From a member of the 1st B. church . . .  May 24, 2016

Hi, Barb --

THIS is actually the Correct Way to reach the WebSite:

http://www.forevermissed.com/mary-gean-pegors/#stories

I have been using some not 'quite' correct address::  Trust you may be able to go there and read and add. 
Paul   May 15. 2016

A current report by Paul Pegors: re:

The HOMEGOING of Mary Pegors

. .

Dear _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ :

Today is Friday the 13th!! often considered an 'unlucky' date/day. But we do need to remember:

“THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE: LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.”

It was exactly 4 weeks ago …. Friday the 15th of April [2016]. . . Mary was 'promoted' to her ETERNAL HOME!! May I just report: I trust I will always remember that Friday Morning: at about 5:15 or so, I heard her slow breathing. BUT: about 30 minutes later, . . . there was no breath. She had left the 'pain-racked, 87 year-old and used-up body' . . . and been TRANSLATED . . . to Heaven's eternal HOME! I do wonder: [[my memory is being 'used up'! ]] We [my whole family] had been watching Mary decline into . . . first: “Mild Cognitive Impairment” [ 'MCI' to the Medical community ] . . . then about the last 18 months . . . from about late in 2014 . . . into “DEMENTIA”. The professionals {neuropsychologists. . . . by title} had declared that there was really nothing they could do to change the course of the decline.

I will not try to describe in detail what happened after: [except] on February 27th/16 . . . . The day that Mary fell in the dining room while trying to fit her feet in to her bedroom slippers. From that Saturday until the FRIDAY . . . April 15th . . … SO much happened that it would take a “book” to record it all. A Hospital stay . . . after a week of our Very, VERY difficult attempts to help her. Then a transition to a “recovery” facility . . . then about 4 weeks in our home in the form of a Hospice Care effort. I cannot possibly give enough credit to our daughter Susan. She was the only reason I even “made” it.

I will . . . . without receiving your permission, add a bit of personal history concerning Mary and me. Just for the record:{written over about 18 months} . . . .
Please Look at my earlier post here ..... GOD IS SO O O OO  GOOD!!

please try to check out Mercy's blog on "GoodNews Junkies" . . . a blogpost you should be able to find.  in him,  Paul

I can’t seem to speak about Mary without speaking about Paul. This is certainly telling about the nature of their relationship and how I see them…

I remember the FIRST time I met Paul and Mary. It was in the summertime and we had been invited for Sunday supper. We were sitting at the dining room table, my back to the south windows. Mary was finishing serving up the food. Paul decided to turn up the air conditioning (less cool) as he was always very conscientious about conserving energy and the bills associated with them. Paul sits back down with his back to the thermostat, and in walks Mary from the kitchen. She strolls right over to the thermostat, turns it back down (for more coolness!), doesn’t say a word, but turns and winks at me. My first thought, at this very first meeting, was, ‘oh my, what a strong woman this is! I’m in big trouble!!’ But as the days, months and years unfolded, it was apparent that this symbiotic relationship they shared was not just about the roles we all play in our relationships, but more about the love, respect and cooperation that is their bond.

Because there is so much humor and laughter in this family, I certainly remember a couple things that stick out, for me. One of my favorites is the time Paul and Mary worked at the thrift store. Mary was always bringing things back that she thought Mark and I would like! Well, this is stuff for a couple (us) that has so much stuff in our house we don’t have room for what we have! I remember the cappuccino machine (we had no room anywhere for this), but she knew we loved our weekend fancy coffee; then there were the handmade Christmas coasters – well, I did pull those out every Christmas Eve for the gathering at our home; then there was the napkin rings – I have never used these things and also did not have nice napkins to put the rings on! Now the blue suede shoes I LOVED and wore to work often! But then there was this interesting piece I had never seen before – a cutting board with slats across the top. I did not know what this was for. Mary explained that you cut your bread on it and the crumbs fall into the slats. Sounds nifty, but I still have to clean the crumbs on the bottom. I smile every time I think of all these charming items because it is the thoughtfulness behind these gifts that has the meaning. Always thinking of others, these two!

I also remember a day that I drove to Target in St. Louis Park during my work lunch hour. I only had an hour, so I am on a mission with my cart! I got halfway through the store and heard Paul’s boisterous laugh behind me. I turned the cart around and there, at the front of the store, are Paul and Mary in their crisp white aprons giving away samples of cookies to customers. What a perfect pair for this endeavor – smiling, laughing and having the best of time just talking to anyone they could engage.

I could go on forever, but the most special memory is of Paul officiating at Mark’s and my wedding in 2004. When we asked Paul and Mary about doing this, I had assumed he had done this in the last many years for others. He told me he had not officiated at a wedding for 30 years! This did not worry me. He and Mary’s enthusiasm for this was overwhelmingly sweet. We had a couple of gentle discussions about how Mark and I wanted to conduct this ceremony, and both Paul and Mary were so accommodating about our personal wishes. Mary walked arm-in-arm down the aisle with Mark, with Paul behind, during this procession. The sweet sentiments that Mary shared during the wedding dinner will stay in my heart always. This loving acceptance of us and our life together has been the single biggest blessing we have received from them. And there have been many blessings.

I have attached a few pictures from our wedding album. Although the quality is not great, you can see their contribution to our special day. I lost my Mom in 1980, so the relationship I had with both Mary and Paul was such a wonderful bright light in my world. I have tried never to take it for granted. These things stay with us forever, and beyond.

Thank you both for your love and devotion; not only to us, but to your entire family and so many others.

It’s difficult to reminisce when I am preoccupied with the thought that I will not be able to speak with my mother again in this lifetime. As a child I knew I could speak with my mother about anything without fear of judgement or retribution. She was a patient woman, which was for fortunate for both of us, because with me as her son she needed a lot of patience.

I’ve been told that I started walking at eight months. I certainly don’t remember taking my first steps. It seems that as the youngest child I was anxious to rush through the crawling stage of infancy and get up on my own two feet so I could join my parents and siblings in their perambulations. I probably should have waited a bit longer because I have a number of scars on my forehead to remind me that I was none too good at my early attempts at walking. I was fortunate to have a mother who, as a registered nurse, knew when I needed stitches or just a butterfly bandage, and consoled me with the mantra that I was a fine walker, merely a bit accident prone. And so it was, trouble always found me but mother was always there to take me in her arms and try to shield me from my own recklessness.

I have an abiding love for music instilled in me by the love and talent for music that is my mother’s legacy. I witnessed countless vocal and instrumental performances by mom and dad. Their duets, mom with her clear soprano voice and dad with his vibrato baritone, are legendary. Just thinking about it right now gives me goose bumps. I loved sitting in the front row at church with dad leading the congregational hymns and mom standing next to me singing out with conviction and volume. I felt like I was part of a heavenly chorus.

I love to cook. Mom was a great cook. She let me help her in the kitchen. To this day, if Kim and I are cooking a soup or something that requires a lot of finely diced vegetables, I insist on being the one to do the dicing. I’m still heavy handed with seasonings because I could never quite get mom’s recipes to turn out the way they did when she cooked them. I always just kept adding more of one spice or the other hoping that I would be able to get the dish to turn out right.
Our family always sat down to dinner together, the food was always delicious and the conversation animated. Friends who were invited over for dinner never failed to mention how loud our family was. I fondly remember the joyful noise our family made at the dinner table.

Perhaps more than anything else, I am grateful for a mother who gave me the space to find my own way. In my far and distant wanderings I became acquainted with too many people who were never allowed to make mistakes or discover their true path because of an overbearing parent who insisted on a specific path. The love my mother gave to me was unconditional. It was not withheld if I disappointed her with my actions, nor did it become syrupy if I did something to make her proud. She was a constant in my life, my touchstone and confessor. To whom will I now turn?

It was such a pleasure getting to know Mary after I met Serenity. We would often go upstairs together and talk with them and I heard many stories over the times. It was also a pleasure to spend some Sunday lunches with them after church. Every time she would hug me and thank me for being such a good friend to Serenity.

The best memory I have happened a few summers ago after a big storm. There was a power outage and Paul and Mary had just gone grocery shopping and stocked up on many frozen foods. Being as there was no power outage where I lived, I took multiple coolers of food home with me until the power was back on so it wouldn't go bad. She was so so thankful and from then on every time I saw her she thanked me again for saving all of her food. Even as her memory got worse she still remembered that I did that for her.

It was so nice getting to know such a godly woman who truly had given her whole life to Jesus. God is so good and we should celebrate that she is with Jesus now.

Mary and Paul married almost 65 years ago.  They spent 37 years in Pakistan where mom was not only a great wife and mother but a wonderful friend, a school nurse at Murree Christian School and Karachi American School, a house parent at MCS, the administrator of Shikarpur Christian Hospital, field treasurer and a host of other jobs all of which she did with enthusiasm and great skill.  After retirement mom and dad served together at Bibles for Mission Thrift Center for almost 20 years. They also did a 6 month term helping us here in London.  She was involved in many ways in their local church, Oak Grove Church, Golden Valley, MN.

She loved and served the Lord Jesus throughout her life demonstrating to and sharing with others His grace.  She was famous for her welcoming spirit and generous hospitality.  We will miss her but know she is now with Jesus. 

When the Hospice nurse came on Thursday morning and told us that she thought Mom's death was near, we informed some of the family who live nearby. My brother and three of Mom's grandchildren were able to come right away and another grandson left work early to be there by 12:30. We enjoyed times of prayer, reminising, and hymn singing through out the day. Dad and Mom's pastor came and prayed with us as well. Tim, my brother and Mom's oldest child was able to stay through the night as well as Micah, my sisters son. At about 5:45 I got a call and ran downstairs. Mom was gone. Dad had been resting in the reclining 'lift' chair right next to the hospital bed where Mom was lying. At 5:15 he heard her breathing and then at 5:45 he no longer heard any breathing. Mom passed peacefully from life to life. God is so good and His mercies are new every morning. They lift us up and give us strength to face each day!