Nancy

A friend from my Fresno church passed away suddenly on Sunday.  She was 64, but other than being a diabetic, always appeared to be in excellent health.  Her heart just stopped beating, three times over the weekend while in the ER after going because she wasn't feeling well.  She passed during first service and they announced it in church.  We were all stunned.

She and her husband Gary were raising their two grandsons, Shawn (8) & Andy (6) after their daughter Colleen had become unable to take care of them.  Colleen had just gotten her life back together and regained custody of the boys.

Nancy was a children's ministry worker like me, but she had the 2-year-olds while I had the 3's, 4's or 5's.  And she had the Awana Cubbies, while I was in T&T or the Games Director.  She was one tough cookie, but fiercely loving.

In the memorial program was a 1" x 3" scrap of paper.  None one knew what they were for.  When Pastor Jim gave the message, he provided several anecdotes about Nancy, the most notable one being knowing when she had entered the sanctuary because she sat in the 2nd row behind him and he would smell her perfume, Red Door by Elizabeth Arden.  The scraps of paper were scented with that perfume.  It was a wonderful way to remember her.