Christmas of 1996, Drs. Tod and Jane Stillson gave their Bremen families a gift of life: an announcement that Jane was pregnant with their second child. Just days into 1997, the sweethearts of Bremen High School's class of 1983 learned that Jane had breast cancer and in order for her to survive they had to abort their unborn daughter.

"Abortion is not an option," father-to-be Tod was quoted to say. Jane, a doctor of pharmacy, was offended at the thought that they should "play God." She was going to give birth as God planned. "It wasn't even an agonizing decision," Tod said in April. "We believe that God is in control and he hasn't made a mistake," Tod said then, and repeats now. "Our Christian belief is that abortion is wrong in God's sight. It wasn't a mistake that Jane was pregnant. And it wasn't a mistake that she has breast cancer. We are going to trust Him..."

Thus began the courageous journey of Jane's pregnancy and cancer. "God has his promises," Jane said. "He's never forsaken his people."

On May 22, Jane and Tod, each 32, and their 18-month-old firstborn, John, welcomed tiny Jessica Jane into the world. Within days after the birth, Jane had a bone-marrow transplant.

“Those weeks in the hospital during the transplant were the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with,” Jane says. “I was broken — physically, mentally, emotionally. I had an 18-month-old and a newborn at home. I couldn’t watch their almost daily development. I couldn’t hear Jessica’s cooing and John’s ‘talking.’ I couldn’t hold them or kiss them.”

A few weeks after the birth, in yet another example of faith, the Stillsons moved--sight unseen--to their new home in Plymouth, a house that Jane and Tod's mothers had selected. Jane's parents bought a home in the same neighborhood in order to be near their daughter.

“We’re hanging on to Him,” Tod says. “It’s glorious and wonderful. It’s painful and hard. He’s taken us places that you wouldn’t go in your own human self; to see what can happen when He takes you there is great. I hope and pray and continue to intercede on Jane’s behalf that He’s going to be merciful and keep Jane alive a long time. For me, selfishly. For our children, selfishly. We want so much for our children to know Jane, to remember her.”

"When we found the cancer had spread to the bones, that was a very big blow," Jane said. "They medically can't cure me. That was the biggest let down, but I'm not depressed. The Lord has been my strength."

Jane spent most of her days focusing on her children. She also wrote in her diary and recorded the children’s special events on a calendar, hoping to preserve her role in their early years. Photos of past family times and the video camera were always handy and, as her condition takes its probable course, she wrote letters and tape record messages to her children for events later in their lives.

The Stillson's story is known throughout the country. Her ordeal had been chronicled in newspaper and television reports and in a cover story in Focus on the Family magazine. The couple received cards, letters, and email from thousands of people, and had been placed on prayer lists across the nation, news reports said.

"She was a living example of biblical faith, choosing to daily trust the Lord to meet all of her needs," Tod wrote in an email message to friends. "She was a great woman who was willing to give up her own life for our child." In addition to her husband and daughter, Jane is survived by her 4-year-old son.

I close this tribute with a quote from a good friend: