Theresa Roark Lakey

Welcome

On behalf Ms. Theresa’s family I want to welcome you and say thank you for being here today. Only a few things said today will be remembered. You may not recall the songs sung, or the stories shared, but what will last and be cherished is that many of the people that loved Nan, and people that she loved showed up here today to mourn her loss and honor her life and support her family. Again thank you and welcome.

Prayer

Father as we gather today to mourn the loss of Ms. Theresa, we offer thanks for a life well lived. Lord, we thank you for the gift of the time she spent with those she loved as friend, family and especially as mother and grandmother. Lord, we ask for the Holy Spirit to fill this place so that He may comfort us to mourn, not as unbelievers without hope, but as believers in Christ carrying with us the hope of His resurrection.

Amen.

Eulogy

In her last days I had the privilege of visiting with and praying for Ms. Theresa in the Hospital. The cancer and treatments had taken their toll and she looked withered. She was a petit woman anyway, but she so very small and said that she was tired. On one of those visits, Michelle was leaving to go get some rest and stopped to tell her mom she loved her and also give her a little grief about something. Her mom’s response was, “I love you” followed by THE FINGER, and a smile.

Another time in the same room, John had a suggestion. He told her how small her arms looked and how sunken her cheeks were and proposed to stick a bicycle pump in her rear and asked if she wanted four pumps or five. She said, Awe Hell, make it 7.

The cancer was overcoming her body, but certainly not her spirit, never he spirit.

Legacy

In its basic meaning, a legacy is a gift of money or other personal property that's granted by the terms of a will.

But the broader and more accurate definition goes beyond the material things.

What is left is less relevant than how much is left.

The word legacy represents a substantial amount of that which is left.

Average people don’t leave a legacy.

Theresa Lakey was not an average person.

Work

She created and ran a successful business in probably one of the most manly product lines. She sold Casters • Wheels • Hand & Platform Trucks • Dock Equipment

It may have been a male dominated field, but she wasn’t going to back down from any man.

She loved to work and she worked hard.

Never sat still.

Going on vacations or being lazy did not appeal to her, because there was work to be done, and she was going to see to it.

She taught her family that if you didn’t know how to do something, learn how, the do it.

I remember seeing John in their clubhouse bounce from a YouTube video to his motorcycle as he dismantled the primary and can’t help but think that “I can do this” attitude wasn’t partly his mother’s influence.

Ms. Theresa was passionate about her Work.

Toughness

I challenged the family to describe Ms Theres in one word. One of the answers was Hard Headed.

But they were all words like:

Fighter

Strong

Stubborn

Independant

Warrior

The inside joke was that they often said that she would have made someone a damn good husband.

She demonstrated and passed on a sense of Independence and Self confidence.

Azariah words in 2 Chronicles to Asa were

2 Chronicles 15:7 NASB95

7 “But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

Ms. Theresa was both Strong and Courageous.

Connection

Weather you called her Teresa, Ms. Lakey, Mom, Momma, Nanna, Nan, Nanny Goat, Little One, or P.I.M.A. You knew you had an unbreakable connection with someone that was a part of your life.

And she had names for you. And weather it was Bub, shell, turd, Jack Rabbit or monkey man; Bug, Peanut or Cat. Even if she called you Penuty or you Sidney by mistake; you knew that you were a part of her life. A bigger part than you will ever know.

She was going to make sure she stayed connected to her. I was the 5:30 AM phone call, or keeping you on the phone when you were trying to get out the door. Some excuse to get you to come help her when all she wanted to do was visit with you and make sure you were doing ok. There was a connection and it was intentional on her part.

Compassion

She worked with Caring Hearts of Marked Tree providing care and comfort for folks that needed both and had neither.

She cared about people.

One of the coolest things I heard the other night as we visited with the family was Gary (Spyder) sharing about suffering the loss of his mother and how Ms. Theresa came along side him and told him, “You still got a mom.” When he married Glam, he became her son.

At the same time he was relating that story, PT lit up and said, “She was good to us. “

In Matthew 25 Jesus is talking about the judgement.

Matthew 25:34–40 NASB95

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Adventure

Many people have cats or dogs. Some people have goats, or pigs. Then there the adventurous few that have birds. I’m not talking about about hummingbirds in the back yard or little parakeets, I’m talking about large exotic birds. The kind that talk to you and make sounds like the door opening or the microwave going off.

Theresa was one of those adventurous few.

To hear the family talk about Kramer (The tropical chicken) it sounds more like they are talking about a crazy aunt than a pet.

Not only did she keep exotic birds, but she traveled with them.

Theresa loved to dance, Waltz, 2 step. Michelle talked about the beauty and grace and joy her mother displayed while dancing while living in Chicago. The kind of dancing that can only be accomplished by and adventurous spirit.

Weather it was traveling with exotic birds, chasing a pet squirrel in a hotel room in the middle of the night. A love of dancing, Starting a company, or breaking out the good china for an impromptu wine party with the girls, there was always an adventure to be undertaken.

Sacrificial Love

Our creator modeled what sacrificial looked like in John 3:16

John 3:16 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Theresa modeled that love in her friends and family.

All parents know the interior struggle we feel in living for ourselves and sacrificing for our family.

Ms. Theresa poured herself out for her family.

If you ask her her family who was her favorite, they will all point to themselves. She made each of them feel like she loved them the most.

Let that sink in for a second.

That isn’t done by happenstance. That is deliberate sacrificial unconditional love.

It is the kind of love she gave, and its the kind of love she felt from her Savior.

In the end, Theresa left this world in peace.

She had peace because her daughter was the mother she hoped she would be, her son, despite some tough times, was good. He kids were not alone in this world, and her grandkids and great grand kids were in good hands.

Her Legacy would be carried on.

She also had peace because she knew she was going home. She fought the good fight, she finished the course, she kept the faith.

Closing

I want to close by saying to John and Michelle on behalf of everyone here, we are so sorry for the loss of your mother.

There is a poem by an unknown author that reads.

She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She’s the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself. She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not feeling well. She’s your breath in the air on a cold winters’ day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow. She is Christmas morning. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She’s the place you come from, your first home. She’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy. But nothing on Earth can separate you. Not time. Not space. Not even death.

Isaiah 40:31 NASB95

31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

I think she would have liked the part about the eagles.

Prayer