Janice Elizabeth Bearden

Prayer

Obituary

Janice Elizabeth (Tapley) Bearden, age 83 of Kennesaw, passed away Saturday, April20, 2024.

Janice was born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 21, 1940. She was preceded in death by her husband, Terrell Lee Bearden, her father, Thomas Joel Tapley, Sr., and mother Susan Elizabeth Hales Tapley. Janice has two children, son, Terrell Allen Bearden and a daughter Leah Michelle Bearden Shriver. She has five grandchildren, Christopher Shriver, Greyson Shriver, Jacquelyn Bearden, Jacob Bearden, and Hannah Grace Bearden, two great grandsons, Gavin Shriver and Isaiah Ford, one brother, Lamar Tapley, nieces, nephews and cousins.

I had the privilege of meeting Miss. Bearden one time at Hannah baptism.

Janice grew up in Riverside with many friends and loving Christian family, she married her high-school sweetheart, Terrell Lee Bearden in 1960. Sadly, Mr. Bearden passed away in 1995. Janice worked as an Engineering Project Clerk at Lockheed Martin and retired with 24 years of service. Since 2007, she live in Kennesaw, Georgia. After the death of her mother, she retired to care for her Father. After her retirement, she followed her dream of writing. During that time, she wrote and published four books but her favorite was her children’s book, Gordy’s Outrageous Adventures.

Most of all Janice loved and walked with the Lord from childhood until her death. She would say her Heavenly Father was by her side throughout her life’s journey.

During her later years she adopted her beloved companion, a dog she named Chloe. She wrote a Book called Chloe to the Rescue, and donated the money for homeless pets to find a forever home. Her words about Chloe were “I didn’t rescue Chloe, Chloe rescued me”.

Song: I Won

Eulogy

All moms are special. Everyone born has a mom, living or dead, who is special to them, yet being a special mom is all connected.

Adam received a woman to be his helper in the garden, but it didn’t end there. “Woman” became a mom to nurture, protect, teach, nurse, tell bedtime stories, and be a chef of all delectable sweets. She kissed boo-boos to make them better. She made Christmas magical and your birthdays to be celebrated with wonder. She made sure your uniform was clean before the big game and was your biggest fan, no matter how bad you were. She lived through the noise while you learned the drums. She took you places you didn’t want to go, like the hairdressers or the grocery store. In summertime she took you to the public swimming pool or Mother Goose Land. She made picking out school clothes an adventure, no matter how many times you had to try on different clothes.

Moms were also stern disciplinarians. Moms from my generation knew their way around a hickory bush and could swing it better than Babe Ruth or Henry Arron. Moms knew that sometimes their decisions would cause you to hate them, but they never stopped loving you. Moms delighted in seeing the smiles on our faces and sacrificed everything to put one on our faces.

Eventually, as time passes, we become the doctors, nurses, storytellers, and strong arms to lean on when they get in and out of the car and take the long walk from the parking lot. Their bodies frail from the years of taking care of us. How do you repay a debt that is a lifetime of accruing interest? A simple “I love you, Mom.” erases that debt time and time again.

So, you ask, what made my mom special? Everything that I just mentioned. She showed me how to walk with Jesus and adhere to a strong Christian faith. You see, moms have a helper who guides them, the Lord Jesus Christ. For that, I am forever eternally grateful. Those years of sitting in those hard wooden pews and even the comfy padded ones, she knew she couldn’t do it alone. Moms are human, and they make mistakes. So, she did what any Christian mom would; she prayed for me, which is the greatest thing a mom can do. You see, helping you plan for your future here is important, but it’s the after here that matters most.

Thank you, Mom, for your incessant prayers that I, too, may be where you are. I love you so very much, and I know I will see you again.

Your son Terry.

Message

As a minster of the gospel and officiator of countless funerals, I have learned that death is a part of life. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, death like a plague, was passed to all humanity and all the hurt and pain that comes with it. It’s in times like these that we feel the separation and loss that death will bring. We go through dark days, months, and years as we feel the sting of death for the rest of our lives.

Jesus described death differently than we do. He had an understanding and vision that allowed him to see death in a different light. The light of eternity.

The Resurrection of Lazarus

(Tell the story of Lazarus)

John 11:17–27 ESV

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Is Jesus claims true? Is he the resurrection and the life? Can we put our hope and eternity in his hands.

John 11:43–44 ESV

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

1 Corinthians 15:3–6 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

The Resurrection of Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:16–22 ESV

16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

The Resurrection of the Saints

1 Corinthians 15:51–58 ESV

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Song: Crossing over Jordan