Funeral Message for Gloria Eileen Lee

Greeting

Hello My name is Chad Wilham and I am the pastor of Heritage Church in Winchester,VA where I have the privilege to Pastor and serve alongside Joe and Susanna Brand. Where Joe is our Deacon Chairman.

On behalf of Glorias family, I wish to thank you for being here to remember her life today.

Obituary:

Gloria Eileen Lee, 78, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, passed away on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

She was born December 4, 1947, to Daryl Gene and Alma L. Johnson in Columbus, Ohio.

She graduated from Indian Hill High School in 1968, attended Randolph-Macon Women’s College, and finished her B.A. in San Jose. She later completed a Master’s degree in Counseling at Shepherd University.

Gloria loved animals and was mom to many cats and dogs throughout the years. She bred Siamese kittens for a season in life, bringing many wonderful kittens to loving homes. Her golden shepherd Sailor and rescue cat Shadow will miss her warmth and snuggles.

Gloria helped to start an online community named Nonduality Salon in 1998, which has been a thriving community to this day. She treasured her connections, support, and friendships through this vital community in her life.

Gloria is survived by her loving husband Henry “Biff” Thomas Lee Jr.; her son Joseph Lawrence Brand and his wife Susanna Moriah Ann Brand, and grandchildren Rhyus Joseph Brand, Lorelai Eun Joo Brand, and Jillian Eun Jae Brand; her son Adam Morgan Brand and his wife Sarah Ashley Brand, and grandchildren Kinsley Morgan Brand, Everly Cole Brand, and Cora Rose Brand; her daughter Anna Maria Lee Blocker Leavitt and her husband Daniel Joe Leavitt, and grandchildren Dr. Rachael Rose Leavitt-McDonald and her husband Rev. Andrew Kyle McDonald, Joseph David Leavitt, Nathanael Adam Leavitt and his wife Margot Verstraeten Leavitt, and great-grandchildren Paul Ambrose McDonald, Jack Theodore McDonald, and William Tyndale Leavitt; her son Morgan Lee and his wife Sarah Meghan Lee, and grandchildren Collette Blue Lee and Jasper Weston Lee; and her brother James Johnson, as well as many cherished nieces, nephews and cousins.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Daryl and Alma Johnson; her sister, Caryl Johnson; and her son, Steven Joseph Brand.

Prayer:

Let’s pray.

Father, we come to You today with the weight of loss before us. We thank You for Gloria’s life. We thank You for the good memories, the moments of kindness, the love of family, the beauty of creation she enjoyed, and the lives touched by her along the way.

Comfort this family today. Help them remember what is good. Help them grieve honestly. Give peace where hearts feel heavy. And as we open Your Word, point us to Jesus Christ, who alone gives hope in life and in death.

We ask this in His name. Amen.

Eulogies- Joe Brand and Biff (Potentially)

Introduction:

I did not have the privilege of knowing Gloria personally, so I want to speak today with humility.

I can’t tell her story as someone who shared years of life with her.

I can’t pretend to know every memory, every joy, every burden, or every sorrow.

But every life leaves something behind.

Memories.

Impressions.

People who remember certain seasons, certain joys, certain struggles, and certain gifts.

Gloria’s life was not one-dimensional. No life is.

She was strong, and she was human.

She had tenderness, convictions, limitations, and personality.

She loved calm and often tried to avoid conflict.

She had a compassionate heart, especially toward people who were hurting or in need.

She loved beauty, animals, nature, gardening, music, and the quieter joys of life.

Today, it is good to remember her in the healthier and happier seasons.

Remember the grandmother who wanted to be part of her grandchildren’s lives as long as she was able.

Remember the pony lessons with the grandkids.

Remember the animals she loved, the cats and dogs that filled her home.

Remember the garden she tended.

Remember the music she loved, especially singing in the choir and the beauty of Handel’s Messiah.

Biff you were a steady and gracious presence in Gloria’s life. You loved her, cared for her, and helped her through more than many people realized.

In fact, Joe and Adam both used the word “lifesaver” in talking to me about yours and Glorias relationship.

So, today we endeavor to remember Gloria with tenderness and to hold on to what was good. While at teh same time acknowledging the sorrow of her passing. While also examining the hope that God gives in His word through the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:1–3 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus spoke those words the night before He went to the cross. While gathered in an upper room with his disciples who were confused and fearful over his telling them he was going to be betrayed and put to death. Peter had also impetuously corrected Jesus and was told that even he would deny Christ three times that very night.

And its into that confusion and grief that Jesus tells them: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

Christian hope doesn’t ask us to pretend that death isn’t an enemy. Or that somehow grief isn’t real. None of that is the case, but what it does to is point us to a source of hope better and stronger than ourselves.

That is where I want us to spend our time today as we remember and honor Gloria’s life.

1.) Jesus speaks to troubled hearts.

Death troubles the heart.

Even when death comes after a long journey of declining health, it still hurts and leaves an emptiness.

It brings long forgotten memories back to the forefront. It makes us think about life, family, love, regret, mercy, and eternity.

And none of those thoughts come to us in a straight line but in a weird tangle of sweet and painful. Gratitude and sorrow. Love and regret. Things we understand and things we still cannot quite make sense of.

That is why this passage John 14 is so fitting because it speaks to our grief in such a powerful way. By reminding us that we don’t have to be troubled by our grief but can instead bring it to the Lord.

Gloria loved the calm and was fairly conflict avoidant. But unfortunately we live in a world that doesn't always allow for days like that.

Relationships are rarely that simple. Our bodies weaken, our eyes dim, our minds slip, life changes, complications come yet it is in those moments of a lack of calm that Christ often meets his children by bringing a sure and steady peace in the midst of turmoil.

So to Glorias family, in the days and weeks ahead when your heart feels troubled over the loss of your wife, your mom, your friend, look to Jesus and call his name. He will bring you that peace.

2.) Jesus prepares a place for His people.

After Jesus speaks to their troubled hearts, He gives them a promise.

He says,

John 14:2 ESV

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Notice Jesus gives more than just some vague thoughts of a better place, he uses the language of home. His Fathers house. Many rooms. A prepared place to welcome.

Most of us know what it means to prepare a place for someone we love.

When family is coming to vist, you make room. You get things ready. You think about what they may need. You want them to be welcomed. You want them to know they belong.

Jesus uses that same kind of language here.

The way in which Jesus was leaving to prepare a place for his children was through the cross.

That very night, Jesus would be betrayed and then the next day crucified.

He died for sinners. He bore the judgment our sin deserves. He was buried. And on the third day, He rose again from the grave. This is what is called the gospel and its the way in which we are welcomed into the fathers house.

The Bible tells us that God made us for Himself. But all of us have sinned. All of us have fallen short. None of us comes to the end of life with clean hands, a perfect heart, or a flawless record.

That is why Jesus came. To forgive sin and bring His people home to the Father.

Gloria had a compassionate heart. And because of that, she wanted to think generously about people and faith. That is understandable. We all want mercy to be wide. We want hope to be real. We want the people we love to be safe in the hands of God.

But Jesus does not leave our hope undefined.

A few verses later He says,

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Those words can sound hard to modern ears. But we need to remember that these are the words of the Savior who was going to the cross.

Jesus was not trying to keep people away from God. He came to open the way to God so sinners could be forgiven. So troubled hearts could have peace and death would not have the final word.

So today, as we entrust Gloria to the Lord we rest in the truth that God knows the heart perfectly.

He knew Gloria’s and he knows yours and mine. So examine yourself and ask: Am I trusting Christ?

Because Jesus prepares a place for His people and the only way to the Fathers house is through the Son.

3.) Jesus promises to bring His people home.

In v.3 after Jesus says He goes to prepare a place, He gives one more promise.

John 14:3 ESV

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

That is the heart of heaven. To be with the Lord beyond the reach of sin, sorrow, and death.

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

The sorrow that has brought us here today will not last forever for those who belong to Christ.

Gloria loved the beauty of creation. She loved animals, gardening, and the quieter joys of life. But even the most beautiful parts of this world are touched by brokenness.

Gardens grow, but they also wither. Bodies strengthen, and then they weaken. Life gives gifts, and then death takes away.

But Revelation 21 ensures us that God will not leave His world this way. That for all those who belong to Christ all the suffering of this world will be put behind us.

4.) Jesus invites us to trust Him.

So as we remember Gloria today, we remember her with tenderness.

We remember what was good. We grieve what has been lost. And we entrust her to the Lord who knows the heart perfectly.

But a day like this also calls each of us to examine our own heart and standing before the Lord.

One of the pieces of music Gloria loved was Handel’s Messiah which tells the story of the gospel.

It points us to Jesus as “the Lamb of God,” the One who came to take away sin. It also gives us that great line from Job: “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

That is the hope we need today.

Jesus is the Redeemer who died and rose again. He is the Savior who prepares a place. He is the Lord who brings His people home. And one day, for all who belong to Him, He will wipe every tear away.

So today, we entrust Gloria to God who knew her completely, who judges rightly, and who is rich in mercy.

And for each of us, the invitation of Jesus still stands: “Believe in God; believe also in me.”

Jesus Christ is the Redeemer who lives, the only Savior who welcomes sinners, and the Lord who brings His people home.

Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the life of Gloria Lee.

Thank You for the good memories, for the love shared, for the beauty she enjoyed, and for every kindness given through her life.

We entrust Gloria to You, the God who knows perfectly, judges rightly, and shows mercy beyond what we deserve.

Comfort Biff, her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all who grieve today. Give peace where hearts are troubled. Bring healing where memories are painful. Help this family hold on to what was good and walk forward with grace.

Most of all, turn our eyes to Jesus Christ.

Thank You that He is the Lamb of God who takes away sin. Thank You that He is the Redeemer who lives. Thank You that He died, rose again, prepares a place for His people, and will one day wipe every tear away.

Teach us to trust Him.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.