Audrey was born in Bolton, Mississippi on March 22, 1934 to Lillie and George Riser.  During most of her youth, Audrey was raised by her mother Lille, in Raymond, Mississippi. Lille was a devout Christian and a powerful influence.  Audrey faithfully attended the 1st Methodist Church of Raymond, where she came to faith in Jesus.  She often spoke of her Sunday School experiences, learning memory verses and memorizing the names of all the books of the Bible.

At an early age, Audrey met and fell in love with Don Sloan.  They soon married, moved to Jackson, MS and began raising their own family.  Audrey gave birth to four children, Sharon, Doug, Jeff and Troy, before she was 30 years old.  At such a young age, she related well to the children and was fun to be with.

All of her children’s friends adored her.  She was one of the girls to Sharon’s friends, willing to listen to all their life stories with great interest.  To the boys, she was like a second mother.  Always nurturing, and cooking for everyone who entered her home.

As a mother, even with four often unruly children, she was extremely patient and kind.  Her care and concern for their individual needs was unmatched.  There was no shortage of hugs and kisses.  She was also a great provider.  While Don held two jobs to support the family, Audrey managed the family budget.  The children always had nice clothes to start each school year, plenty of food to eat and an abundance of Christmas gifts!  She was also a great protector of the children.  She protected them from harm and from each other.  In spite of their misdeeds, she covered for them to prevent punishment (that’s one trait they really appreciated).

Above all attributes, Audrey was a giver!  She gave of her time, energy and finances without question.  She never saved money for herself, but would give her last penny to help someone in need.  She was generous to a fault!  So it goes without saying that she loved Christmas.  This gave her the perfect excuse to give gifts to everyone.

After raising the children, Don and Audrey moved to Salem, Oregon in 1979.  This started a new chapter in Audrey’s life.  While Don and Robie (Sharon’s husband) started an Avionics business, Audrey started her first job at K-Mart managing the cafeteria.  This was right up her ally.  She loved to cook and serve hungry people.  She eventually retired from there.

In Audrey’s middle years, she became a grandmother to Edna and Ann who had recently arrived from Thailand.  Audrey invited them up to live in Oregon for several months, where she helped them learn English (with a Southern accent) and introduced them to our western ways.  This time together created an incredible bond of love between them that will last forever.

Years passed and Audrey entered retirement and spent most of her time with Don.  In 1999, they witnesses the birth of their first grandson, Daniel, born to Doug and Pam. Soon afterwards, Don passed away, leaving an incredible void in her life after 51 years of marriage.  She then spent the rest of her live sharing a home with her beloved son Jeff and helping others as she was able.

The last three and a half years of Audrey’s life were very difficult.  A physical injury left her immobile and completely dependent on others for her care.  Jeff became her primary care giver and diligently looked after her day and night.  Troy also provided weekend support for mom, giving Jeff a much needed rest.  Audrey loved Troy very much and was encouraged each time he came to visit and help.

During the last few months, Audrey was diagnosed with “Lewy Body Dementia”, a severe, untreatable form of the disease that produces vivid hallucinations.  Her condition was very bad, but by God’s grace, she was finally placed in a very nice group home with caring and compassionate care givers.  In addition to the good care, appropriate medicine was finally found that eased her pain and anxiety.  These pleasant surroundings and effective medications carried her through until her peaceful passing on Dec 8th, 2011.

Now we find comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Audrey’s old-school Methodist up-bring taught her that matters of faith were private, so she didn’t openly speak of her beliefs.  Nevertheless, her faith in Jesus was there.  So those of us with similar faith can take comfort that we will see her again in heaven.  

For Scripture says, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

Amen