Gloria Jean Hicks-Gibson (mother)
remarks I made at the funeral of my mom
Thank you for being here with our family today. My mom was an amazing person and you can tell by the people here today she was loved by many.
You will note on your program we are having a reception in her honor immediately following the service at the cemetery. In our family no one is left out or left behind. If you care enough to be here today you are welcomed and invited to join us in celebrating her life – and she would want you there.
So, my mom. I could keep you here all day and night talking about her, but I will take a moment and share a few thoughts.
She grew up on main street in what was really a tough time – late 30s, 40s and 50s.
When she met my dad it took him asking her three times for a date before she said yes. I guess it was worth the effort for him because they celebrated 61 years on January 4th this year.
My dad really loves my mom. My grandma once told me when he started coming around she couldn’t throw the pan of dishwater out the front door without hitting Gerald in the face.
My mom always made us smile. Just a few days ago I got mom a new Elvis in concert CD. She couldn’t hardly walk but had made it to the kitchen and we were listening. Dad came in, hardly able to walk himself, and she said I’m listening to Elvis, want to dance? Even through all the pain, she always kept smiling.
She also had her bicycle bell from when she was little that she was so proud of – and a few weeks ago I put it on her walker for her and she would go around the house ringing her bike bell and said If anyone gets in my way I’ll ring my bell to get them to move. Even though she was in great pain, she never lost her sense of humor.
I’m not really sure how she managed, but she raised three boys – four if you count her brother Sparky. And boys can be difficult when you were an only child girl.
She always loved us, even when boys would be boys. Like when she came home one day to find Gary and Sparky throwing her record collection off the front porch like Frisbees.
Or when she had to take Rex to the doctor because he tried to gross everyone out and stuck a frozen pea up his nose and when it thawed it got too high in his nasal cavity and wouldn’t come out.
Or holding me in the emergency room when I was in second grade because I insisted on throwing away the broken TV antenna that she told me not to mess with because it was sharp and I insisted on cleaning up the patio and took it to the trash can anyway and fell and needed stitches in my hand. I remember her nearly passing out watching Dr Morgan sew my hand up and I was upset that I didn’t listen to her. I also remember the nurse pushing me in a wheelchair and Shrimp saying I looked like Ironsides and I haven’t liked wheelchairs since.
My mom always made it as easy on us as possible and never wanted us to worry about things. We eventually learned she had cancer for a while but she didn’t let on like anything was wrong. She had this idea of if you didn’t talk about it nothing would happen. Gary had gotten sick and she wanted him to be the focus. It was one month after his passing we learned she had Stage 4 cancer and a life expectancy of 6 months. But she fought through for just over two years. What a fighter.
We could never surprise my mom. I learned early to not even try to sneak around because she would know. When Sparky tried to skip school and come to our house, my mom happened to be off that day and he met her in the hallway after he climbed in a window. She took him back and nagged at him the whole way. Later he said you can’t do anything in this town without Jeanne finding out about it.
After we found out she had cancer it was her 78th birthday. The only thing I managed to hide from her was that I had a friend who was a professional Elvis impersonator. We had a birthday party and she was on the patio enjoying everyone and then we played the Elvis concert intro music and out came my friend Ashton in full Elvis in Hawaii attire and he did an entire concert, throwing scarves and giving her the cape and all. It was one time in 51 years I actually surprised her.
Me and my mom have a special relationship. We could always laugh together. Years ago she and dad wanted to have everything for their passing taken care of so we wouldn’t have to worry. They got a headstone made and put up at the cemetery. I told her I didn’t like seeing that and she said well I don’t want you to have to do it when something happens to me. Well the next Memorial Day I took the flowers out to decorate for her. I looked at that darn headstone and thought hmmf and threw some flowers in her vase too. When I took her out there to see them all I told her if she was going to have the darn thing I wanted her to see how I was going to decorate it too. She thought that was so funny and I did that every year since.
Last Mother’s Day I spoke at church and she was there. This was part of that talk:
She has taught and done many things for me over the years. I cannot even begin to name all of the things – and I am no different from anyone else. From sitting in the hot sun when I started school because I didn’t want her to leave my sight out of some unbeknownst fear, to believing in me throughout teenage and young adulthood, to being 50 and middle aged – she still worries and cares. Even though she is now sick herself, she still worries about me, and about her other two sons who have now gone beyond the veil. She has said she doesn’t want to leave me, but she wishes she could go check on them too.
A mother’s love extends beyond the veil. It is eternal. A love that has no end.
One of our church leaders, Jeffrey R. Holland put it this way:
No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. Motherhood is an eternal partnership with God.
The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.
In our church we have a saying, Families Are Forever. I know that thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, He has made that eternal bond of families possible.
A few years ago our family was going to Utah for the 4th of July. I had to work and Terry and the girls went a few days before me. I took them to the airport, we said bye, and they went through the security line and were out of sight. They were gone on their journey. I was no longer with them. I had work still to do. They were happy but I was sad. They arrived to find many family and friends welcoming them. A few days later, I too started the journey. Mom and dad were sad I was gone, but I was happy to be joining my other loved ones. When I arrived I was greeted by them and was happy. Thus it is with passing from this life. We are sad, but they are happy being greeted by the loved ones who have traveled before into the presence of our Savior.
We are sad today and that is okay, for even Jesus wept upon hearing about the passing of Mary and Martha’s brother. We are sad for us, but let us be happy in knowing that God’s plan of salvation is real, and if we hold onto the Savior we can have our families forever and that she is free of the pain and that she is with so many loved ones that she missed dearly.
To my girls, and to my niece and nephews and their families I say – you – each one of you – are Neannie’s legacy. Go forth, live life and do good – and you will be with her again.
To mom – Thank you for your role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity. Thank you for giving me life, and I look forward to being part of our eternal family. I love you and I will be with you again.
In Jesus name – Amen.