Kim died March 16, 2017. Here is what we posted on her personal Facebook page followed by her eulogy.
Kim you have left us with hearts ripped open, but you left us better off than we would have been without you. You will live on in us and your impact in our family will last for generations. Thank you for giving all you had. We are forever changed by you.Bye for now sweet baby. We will love and remember you forever. Danny, Shea, Christa, Bethany and David.
Here is Kim's eulogy written by her husband Danny:
First off I'd like to acknowledge the complete
impossibility and the absurdity of summing up a magnificent human life in a
short thing we call a eulogy. It's
such a disservice to a very full and well lived life and to God's wonderful
creation. You simply cannot begin to
even touch the surface of someone's lifetime in a 5 to 10 minute speech.
But because it's what we do, here is an incredibly
incomplete attempt at remembering Kim.
Kim lived with stage 4 breast cancer for 11 years.
That is so, so, much longer than we had anticipated and far longer than
typical. In the end she had over 13
different chemo therapies and most of them worked for a time. We have to thank the doctors, nurses and
staff that made this happen but we attribute the multiple successful treatments
to God who in His mercy gave us and Kim a little more time. Here is a little bit of how Kim chose to
use that time.
Kim sure did know how to live. She was always eager to move ahead and get
on with life. She was quite the planner.
Nothing made her happier than planning a vacation, a party or a holiday
get together. When she was first
diagnosed with cancer 17 years ago, her planning went into high gear.
Vacations, parties and all kid activities were now
mandatory. There would be no taking
life for granted. Life for Kim had
changed.
Almost all vacations included invitations to extended
family. There was also no more
relaxing on vacations or weekend trips.
Every day would be packed with seeing God's creation or doing things that
might just get you killed if you are not careful. From zip lining over canyons
in Texas, to white water rafting in Washington state, to day hiking down into
Talullah Gorge in Georgia and even, with the help of her husband, forcing her
mom and young children head on into a 5 to 6 foot Hawaiian surf in small
kayaks. Whatever it was, it had to be
done because you may never get the chance to do it again.
Christmas was Kim's favorite time of year. So as expected, Christmas parties grew to
unexpected sizes. You never know when
it will be your last. So there would
be lots of food and lots of people.
Someone once asked Kim, "so if you just talk to someone once, they get
invited to your Christmas party?" Kim
thought, "what a crazy question... of course they get invited." Unfortunately like so many things, those
parties eventually had to stop.
She was also a gift giver and Christmas allowed her
gift giving to flourish. Every gift
she gave no matter how small came with much thought and love. Nothing made her more happy than finding
the perfect gift and she worked hard to make sure everyone got something from
her. This last Christmas, even in the
troubled state she was in, her main focus was to make sure everyone she cared
about had a gift from her.
But Kim's number one priority was her children. She is their number one fan in anything and
everything they do. Nothing makes Kim
more happy than to watch her kids flourish; and flourish they have. From cheering Shea on as a young
cheerleader, to bravely entering creepy dives of New Orleans to watch her sing
and make music with her future husband.
To now seeing her become a mom of her own to six kids and counting.
For the last 7 years Kim has been a football mom at
almost all levels. With two daughters
in band and a son on the field, August through October put Kim in the stands
multiple times a week and she loved every minute of it. She went to almost every game she could,
and she was always disappointed those rare times when she couldn't be there to
support them. This last year had Kim
going to Freshman high school games during the week to watch David in one of the
best seasons of Kingwood freshman football.
Then the next day heading off to the Varsity High School games to watch
Bethany rock the stadium with the Kingwood High School Drumline and band. Then waking up on Saturday to head down to
the U of H game to catch Christa and the Spirit of Houston band fire up the
crowd for the Cougars. Then finishing
off the week with family and NFL football on Sundays. This last year, though sometimes exhausted
and barely able to climb the stands, Kim pushed on with a smile and a love for
her children that cancer and chemo therapy could not yet stop.
So how does a loving God allow someone like Kim to die? If He is good, how could He take Kim away
from us, away from her family and away from her children?
It's a feeling or thought many of you may have
today. But that's not the way it
is. God was not surprised that Kim got
cancer. He was not caught off guard by
her original diagnosis in 2000 or cancer's return in 2006. And He was not unaware of how and when she
would die. When did He know? Did He find out a few months ago? No, He knew at her birth. He knew from the beginning of
time.
So what is a loving God to do? Should He have hidden her away so that no
one would have to face the heart ache and pain of losing her?
No, instead, He gave her to us. We are all here today because we knew Kim
or were blessed through her in someway.
I think we would all agree that it was better to have known her than to
not.
There is also another side to that. God gave us all
to Kim. You have all made Kim's life
so full of love. You have all in your
own way made Kim happy and brightened her days. God arraigned your life so that you would
have an impact in Kim's life. Whether
you directly blessed Kim or you cared for and befriended one of her children or
are now here to comfort her family members, God put you here today because of
Kim. Then He went one step further and
gave His only son to die for Kim and us so the we could escape the total death
we deserve and have eternal life and live with Him and each other forever.
We do have a loving God and He made sure to surround
Kim with loving caring people. There
is nothing more sacred than to care for a child of God. She belongs to Him and she always has. Thank you for being a part of her life.
I'm not sure exactly how things will be in heaven.
But if God allows parties, vacations and gift giving, I promise you, Kim is
already overwhelmed with the possibility of what she can do for you when you get
there. And know that if you just
talked to her once, you are her friend.
I personally can't wait.
Through the redemption of our Lord and savior Jesus
Christ, may we all join her again one day in the biggest celebration of all.
Danny