Ann Driver's Service

Mrs. Ann Driver

Welcome:

Thank you for joining us this afternoon.

Today, we are celebrating the life and homegoing of Mrs. Ann Driver.

Prayer

OBIT:

Ann Marie Davis Driver August 2, 1935 – January 5, 2025

Ann Marie Davis was born on August 2, 1935, in Borger, Texas, to Joseph and Ruby Davis. She was the beloved sister of four brothers—Melvin, Floyd, Bob, and Sonny Davis—and one sister, Marilyn Austin.

On January 5, 2025, Ann joined in eternal life, reunited with her immediate family, as well as her daughter, Linda Stephens; her husband of 63 years, Cecil Driver; her son, David Driver; her grandson, Benjamin Stephens; and her great-granddaughters, Corinthia Watkins and Breanna Perry.

Ann spent her early years in Phillips, Texas, a town named after Phillips 66 Petroleum, where her father devoted over 40 years of service.

She attended school in Phillips through the eighth grade before continuing her education in nearby Dumas, graduating from Dumas High School in 1953. Determined and independent, Ann ventured to Dallas after graduation to attend business school, driving there in a brand-new car she had proudly purchased with her own earnings.

It was in Dallas that she met her future husband, Cecil Driver, through a mutual friend while caring for his five-year-old daughter, Linda. Their bond was immediate, and on July 31, 1954, just six months after meeting, Ann and Cecil were married. Together, they built a life filled with love and family, welcoming three children: Glynn in 1955, David in 1957, and Janet in 1959.

The Drivers made their home in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for over three decades until Cecil’s retirement from General Motors.

In 1986, they relocated to Jacksonville, Texas, where they would spend their remaining years together.

After Cecil’s passing in 2017, Ann briefly returned to the Metroplex to live with her daughter, Janet, and son-in-law, James Dolan, and to be near her son, David, until his passing in 2019. In 2023, Ann returned to Jacksonville, where Janet and her family had settled on the family homestead. In 2024, her son Glynn joined them, bringing the family full circle.

Ann was a devoted wife, a loving mother, and a second mother to many of her children’s friends.

She had a deep passion for hospitality, organizing countless gatherings for family and friends. She was a dedicated member of New Hope Baptist Church in Jacksonville for nearly 30 years, strengthening her faith and enriching her community.

A woman of adventure, Ann loved traveling across the country by RV, cruising to destinations like Hawaii and Alaska, and exploring Europe and Canada. She also dedicated over 20 years as a "Pink Lady" (formerly known as a Candy Striper) at East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville before retiring in 2007.

Her hands were rarely still—she was a talented seamstress and a member of a local quilting club, where she helped create beautiful quilts to support those in need and to gift to loved ones.

Ann Driver’s legacy lives on through her cherished family. She is survived by her son, Edward “Glynn” Driver of Jacksonville, Texas, and his daughter, Carissa Driver, along with her two sons, Mickel and Benjamin James of Annapolis, Maryland.

She is also survived by her daughter, Janet Dolan, and her husband, James Dolan, of Jacksonville, Texas, and their children:

Angela O’Neil and her husband, Daniel, and their son, Theodore, of Haltom City, Texas.

Michael Dolan of Palestine, Texas.

Janice Snodgrass and her husband, Brett, and their children, Taylor, Peyton, and Brady, of Alton, Iowa.

Kayla Dolan of Jacksonville, Texas.

Hayden Dolan of El Paso, Texas.

William Clark and wife Amanda and their children, Mikala, Kairi, Jayden, and Lucas

Granddaughter, Rani Graham and her husband, Bradley, and their children, Nathan and Sean, of Arlington, Texas.

Ann is also lovingly remembered by numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

Her life was a testament to faith, love, and unwavering devotion to those she held dear. She leaves behind a beautiful legacy of kindness, strength, and generosity—a life well-lived and deeply cherished.

Psalm 23 NKJV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Song: The Old Rugged Cross (congragation or instrument?)

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Eulogy Bro. James Morris of New Hope Baptist Church

Memories of lives lived can help us keep our loved ones close when they are no longer with us. It has been said,

God gave us memories so we could have roses in the winter.

Unknown

Remember and share good memories of Mrs. Driver.

If you would like to share memories, please stand and you may do so at this time

Song Amazing Grace

Closing pray/Blessing

Back up sermon (Just in Case)

Ecclesiastes 3:1–6 NKJV

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

Sermon

While it is natural to grieve, we are reminded in 1 Thess 4:13

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NKJV

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

It is normal to grieve and have sorrow

But, as we grieve, we have hope.  This life is not end. Life under the sun is the foyer of real life… eternal life

Grief is, in one way, a costly consequence of love.

The writer, Hilary Stanton Zunin observes that “The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief”.

We grieve because we feel the pain of loss, but we also grieve because of the strength of our love for the person that we have come here to remember today.

That love continues and grief does not diminish it. 

And so, what brings us here ultimately today is not grief, but love – love for Mrs. Driver, a love that carries on in spite of her passing into eternity.

This is an enduring love as we remember her life and our interactions. 

With love there is always hope, and the greatest love of all is the love of God for us. God’s love is a love which never diminishes and never dies because it is a love of the Creator for his created children.   Mrs. Driver knew this love of God and desired others to know Him as well.

In the words of our Lord from the 14th chapter of John’s gospel we see the hope that can grow out of love.  Jesus said,

John 14:1–6 NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, was always the disciple who was willing to ask the brave questions that the other disciples perhaps thought foolish to ask.

After hearing Jesus’ explain that he was going away and that they knew the path He was taking, Thomas is willing to admit his ignorance and say, ‘I don’t know the way, but how can I know?’

Jesus’ answer is simple yet profound, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’

– The hope for future eternal life is Jesus

He is the path that leads to our eternal home in Heaven

He is the Truth that sets us free

He is the life we long for.

The best answers to the big questions of life and death are to be found in the God who created us, the God who took on flesh and was named Jesus of Nazareth to show us the way to return to him again, the God who goes ahead of us to prepare a place for us in eternity with Him if we will but acknowledge his presence and his glory.

Today we are not alone. We meet together to share our grief, to share our love for Mrs. Driver.

Mrs. Driver went to be with the Lord.  She shared her faith with us while here through both her testimony and her actions. 

I find such comfort in that fact. We know our loved ones are alive and with the Lord, and we can one day be reunited with her.

Hear the words of the apostle Paul to the church in Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Today, be comforted by the words that our Savior Jesus, paid for our sins on the cross.  He was buried and He rose again, and now is preparing a home for us in heaven.  He offers this same hope to all who will respond to God’s call in faith.  

Mrs. Driver answered God’s call and became His child, and the other day, she went home to be with Him

Today, she would want you trust Him as well.   Have faith that he will keep His promises.  Faith He will forgive your sins, Faith He will come again to take us home.

The American poet, Robert Frost said,

‘In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.’

The truth is that life goes on after we graduate from this life under the sun into eternal life.

God longs to be with us as our life goes on, to show his love for us and to transform us – to turn our sorrow into joy and our mourning into dancing.

Today, we celebrate that Mrs. Driver lives on in the presence of the Savior.

Let us pray

Dismiss