Kathryn Hicks

Kathryn Lee Hicks

Mom's spirit is dancing as she hums her favorite melody. She is in the arms of her Momma n Daddy n her husband of 49 earth years. I feel she instilled a love of nature and adventure in all of us. I can hear her telling me which bird that one is by the song or where it sits in the bush or tree, what it eats and when it migrates. Why rocks are shaped a certain way or colored in such fascinating hues. She loved me in spite of myself. I am so grateful and glad I had the chance to tell her and show her before she left this earth. Letting her go has been so difficult. I've missed her voice/ missed our hours long conversations on the phone. I've missed her laughter and her fun jokes and stories.

Some of my fondest memories of grandma's house are her cinnamon rolls in the morning, listening to her "talk" to the chickadees and finches in her yard, and thumbing through her gigantic collection of National Geographic magazines. It was always a problem getting to those magazines, though, because they were upstairs in the spare bedroom and I was convinced the upstairs was haunted. I saw her as a woman with old fashioned values. She wasn't outwardly over-affectionate, but she showed her love in many other ways. I will always remember the tremendous knowledge she possessed and stories she told of her travels. I definitely wish I could have known her better.

Leon was my choir director/mentor at EMC in 1970. He and Billie were faithful to write encouraging notes for 40 years on our joint birthdays (June 7th) and Christmas. In the early years while I was in the military, many of the notes were words of advice and faith that we appreciated and treasured. After Leon left us, Billie continued the tradition until a few years ago. She was truly a wonderful lady. Sincerely, Michael English Bierwiler.