Goodbye, Grandma Riggs

Last week, on October 3, Brett's Grandma Riggs passed away. Though she had been in poor health for some time, her passing came as a surprise. We were in Kalamazoo for the visitation Friday night and Three Rivers and Kalamazoo for the funeral services Saturday. Even though we certainly would rather have met under happier conditions, it was nice to see each of Brett's cousins, aunts and uncles -- his sister Alison was even able to get in from Colorado, which was really great.
Grandma and Grandpa Riggs have been members of Oakwood Bible Church for 40 years, and taught the toddlers' class for many of those years. A good number of those toddlers, now grown, came to both the visitation and the funeral. It was nice to see the faces of so many people we'd heard so much about... as was mentioned repeatedly over the last few days, Grandma Riggs was a talker, and she liked to tell you about all the people in her life. Brett and I heard multiple times from people who were strangers to us how they'd heard all about Nora. I don't have a copy of the obituary with me, but if I get one, I'll edit this post to include it here. In the meantime, please keep Brett's Grandpa and the rest of their family in your prayers as they mourn a woman who was such an important part of their lives.

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Unfortunately, I received additional sad news on Sunday. The little girl in our prayer requests who has been battling a brain tumor lost the fight this weekend. Sophie Quayle passed away in her mother's arms at 11:55 pm on Saturday. Our family has never met Sophie's family, but I have read her parents' blog for several months. Their faith and love is exemplary and an amazing example for all. Please keep this family in your prayers as they prepare to bury their little girl on Friday, October 12.

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Lastly, just wanted to include a quick note about my sister Genevieve's marathon run since a few people have asked if she's ok. As you may have heard, Chicago experienced record highs this weekend and the race was shut down after 3 1/2 hours. Genny was past the shut down point, finished the race, and is doing fine. I haven't spoken to her yet, but I understand it was a very, very rough day. Thanks to all of you who kept her in your thoughts and prayers on Sunday.