I just got home from a funeral celebrating the life of dear friend Nancy Ford. Born on June 28, 1930 in Allegheny, PA, she was just a few months older than Mom. She died September 19, 2014, following a months long battle with cancer. It was very aggressive, as it was only diagnosed in the spring. After one round of chemotherapy, she chose not to undergo more treatment simply to prolong her life a few more months. Her quality of life was probably better as a result. Her suffering was certainly briefer.
I first met Nancy and her husband Jim in 1998, when I moved in with Mom and began volunteering with Meals on Wheels. They had become friends of Mom and Dad through the organization. When Dad passed away in February 1998, Jim took over as treasurer. Jim subsequently passed away in September 2003, just short of eleven years ahead of Nancy.
Nancy was always a hard worker, whether it was with her bird farm and bird band business, or whether it was volunteering for her bird club, Meals on Wheels or her church. She truly had a servant's heart, and will be truly missed by family, friends and church alike.
That didn't mean she didn't find time for fun. She enjoyed bingo at the senior center, knitting her neverending afghans--many which found their way into "opportunity drawings" at the annual Meals on Wheels dinners--going out to lunch with friends, traveling to Washington and other parts of the country to visit family--although not as much after Jim's death--and many other activities that I'll never know about.
She had a very dry sense of humor, and wasn't shy about sharing it. She had her email list, to which she often sent fun items she received from others or found on the internet. One way another friend realized something was wrong was when she stopped getting those emails. That seems to be the wave of the future for so many deaths in the 21st century.
You will be missed,Nancy.
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