Donna Traser - 01/24/25

January 24th, 2025

 We gather today to mourn the death of Donna Traser, but also to celebrate her life. At 90 years old, she lived a long and active life, and impacted many along the way. But even as we grieve Donna’s death today, we do not grieve without hope. In the Bible we read these words,

And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. (1 Corinthians 15:16-20, NLT)

 We can grieve with hope today because of what Jesus Christ has done. Because he lived, died, and rose again, and in so doing paid the penalty for the sin of those who believe in Him, we can be confident that those who place their faith in Him will also live again. If that is true (and I believe wholeheartedly that it is), then our pain is tempered today, recognizing that while we have lost Donna, she has lost nothing.

 Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we pray for your peace and comfort today. I ask that as we remember Donna’s life, we might find comfort in seeing the fullness and joy that she experienced. But I pray too that the pain of loss might be tempered by the hope and promise of the resurrection. Grant this family your help and comfort today, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 Donna Traser was someone who didn’t know how to sit still very well. She and John believed that they should work hard each and every day. During their working years, they would be up and going by 5 AM and often wouldn’t quit until midnight. They both worked multiple jobs and always had multiple “irons in the fire.” They believed that you should work hard for the things you wanted—a drive they passed on to their children.

 Even after John and Donna retired, they didn’t sit still. True, they’d have cocktails and play cards in the garage, but they’d also go for a drive, line dance, or play golf. I would often see them out at the golf course playing together. One particular memory I had was the day Donna got a hole-in-one! They stopped to tell me about it. As I remember the story, she hit the ball and they couldn’t find it for quite some time. They ended up finding it in the bottom of the cup—on the wrong green! Nevertheless, I’m told they saved and displayed that ball in their home.

 Donna was immensely competitive. If she was going to do something, she wanted to be the best at it. Fortunately, John didn’t have that same kind of competitive edge, so it rarely became an issue. She wanted to win at cards, she wanted to catch the first/biggest/most fish, find the first or most mushrooms, or finish the puzzles in the Peoria Journal first. She figured if something was worth doing, it was worth winning!

 She and John loved taking vacations with the kids when they were younger. They would often camp in a travel trailer, and many memories were formed on those trips. When they retired, she and John loved their time in Florida. They always kept busy and had a group of friends there. They were determined to keep going, even when they really shouldn’t have been driving. Thankfully, Shane drove them, making sure they were still able to go…but safely.

 Donna was a great cook. She grew up in a farm family, so she would always cook full meals. The things she made weren’t always healthy, but they were delicious! Most every night of the week, she’d have a full spread for dinner, including dessert!

 When her memory prevented her from being able to cook anymore, John learned to make due with the air fryer and microwave. He’d never had to learn how to cook because Donna had always taken such good care of him.

 Donna also loved music and dancing. She loved to sing in church. John didn’t sing, but would hum along (though I’m told sometimes it was off-key). She loved to dance. John wasn’t much of a dancer, but got better through the years so he could dance with his wife. Donna took up line-dancing after her retirement, and loved it so much she even started teaching it when she was in Florida.

 They both loved and were so proud of their family. They were proud of the people their kids had become and they adored their grandkids as well.

 As I mentioned at the beginning, it is hard to stand at the grave of someone you love. We grieve the end of their lives. But for the believer in Christ, our grief is about our loss, not theirs. We grieve because we know we won’t have any more conversations with the person we love. We grieve because we know there will be no more card games, stories, or subtle (or not-so-subtle) jabs. We will miss those things. But the promise and hope offered by the gospel message is this: for those who have trusted in Jesus to forgive them of their sins and will follow Him with their lives, there is life beyond the grave. As such, if Donna trusted in Jesus, then today she is experiencing life more fully than she ever has before. She has been delivered from her frailty, her mind is sharp, and she is reunited with her husband. Knowing that should temper our grief, even though it doesn’t eliminate the loss each of us feel.

 Standing in a cemetery has a funny way of putting things into perspective for us. It reminds us of what is really important. We see that family, friends, and relationships are the things that matter most. And we are reminded that the questions of faith, about the reality of Jesus and life beyond the grave are not merely theoretical questions. As we stand face-to-face with death, we realize that these questions are actually of ultimate importance. So I hope today you will ensure that you know what lies ahead for you, as it will enable you to live life with a confidence that is wonderfully refreshing.

 As we close today, I’ve got just a few lessons I think we can learn from the life of Donna Traser,

1.   If you’re going to do something, you should give it your all. Whether that’s work, cards, family, or anything else, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

2.   A good marriage is built over a lifetime, but if you work at building that relationship well, it will be a blessing you can’t place a price on.

3.   Loving someone doesn’t mean glossing over their faults or foibles, but it does mean highlighting all the other ways they are a treasure.

4.   If you stay active, you’ll probably do well later in life, regardless of how much fried food you eat or packs of cigarettes you smoke.

5.   You’d be surprised just how many people you can touch just by doing your job well.

6.   Vacations (and life) don’t have to be fancy to be memorable or valuable. Time spent together with those you love is valuable all on its own.

7.   You can teach others a lot just by being consistent in the way you live.

 Will you pray with me?

Dear Lord, we thank you for the life of Donna Traser. We thank you for her faithful work through the years and the legacy she leaves in the lives of her family and friends. We thank you for sending Jesus into the world so that we might be forgiven and be able to face the end of this life with hope and assurance. Lord, we ask your comfort on this family today as they grieve. Grant them fond memories, but also confidence and hope in the message of the gospel. Surround them with your strength in the days, months, and years to come. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.