To my Karen: I love you.
To her followers: Thank you. The funeral services were this morning and I have stayed busy ever since and it is almost midnight. I wanted to get home to and write this message to thank everyone. And I do mean everyone. Those that were there and those that were thinking of us. It was an amazing service from where I sat. Some people didn’t have seats at all. The chapel was filled to capacity. People were standing along the walls. Even more were in the hall looking in. I have video but have not had a chance to watch it yet. I have still shots, too. Special thanks to my brother Darrell and his wife Holly for helping with that. Thanks to our pall bearers; Darren McIver, John Sprague, Gene Cornelius, Mike Giese, Keith Furbee, Bill Fitzgerald and Carlos Isaziga. Jack Reese of Jenks Avenue Church of Christ led the service. He has known Karen for a long time and extended family (Randy Wright) and her children Randy and Heather still go there. Jack did a great job and delivered a wonderful eulogy that honored Karen’s life but mostly her strength through the past 15 months. He remembered, as well did I, that when Karen was being taken on a gurney to surgery on September 23, 2009, both he and Carlos Isaziga caught up to us in the hallway before we made it into the surgery area. The transporters stopped and gave the four of us a moment to have a prayer. Surgery went well but two weeks later we found out that there were Leukemia cells in the tissue they had removed. He also recalled seeing Karen and I as we joined church service one of the Sunday’s that we were able to be in Panama City after her treatments had been going on a few months. What he noticed the most was not the colorful scarf but her smiling face as many of her old church family gathered around her, letting her know how much they loved her and were praying for her. That happy, smiling and beautiful face is what most people tell us they will always remember. Her family and I are very pleased that so many of you think of her that way because it is how we will always remember her, also.

There was a very heavy rainstorm happening at the end of the service which I felt was perfect! Seriously. It meant that rather than load up and go to the grave site, we were able to stay at Southerland. This gave people one more chance to see our sweet Karen and then talk with the family in the lobby. Another blessing for our family. We would like to let every single person who attended the service know what your presence meant to us. Whether it was because they knew Karen personally or were just there to show how much they cared for one of the family and felt the sadness that comes from losing a loved one, we were very touched by your support and love. I wish I could stand in front of each of you one more time, look into your face and hug you again. Especially the people who I did not actually get to greet last night or today. Wow! It was so crowded!!

If you don’t mind I would like to recognize three other specific groups that many of our guests belonged to. Eastgate Christian Fellowship is another church family that Karen has belonged to and still had ties to. Jacob, Dylan and their Dad Dennis Gallagher still go there. It is a fantastic church and their pastor, Rob Woodrum, was at the service as well. Karen’s parents have been part of the church family at Youngstown Baptist Church for a few years. There were many from there that came to see us as well. We were blessed to have Campus Pastor – Joe McLendon, there, too. The local Realtors turned out in mass. I had been a Realtor myself for 11 years and then worked at the Association office for 5 years prior to Karen’s diagnosis. Karen was able to attend one or two events a year with me for about 4 years. Not that many times when you think about it, but she had met many of the members with me. Both members that knew her and those that did not attended to offer me words of encouragement, understanding and support.

There were over 40 beautiful floral arrangements and plants. Thank you all so much.