A few of you asked about the tribute to my mom after I mentioned it a couple of days ago. I had to get it converted from a PDF file to a Word document so I could copy it here. I tried to fix the transfer errors I found, but forgive me if something jumps out at you. Pat Abrams made no spelling or grammatical errors in the original document. Pat is no longer with us in this world either. I'm sure she and Mom are part of one of the Heavenly choirs now.
Note that the talk about moving to Florida is about my folks becoming Snowbirds. They spent six months in Florida and six months back in Ohio, where they had downsized from the house mentioned in this tribute (picture below).
My mom was loved by all who knew her. She was a role model for many, including her children. None of us, myself included, could ever measure up, but I've told people many times that if I could just be half the woman my mom was, I would be content. This tribute tells you who she was.
A Tribute to Helen Kelly
by Pat Abrams
at her Memorial Service January 3, 1996
Millersport United Methodist Church, Tom Keene, Pastor
For Christmas, I received a 1996 friendship calendar. It began with these words: A friend is a gift whose worth cannot be measured except by the heart. That's how I feel about Helen Kelly.
Very rarely in life comes that one who truly impacts us and is the catalyst for change which lasts a lifetime. Helen was my life-changer. ·
She changed my life's work and my ministry. It was Helen who was secretary at Millersport United Methodist before I was. She had recognized the great need for secretarial help for the pastor and had stepped in to help Merle Walter.
ln 1984 Pastor Tom and Sheri and their family came to us. Helen remained secretary. The latter part of that year Orlyn had retired and Florida beckoned. Helen was looking for someone to fill in for her while she was gone. Dr. Anna Whetstone suggested that I apply for that position.
I was apprehensive but did apply. Frankly, there weren't too many applicants at the time! Helen graciously welcomed me into her office and was warm and accepting. Her honest humility captured my heart right away.
Within a very short time, Orlyn convinced her that life in Florida was the life for them, and she handed the reins of the secretarial position over to me. I vowed then that I would do everything I could to continue what she had so capably started. Who would have thought that 11 years later I'd still be on the job?
She changed my personal life as well. Al and I were looking for a place to live and our efforts had come to a dead stop when out of the blue Helen called and asked if we would be interested in renting their home. Would we! It was soon a done deal, and we moved into the home where they had reared their children, where Orlyn had poured hundreds of hours of hard work remodeling, where everyone surrounding them had known that if you wanted the perfect example of old-fashioned neighborliness, it was to be found at the Kelly's. A tough act to follow!
A couple of years later Al and I received another call from Helen. Would we be interested in buying the home we were renting from them? Boy, were we interested . . . but we honestly didn't know how we could swing it.
Because of the kindness, trust, and absolute unselfishness of Orlyn and Helen, we were able to buy that house. Even today out front is the ivy that Helen started from a slip that she had brought from their prior home so many years ago. The beautiful evergreen tree on one side of the front yard is gone, a victim of disease, and the other one will probably leave us this year. But every time I look at the pine cones I collected from those trees I will remember a caring, close knit family whose wife and mother was named Helen Kelly.
Perhaps the deepest change in my life brought about by Helen was my relationship with the Lord. She taught me by example about the faith like that of a child, the kind without which, Jesus said, no one could enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
In her, I saw genuineness. I saw unselfishness. I saw kindness beyond anyone I had ever known. She absolutely lived what she believed, and she probably did more for the cause of Jesus Christ in her humble, sincere, warm way that I could ever accomplish in my lifetime.
It was Helen who was my sponsor on the Emmaus Walk. On the wall in my study at home are the words: Sisterhood, Accountability, and Remembrance. I brought those home with me from Emmaus. But when all was said and done, even these things paled in my heart in comparison to Helen herself. I realized that people like me, who oftentimes are in a position to be seen, don't hold a candle to the Helen Kelly's of this world. And I told her so.
Also on the wall of my study there is a sheet which reads: Grace: receiving what we don't deserve . . . Mercy: not receiving what we do deserve. Helen told me that. In those two thoughts lie the basis of everything she believed in, and they are mine as well.
After Emmaus, we rode back and forth to Peace United Methodist Church in Pickerington for our Emmaus Share Group. I will treasure those rides as long as I live. We talked about a lot of things, and Helen was a constant source of delight as we discussed being Christian mothers and grandmothers.
But the thing I will remember most is what happened when her cancer reappeared. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach when she told me. Instantly my mind reeled with thoughts like, "Why Helen, Lord? She doesn't deserve this! It's so unfair!"
We all know life isn’t fair and Christians aren't exempt from suffering and pain. Helen and I talked about that. She said to me, "Of course I'd like to stay around to see my grandchildren grow up. But the Lord always knows best, and if He allows this cancer to spread, I'll be perfectly content to go home to be with Him earlier. I know He'll take care of my family." No fear. No resentment. No clench-fisted resigning. Just absolute trust.
And I can't fail to mention the wonderful times we shared together as members of the church choir and the women's ensemble. When I knew she was in town, hers was the first face I looked for when I went to choir practice.
That is the essence of Helen Kelly to me. In every sense she was a treasure sent into my life by our loving Lord. I will miss her terribly. Yet even as I speak those words there wells up within my spirit the sure hope that I will see her again. She did not live in vain. She made a difference in Jesus' Name everywhere she went. Who knows how far the ripples of her influence will flow?
If I were a child again, I would say, "When I grow up, I want to be just like Helen Kelly."
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And the tears are flowing again as I post this. Mom was my age when she died. My age right now. It hits home even more when I think about that. We lost her much too soon and I will always miss her.
Thanks for your visit! Peace & hugs!!
