Opening Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 5:1-8

We’ve come to honor Judy today. She lived a good, productive and serving life. Judy was a secretary by profession. And, most important, Judy was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and neighbor.

Through out her life Judy lived in a number of different houses. Now she has move again. That’s the way I understand Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians. He seems to be saying that death is simply moving out of an old house, one that has served its purpose, into a new house

In this life, this life on earth, we move from one house to another for many reasons. Sometimes the old house has grown to small. Sometimes it suddenly became too large. Sometimes the old house has deteriorated and time has made it unsuitable. Sometimes the old house is just in the wrong location. Maybe it was in Maryland instead of Missouri or Bolivar instead of Independence. There are many reasons, but the basic reason is always the same. The old house no longer fits our needs.

The body is like a house. It suits us well here on earth, but it is unsuited for heaven! “Flesh and blood cannot inherent the kingdom of God.” It suits us well in the beginning, but time takes its toll on the house. We are glad, really, that we are not imprisoned forever in these houses. They are too fragile. They are much too subject to accident and injury. They are too vulnerable to infection and disease. They wear out too quickly. Our muscles grow weak. Our eyes grow dim. Even the memory becomes uncertain. Oh, be assured, these bodies are marvelously made, and they suit us well for our temporary home on earth; but they are not permanent. There comes a time when it’s appropriate to move out of the house of this body into that “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

So, we are confident that the true Judy is not here before us. What we see here is only the house that she once lived in. But the house is empty now. Yes, Judy has moved out. She has returned to her origin.

When Paul points out these facts about death, he causes us to think about our feelings concerning death. There is always a little sadness at moving out of a house. There are so many happy memories attached to it. (Tell about moving after 40 years at the Grandview house.) All that we know of a person we attach to the body. We can’t know a person in any other way. All our memories are associated with the body. So there is a sadness on moving day.

However, the sadness of moving out of the old house is tempered by our anticipation of what lies ahead in the new house. What will life be like in the new house? We wonder, we hope and we guess. This anticipation softens our sadness. Isn’t the same thing true today? We are truly saddened to see this house that we once knew now empty. But we wonder about her new house, that “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” What is it like? What exactly do we have to look forward to? God prepared so well for us here on earth. Therefore can’t we imagine, don’t we believe, that he has prepared things far more wonderful for us in heaven? He fitted our bodies so well for the time we are here on this earth. How grand must be the body made for eternity!

So, today we feel a sadness, but we know the sadness is all on this side. Those who have already entered into the joy of the Lord know no sadness. It’s left to us, still here on earth, to anticipate what may lie ahead.

Paul approaches this subject with great confidence. It is a confidence born of great faith. Paul says, “We know!” He doesn’t say, “We think.” He doesn’t say, “We feel.” He doesn’t say, “We believe.” Nor does he say, “We hope.” Paul says, “We know!”

Where did Paul get all that confidence? Surely it’s his faith in God and in Jesus, God’s Son. We, you and me, can find that same confidence if we have that same faith. A funeral director once said, “When a family walks into my office to make arrangements for a funeral, I know at once if they have faith.” He didn’t have to ask. He could tell! Faith makes a difference in everything, and it makes all the difference in the time of death.

The Apostle John joins with the Apostle Paul in this confidence. Over and over again in his testimony to the Christians, John wrote, “We know! We know! We know!” We guess about many things, but we don’t have to guess about our future. We may have theories about many things but our future is not just a theory. It is a fact!

So, we come today with many things which we must put a question mark after and with one thing which we can put an exclamation mark after. We may have questions about life. And we have even more questions about death. We don’t understand this, and we can’t comprehend that. There is so much we don’t know; but there is also one thing we do know. We know it beyond all doubting. We know we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, a house eternal in the heavens.

We are not here today to guess, to imagine, to hope; because like Paul, “we know.” We can share Paul’s confidence because we share Paul’s faith. There is a lot we do not know, but we do know this. We know it because, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” We know it by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We know it by the very nature of Creation itself. God went to a lot of detail when he created us. God made us for this purpose—for eternity—for something beyond.

Dear friends, and family, we may be sad today, but we are not uncertain. Our hearts may be broken, but God’s promises are never broken. So, today we set aside Judy’s earthly dwelling place, her house of clay, the tenement of time. We do it with confidence because the true Judy is not here but is already in her new home in the presence of God. And that, my friends, my nieces, grand-nieces, nephews and my dear brother, is were our comfort and our hope lies, Judy is at home with God—in a “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

Closing Scripture Reading: John 14:1-3

The fifth day of September, 1916, the village of Goodson, Missouri welcomed their newest citizen as the family of Nellie and Talbert Lair brought into the world their daughter, Jewel Berniece. She was baby sister to Alta, Garland, Leone and Helen. The family was completed with the birth of baby brother, Rudd.

When Jewel was an impressionable 10-year old, the peace and happiness of the Lair family was saddened by the death of sister Alta, a young mother. This tragic loss made the bond between the remaining five siblings even stronger. Many happier memories of childhood and youth were topics shared at family gatherings throughout the years.

Jewel, graduated from the high school at Fairplay, Missouri. She then left the area, moving to Kansas City to pursue additional education. Her skills in the secretarial field were enhanced and further developed with her studies and graduation from The Business College of Kansas City. Her expertise as Executive Secretary benefited her the choice of positions of responsibility and self-sufficiency.

Cupid was lurking, and Jewel, now fondly known as "Judy," was joined in marriage to Frank Porter. Their happiness was heightened by the birth of a daughter, Judy Diane. In a few years a second daughter, Barbara Lynn joined the family. The two girls, Diane and Barbara, were the source of much joy, pleasure and pride for Judy. As the needs of the girls became more independent, Judy again resumed her love of the business world. She took a position with Black and Veach. After a few years, she transferred to Hettinger Company and a final position with Webb Belting Co.

Meanwhile, in 1951, she married Cecil Bronson, and they made their home in Grandview, Missouri. Eventually, Cecil's employment required their move to the state of Maryland. After several years, they returned to the Kansas City area.

During the span of years, brother Garland and sister, Leone, had died. Judy had developed a special closeness to her sister, Helen, and brother, Rudd. Helen and Rudd were living in Bolivar, Missouri. Cecil and Judy moved there, enjoying several years of comfort in a retirement community. During this stay, the sisters had great sadness in the death of their brother. Cecil and Judy moved back to Independence, and shortly thereafter, the death of Helen was grieved. This left Judy the lone survivor of her family.

Meanwhile, the daughters married. Diane became Diane Majors, and her blessings to Judy and Cecil were three lovely daughters, Jenny, Hallie and Amy. Being their Grandparents was an incomparable joy. That joy was amplified with Jenny's four daughters, Morgan, Camille, Abigail and Danielle, and Hallie's three sons, Alec, Sam and Jacob. Judy's role of Grandmother, and then Great-grandmother was beautiful to behold. The only mar to her joy of family, was the miles that separated them. Diane in San Antonio, Texas, and the granddaughters and their families in various Eastern locations. But her pleasure with Barbara's marriage to Will Bunch, and their close-by residence in North Kansas City helped fill the longing for "the family".

Judy's ability to open her heart and her home and the warmth of hospitality made their home a frequent stop-over for Cecil's family of three children, Frazier, David, and Brenda - their spouses, and their children, as well as Cecil's brother and two sisters and their families. She welcomed them all, and melded them into her own special family.

The beauty of her life was seen from in her eyes, because that was the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. Her true beauty was reflected in her soul, the caring that she lovingly gave and the passion that she shared. Her beauty grew with her passing years to be concluded as she took residence in her heavenly home, January 24th, 2000.

Although we rejoice in her new dimension, we shall miss the moral support, joy, hope, compassion, and ideals Judy shared with each of us. Our lives are enriched by the gift of Judy's life.

Obituary written by Alyce Cavanaugh 1/26/2000