Peggy Bundy - 12/17/22

We gather today to mourn the loss of Peggy Bundy, but we also want to celebrate her life. Peggy was a vibrant and energetic person, and even as we grieve today, we want to remember the person and the blessing she was.

In the Bible we read these words,

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed….18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 18, NLT)

Today, we have hope even as we grieve; the hope of God’s promise that this is not the end of the story, but that there is life even beyond the grave. That is the comfort to which we cling today.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for Peggy’s life, even as we grieve today. Today we ask that you would grant comfort and peace to these family and friends as they grieve. Help us to hold tight to the hope that through Jesus, we can live even though we die. Please guide this service today, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Peggy Joanne Bundy, was born September 23, 1958 in LaHarpe the daughter of Glen L. and Shirlene (Foster) Jones. She grew up in the area and graduated from La Harpe High School. On January 5, 1980 she married Verg Bundy at the Old Bedford Church near Blandinsville, Illinois. They later divorced.

She worked for several years at Methode in Carthage. Later, she worked as paraprofessional for the LaHarpe School District and lastly worked as a CNA for many local nursing homes. She loved the work she did in these places, and truly enjoyed caring for others.

She enjoyed camping, riding motorcycles, being outdoors, traveling, dirt track racing, and especially the recent family trip to Florida. She loved her grandchildren, and seemed to accept anyone as part of the family, regardless of whether they were blood or not.

She passed away on Monday, December 12, 2022 surrounded by her family at home.

Survivors include her mother: Shirlene Jones of LaHarpe; one son: Brent (Michelle) Bundy of LaHarpe; two daughters: Amanda Andries (Andy Boone) of Keokuk, Iowa and Ciji Bundy (Kelly Hughes) of LaHarpe; eight grandchildren: Dylan and Misty Maloney, Braxton Cordell, Melany Bundy, Bailey and Dominic Bundy and Nevaeh and Zabrina Hughes; one great-grandchild: Bentley Maloney and one on the way; one brother: Terry (Jean) Jones of LaHarpe and two sisters: Teresa Boone and Joni (Jim) Imthurn all of LaHarpe. She is also survived by several nieces, nephews, cousins and her cat: Bella.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents; father: Glen and one nephew: Zachary Jones.

SONG— My Wish for You

Eulogy

Peggy Bundy was a person with a drive, a fire, and a zest for life. From what I’ve gathered from her family, she has been that way from the beginning.

Even as a child, Peggy seemed to always be on the move. Being the oldest child, she often felt as though she was the boss, and would tell the others what they needed to do. At the same time, she did her best to care for the others as well. When Joni was born and Shirlene was still recovering and unable to do much around the house, Peggy decided to pitch in by helping out with the laundry. She threw the clothes in the washer to get clean…along with a fair amount of bleach! Needless to say, while the sentiment was good, the execution left much to be desired.

When her parents would leave, Peggy would be in charge of the rest of the kids. She was diligent in caring for them, though Teresa remembers that one of the tasks they were usually given by their parents before they left was to clean up the house. Teresa would try to clean diligently, but never seemed to figure out how to get it all done in time, so she usually got in trouble. Peggy, however, had figured out how to beat the system. She just stuffed everything into a closet somewhere, so it looked clean. So mom and dad were happy, and she still had time to do what she wanted.

As she got older, Peggy had a bit of a rebellious streak in her. Her mom caught her smoking at the school and threatened her with getting her hair cut off if she didn’t stop. (She didn’t stop…and still had her hair!) She didn’t always run with the best crowd in those days either. Terry remembers going with his dad to look for her sometimes. She wasn’t afraid to get into a fight if she had to—even if it meant she got her nose broken.

Apparently, when her mom and dad borrowed a car for a test drive, Peggy decided she needed to take it out herself…and unfortunately backed into another car in the process!

While Peggy did become a responsible adult, her ornery streak never truly left. I’m told that her 50th birthday party was quite the event, complete with kegs and keg stands…and eventually a visit from the police!

While she was a bit ornery, she was also a fierce friend. If I understand it correctly, Kenny Foster once fell into the water, and Peggy didn’t hesitate and immediately jumped in after him to get him to safety. Those closest to Peggy knew she loved them.

She absolutely adored her family. In recent years, she loved having all the grandkids around, and loved to host Christmas so they’d all be together. As her own kids were growing up, she was always looking out for them and trying to make memories, even in the simple things. The kids all remember how much she loved to go to Keokuk in her big blue station wagon for groceries. When the bridge closed for the flood of ’93, she didn’t know what to do with herself since she couldn’t go to Keokuk anymore! While she was fun, the kids also knew not to cross their mom. For example, they all knew that when mom whistled for you to come home at night, you better get home quick!

She was always looking out for the kids. Amanda tells the story of when she was getting ready to give birth to Misty, they ran out of gas on the way to the hospital. They had to walk to go get more so they could get the rest of the way there. Being before cell phones, they weren’t able to call Peggy and tell her what happened. When she didn’t get a phone call from them saying they’d arrived at the hospital, she decided to call the hospital herself! It was only later that she learned what happened, but she wanted to make sure everything went smoothly for her daughter and granddaughter.

She took good care of her siblings even after they were grown as well. When Joni was pregnant, she would often take her for a walk to go get tacos in the hopes of getting her to go into labor. When Joni had surgery, Peggy was always there for her. When Zach had his seizures, Peggy would be sure to stay with him at the hospital.

Lots of people knew her as “Aunt Peggy”, and not just her nieces and nephews. Since she didn’t seem to know a stranger, she could quickly become friends with almost anyone. When she worked at the school, she developed a special bond with her students. The same was true with her patients when she worked as a CNA.

Even once she was grown Peggy never lost her zeal for life. She loved to be in the sun and get a tan. If the sun was out and you drove past her house, there would be a good chance you’d see Peggy outside trying to soak up the rays. Even this past summer, when she was still quite sick, she loved going to the beach with almost the whole family. She loved making memories with the kids and grandkids. Almost all of them will never forget the sound of Peggy yelling, “I’m gonna pet that dog!” Her excitement was contagious.

She had lots of things she loved doing. She loved playing all sorts of different card games, either with others or by herself. She loved the beauty of South Dakota, and the beauty of Florida, but also loved being back home. She loved her animals, even training one of her cats to use the toilet rather than the litterbox. She loved Native American culture and her house was decorated with all sorts of Native American-themed items. She was famous (at least locally) for her potato salad. She also loved cashews…but hated when one of the grandkids would go through a can of mixed nuts and pick them all out!

Peggy enjoyed riding motorcycles with pretty much anyone who would give her a ride. She loved going to Redneck Rally, but when another driver wrecked Misty, they weren’t sure they were going to be able to keep Peggy from going after her.

If there is one thing I think everyone who knew Peggy knew about her, it was that she loved life, and she loved her family. She was the kind of person you could rely on to be there in your time of need, and to make whatever you were doing fun—even if it was something mundane.

As we look at Peggy’s life, her example should teach us a few things.

· The importance of loving those closest to you and looking out for them

· The value of laughter and making the best of whatever situation you are in

· That you should never pass up an opportunity to pet a dog

· That there’s a time to be silly and ornery, but also a time to be serious

· That no matter what curve balls life throws your way, you need to just keep moving forward.

SONG—Three Wooden Crosses

Message

It is always hard to watch someone you love die. In Peggy’s case, it has been a long battle, and while she continued to fight every step of the way, you could watch her growing more and more tired and becoming weaker and weaker. Her spirit remained strong, but her body was failing. When someone is sick for so long, it’s sometimes difficult to remember what they were like before they were sick. That is why it’s important to recount and rejoice in the memories you have. Doing so allows you to remember Peggy, and not merely her illness.

Losing someone right before Christmas also helps to magnify the loss. Especially for someone like Peggy who loved Christmas and the family togetherness that it often brings, Christmas celebrations going forward will feel like something is missing—because it is! It’s ok to feel grief at your inability to celebrate with the one you love. It’s a sign that they are loved and missed. But today I also want to encourage you to see a slightly different perspective that hopefully will help you in your grief. Today I want to remind you that Christmas is the reason we can have hope, even in the face of death.

In our world today, we often seem to forget about the real reason we celebrate the Christmas season. It isn’t really about a man in a big red suit, it’s not about spending ourselves into debt, and it isn’t even really about getting together with family. Christmas is a time when we remember God coming into the world through a little baby named Jesus.

The baby Jesus grew up and lived a life that was perfectly obedient to God’s commands, and yet He was crucified at the hands of the Jewish leaders and the Roman government. Jesus died…but He didn’t stay dead. Before He was killed, Jesus had told His disciples,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:1-4, NLT)

Jesus had told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s home (that is Heaven). When Jesus died, the disciples grieved deeply, wondering if all the promises their Lord had made them were true. They didn’t understand what was going on. But Jesus didn’t stay dead. Three days after being executed, Jesus came back to life. The disciples saw the risen Lord and began to understand what was really going on. By Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, He had made it possible for them to have eternal life. Jesus demonstrated clearly that He had power over life and death, both now and for all of eternity.

Suddenly, the disciples understood what Jesus meant when He said that they knew the way to the place where He was going. When Jesus said those words initially, the disciples didn’t understand what they meant. But now, they understood what Jesus’ answer meant,

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, NLT)

Jesus was telling them that those who trust in Him would be forgiven of their sins because He had offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice. But the only way to Heaven is by trusting in what Jesus has done and following Him. Any other way we might follow does not lead to Heaven at all.

Lots of people have different ideas about what it takes to get to Heaven. Most people imagine that everyone who is a “good person” gets to go to Heaven. Unfortunately, by God’s definition, none of us are good people, because we have all violated His commands. So, since there are no good people, there’s really only one hope—to trust in the forgiveness that Jesus offers and to follow Him with our lives. He alone is the way for us to experience eternal life. But He makes it available to anyone who will follow Him.

Many people tend to tune out when people start talking about Jesus or about religion. They imagine that your choice of what to believe and who to follow is a preference that each person can express in their own way, and that it doesn’t really matter in the end. But as we gather for a funeral, we are reminded that it is actually of utmost importance. The question of whether Jesus really did live, die, and rise again tells us whether we have hope for the future or not. If Jesus didn’t rise from the grave then we have no reason to believe that we can or will either. But since He did, we can have the assurance of life after death.

Though it’s hard to lose a loved one at Christmas, I might suggest that it also has a funny way of reminding us of our reason for hope. As we remember that Christmas is about a baby in a manger, it should remind us that this baby is the way to eternal life, and so anyone who trusts in Him can live even though they die.

It is my hope today that Peggy had such faith. If so, then today she is more alive than she has ever been. But I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you of an important point as well. Each of us must decide what we will do with Jesus. Will we simply dismiss Him as unimportant, or a fairy tale, or will we follow Him because we know He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Ultimately, that is a question you must decide for yourself. My hope is that today you will make sure of your eternal destiny, so that one day you can be reunited with all the believers who have gone before and with the Lord who made a way for you to be with Him.

The grief we feel is real, but if the message of Christmas is true, then our grief is only for our loss, not for Peggy’s. If her faith was in Christ, then she has lost nothing, but gained everything.

There will be times when you are sad because you miss Peggy. That’s ok. But I hope you find that sadness tempered by the reality that this life is not all there is, and find hope in the knowledge that if you trust Christ, then when your life ends, you will experience a reunion like you cannot even imagine. And the baby in the manger is what made it all possible.

Will you pray with me?

Our heavenly Father, we thank you today for the life of Peggy Bundy. We are saddened by her death, but we find encouragement in the reality of life beyond the grave. Father, today I pray that you would surround this family with your love and grant them strength as they walk through difficult days ahead. Even in the midst of sadness, remind them of the joy that Christmas brings, and the assurance that is ours through Jesus. Help us as we grieve, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

SONG—Amazing Grace