My dear, dear friend Marcy died yesterday. It's an awful blow to everyone who knew and loved her.
I knew Marcy for just short of six years. In 2012 Jim and I bought a condo in a gated community near Phoenix, AZ where my sister and brother-in-law lived. I knew that community very well from having visited there and walked extensively through the village. I had researched it for some time on line and when we made an offer on a unit it was Marcy's listing. That's how we came into contact.
The first year we stayed there for just six weeks so it wasn't until later years when we extended our stays to four months that I got to know Marcy. The clincher in our relationship came when she asked me to teach her how to sew. She had had a bad experience in "Home Ec" but really wanted to be able to make clothing for herself and for gifts for friends and family. We usually spent several hours once a week creating first simple things and then increasingly more complex items. She has appeared on this blog a few times, celebrating her finished projects, most recently the rather complicated jacket that she finished early in February, just before we left to come back to Alberta.
When Marcy was born the doctors told her mother not to let her siblings bond with her because they thought she wouldn't live more than six weeks due to congenital heart problems. Her mother, good for her!, ignored that advice and Marcy was cherished as part of the family. Marcy survived not just six weeks, but babyhood, childhood, adolescence and well into adulthood.
It wasn't easy for her. She was often unwell, but had an indomitable spirit. She truly maximized her life, becoming very involved with family, with friends, with church and with community. She did a great amount of volunteer work. Marcy loved to take classes and learn new things. She also loved to travel. She loved to help people, even some annoying, demanding people whom others would have dumped! Marcy made the world a better place!
Marcy said the nicest thing about Ron that I've ever heard a woman say about her husband. One day when she was talking about the blessings in her life she numbered among them: "I have a husband I just adore!" And she let her friends know that she loved them also. Marcy had a great heart!
Unfortunately, her physical heart was not doing well. The last four months of her life were a daily struggle. The doctor at UCLA who specialized in her particular problem had suggested an operation designed to give her better quality of life, although it was an experimental procedure. After resisting for quite some time, she and Ron finally agreed to have the procedure done.
I asked all my friends to join me in praying for her on Wednesday. She faced the operation with courage and calm. On Tuesday evening at 9:45 p.m. she wrote to me: "Tomorrow is my surgery date. God is with us and is in control. I love you and will talk with you after the surgery. Bonnie will give you updates tomorrow. Marcy"
The operation did not go as we all had hoped. Marcy never regained consciousness and very early Thursday morning she passed on into the next life. Bonnie said something to me yesterday that struck a chord, "For the first time in her life Marcy has a whole body."
I'm so sad that she is gone. She was only 53 years old, but had really lived those 53 years. For Marcy herself, I'm glad. She's free of pain now. She was the most truly Christian person I've ever met and I have no doubt about where she is now.
Bless you, Marcy! We love you!
I knew Marcy for just short of six years. In 2012 Jim and I bought a condo in a gated community near Phoenix, AZ where my sister and brother-in-law lived. I knew that community very well from having visited there and walked extensively through the village. I had researched it for some time on line and when we made an offer on a unit it was Marcy's listing. That's how we came into contact.
The first year we stayed there for just six weeks so it wasn't until later years when we extended our stays to four months that I got to know Marcy. The clincher in our relationship came when she asked me to teach her how to sew. She had had a bad experience in "Home Ec" but really wanted to be able to make clothing for herself and for gifts for friends and family. We usually spent several hours once a week creating first simple things and then increasingly more complex items. She has appeared on this blog a few times, celebrating her finished projects, most recently the rather complicated jacket that she finished early in February, just before we left to come back to Alberta.
When Marcy was born the doctors told her mother not to let her siblings bond with her because they thought she wouldn't live more than six weeks due to congenital heart problems. Her mother, good for her!, ignored that advice and Marcy was cherished as part of the family. Marcy survived not just six weeks, but babyhood, childhood, adolescence and well into adulthood.
It wasn't easy for her. She was often unwell, but had an indomitable spirit. She truly maximized her life, becoming very involved with family, with friends, with church and with community. She did a great amount of volunteer work. Marcy loved to take classes and learn new things. She also loved to travel. She loved to help people, even some annoying, demanding people whom others would have dumped! Marcy made the world a better place!
Marcy said the nicest thing about Ron that I've ever heard a woman say about her husband. One day when she was talking about the blessings in her life she numbered among them: "I have a husband I just adore!" And she let her friends know that she loved them also. Marcy had a great heart!
Unfortunately, her physical heart was not doing well. The last four months of her life were a daily struggle. The doctor at UCLA who specialized in her particular problem had suggested an operation designed to give her better quality of life, although it was an experimental procedure. After resisting for quite some time, she and Ron finally agreed to have the procedure done.
I asked all my friends to join me in praying for her on Wednesday. She faced the operation with courage and calm. On Tuesday evening at 9:45 p.m. she wrote to me: "Tomorrow is my surgery date. God is with us and is in control. I love you and will talk with you after the surgery. Bonnie will give you updates tomorrow. Marcy"
The operation did not go as we all had hoped. Marcy never regained consciousness and very early Thursday morning she passed on into the next life. Bonnie said something to me yesterday that struck a chord, "For the first time in her life Marcy has a whole body."
I'm so sad that she is gone. She was only 53 years old, but had really lived those 53 years. For Marcy herself, I'm glad. She's free of pain now. She was the most truly Christian person I've ever met and I have no doubt about where she is now.
Bless you, Marcy! We love you!
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