Made like him, like him we rise, ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Greetings in the risen Christ to everyone on my mother's Christmas card list.
My mother, Bea Cardinal, died in the afternoon of April 10, 2007, at the age of 91 years. She would have turned 92 on May 29. Despite her age, arthritis, and diabetes, she had been in fairly good health up through February 14. In the process of trying to diagnose severe tendonitis, a tumor was also discovered. (This was her third experience of cancer.) My mom reminded us that she had a 91 year old body and it wasn't going to get any younger. When the cancer began to overtake the other issues, she knew it was time to go.
My mother died on my father's birthday; he would have been 94 had he not died last summer. Alton and Bea had known each other for 87 years and were married for nearly 60 years. I'm happy that we were able to write down the stories of both their lives before they died.†
Mom often quoted the refrain "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" as the epitome of practical theology. We sang this song in her honor at the funeral. Bea didn't think much of showy religion. Instead, she wanted to exhibit Christ's caring to the people she was with. She joined (or helped to found) several local groups to bring Christ's love to others in Green Bay and Wisconsin, and for years it was her tradition to remember family on birthdays and holidays by making a gift to Heifer International.
Mission work in the church was one of the continuing themes in the lives of both my parents and my mother was active in the United Methodist Women for all the years that I can remember. So it seemed natural that the memorial gifts collected at the time of Bea's funeral should be donated to the UMW of St. Paul's United Methodist Church for use in missions. (The other long-time theme of my parents' lives was St. Paul's Sunday School, which received the memorials at the time of my father's death.)
May Bea and Alton and all of God's saints live forever.
† My parents' stories are available on the internet: http://pivotrock.net/CardinalFamily.html