and Katharine A. (Lawrence II) Pack both of Etna, Ohio; four grandchildren, Benjamin, Rebecca, Lydia and Samantha; many nieces and nephews; many grand-nieces and grand-nephews; as well as the many close friends who along the way became family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Doris J. Barnhouse whom he married November 5, 1966 and died April 13, 2016; and brother, David Barnhouse.

Services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, September 20, 2019 at Christ United Methodist Church with Pastor John Partridge officiating. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday, September 19 at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home.

Entombment will be at University of Mount Union Victoria’s Garden Columbarium.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Helen E. Barnhouse Trust at Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Alliance, Ohio 44601 or to the University of Mount Union Barnhouse Education Scholarship Fund, 1972 Clark Avenue Alliance, Ohio 44601.

Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home.

 

Jan Stoll – Eulogy and Obituary

PastorPartridge Eulogy ,

Eulogy for Janice L. “Jan” Stoll

June 21, 2019

by Pastor John Partridge

 

In 1937, the world was changing.  The Golden Gate Bridge opened for the first time, “Gone With the Wind” won a Pulitzer prize, Cy Young was elected to the baseball hall of fame, War Admiral won the Kentucky Derby, SPAM was introduced to the world, the Hindenburg exploded in Lakehurst, NY, war was ramping up in both the Pacific and in Europe, and the first commercial airline flight travelled across the Pacific.  And just about the time that Amelia Earhart disappeared while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Janice L. Stoll made her first appearance in Alliance, Ohio.

 

Jan was born on October 25th, 1937 to Lee and Roberta Freytag.  By the time she graduated from Alliance High School, she was steady with her high school sweetheart Bill Stoll and the two of them were married on March 9th, 1957.  Jan stayed home and kept the home fires burning while Bill spent some time in the Navy, but afterwards they raised Tammy together.

 

Jan was a regular at Eastern Star, but she could almost always be found at Christ United Methodist Church and she and Bill made sure that Tammy was there too.  Almost every year the family would take some time off, spend time together, and make a trip out to Garden Grove, California to visit Bill’s mother.

 

In 1993 Tammy moved to Texas and not wanting to be so far away from their grandson, two years later, Jan and Bill did too.  Tammy and Jan had a difficult relationship at times, but Mitchell was always the apple of Jan’s eye.  She was his biggest supporter and his constant cheerleader.  She was there at just about every sporting event or school program that he was ever in and she loved to take Mitchell to play mini golf.  When they played, Jan always let Mitchell win… until she didn’t.

 

One day, when Mitchell was approaching adulthood, she stopped holding back and skunked him handily.  He didn’t take it well and threw his putter into the water.  But Jan just gently talked him down, explained to him the value of patience, and told him that even though winning is great, everyone should know how to lose well.  These are lessons and memories that remain fresh for Mitchell and will stay with him for the rest of his life.  Mitchell remembers that Jan loved to cook, and that she had a jukebox in her home will with old classics.  She regularly played Elvis songs and taught Mitchell to sing Blueberry Hill with Fats Domino playing on the jukebox.  The two of them often bonded discussing the latest news about the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Mitchell said that while Jan may not have approved of every decision that he made, she never judged him and was always there to give him good advice.  It seems to me, that Jan knew that she had made some mistakes while she was raising Tammy, learned from them, and tried to do better with her relationship with Mitchell.

 

The family lost Bill in 2008 and, in 2011, Tammy decided to move to Florida.  At first, Jan thought that she would follow Tammy as soon as she could sell her house.  But it took a while.  And when the day came that her house finally sold, Jan called Tammy and announced that instead of moving to Florida, she was going to move back home to Ohio… and she did.  Maybe starting over, again, in a new place, had lost its appeal, but whatever the reason, Jan came home to her hometown, to the things that were familiar, to the place where she still had friends, and eventually to her Lakeshore apartment at Copeland Oaks.

 

I think Tammy put her finger on one of the themes of Jan Stoll’s life when she said that Jan always tried to do her best.  Ultimately, that’s immensely important.  Jan knew that life isn’t perfect, that we don’t always make the right choices, that everything doesn’t always go well, and that our relationships aren’t always what we wished they could be.  But in the end, no matter how life twists and turns, we all need to be a little bit like Jan.  Don’t give up.  Just keep swimming, just keep pushing, just keep going, and just…

 

…do the best you can.

 

Footprints

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

Obituary for Janice L. “Jan” Stoll

Janice-StollJanice L. “Jan” (Freytag) Stoll, 81, of Copeland Oaks, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 12:00 pm at her home in Sebring.
Born on October 25, 1937 in Alliance, to Lee and Roberta Freytag, she lived in Alliance for most of her life.
A graduate of Alliance High School, Janice was a member of Christ United Methodist Church. She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.
Janice enjoyed antiquing, traveling, beachcombing and collecting shells, and she supported several Native American organizations.
Survivors include her daughter, Tammy Smith of Kissimmee, FL; a grandson, Mitchell Lee (Brittany) Smith of Winter Park, FL; two nieces, Linda (Regis) Valentine and Diane (Ray) Shallenberger; three nephews, Robert Sims, Michael (Kathleen) Sims and Christopher (Rebecca) Sims; several great nieces and nephews; great-great nieces and nephews; cousins, Doris Lowers, Bob (Debbie) Graham and Shawn (Marsha) Graham.
Preceding her in death was her husband, William L. Stoll, whom she married on March 9, 1957 and who died on September 3, 2008; an infant daughter, Jody Lynn Stoll; a grandson, Andrew Smith; her parents; a sister, Carol Sims; and a nephew, William Sims.
The family wishes to give heartfelt thanks to Visiting Angels, Hospice of the Valley, Nurse Debbie RN, her aides, Anna and Audrie, social worker, Rebecca; the nursing staff of Copeland Oaks, and Annette and Mindy of Lakeshore Apartments.
The family will receive friends on Friday, June 21, 2019 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm at Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home. Her Funeral Service will begin at 12:00 pm with Rev. John Partridge, of Christ United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will take place at Highland Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Shriners Children’s Hospital www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org .
You are invited to view Janice’s tribute wall, offer condolences and share memories at www.sharerfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are by the Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home.