Evelyn Quigle - 12/11/19

Funeral Service for Evelyn Quigle - December 11, 2019

We gather today to remember the life and mourn the loss of Evelyn L. Quigle. We do so with the conviction that this life is not all there is.

The Apostle Paul wrote,

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. . . But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:13-15,20,42-44)

This is the hope that keeps us from despair, that fuels our living and gives comfort in our time of death. Please pray with me.

Father, please comfort us in this time of loss. Grant that we might appreciate the life that was lived and help us to grab hold of the confidence of that which is to come, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Evelyn Quigle was born on April 21, 1933 in the Macomb area, the daughter of Glenn and Gladys Bryan Griffeth. She lived not far from where Jerry Quigle lived. Because of a boundary line, Jerry attended school in Good Hope and Evelyn went to Bardolf. Jerry played basketball and Evelyn was a cheerleader for the other team. Even after Jerry and his family moved into the Praire City School district they continued to be on opposite sides at games. Jerry was attracted to Evelyn. After a time he finally asked her out.

They loved to roller skate together. They went to all the area rinks. When drive-ins came around they went there as well. Evelyn was really Jerry's only girlfriend. That was not so much the case for Evelyn. She had a boyfriend who died. One day while they were "going together" Jerry wasn't able to go out with Evelyn because he was playing basketball with an FFA team so . . . she went out with someone else! Jerry was not a happy camper. But they smoothed things out.

While dating they would periodically fight and Jerry would take Evelyn home. Fortunately, Evelyn kept her skates in Jerry's trunk, so even if he was really upset he would have to see her again to give her the skates back.

Jerry went into the service and they were married on September 8, 1953. Evelyn became a nurse and Jerry farmed and did lots of odd jobs when he got out of the service. I am told Evelyn was a really good nurse. They had three children: Roger, Rick and Gary. This resulted in 10 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Evelyn loved her children, but he started suffering some physical and psychological problems that confounded the Doctors. She wrestled with these issues throughout her life. She loved to work in her flower beds, liked to bake cakes, and enjoyed country music. She loved to go to the games of her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed when the family was around. They put up a swimming pool for the grandkids and enjoyed sitting in the sun. Anyone who lives in La Harpe also knows Evelyn enjoyed going to the restaurant to eat. When Evelyn and Jerry walked into the restaurant, they were holding hands and they left holding hands. Evelyn enjoyed her pie. She also liked to buy things. Often, she would not simply purchase one item. . . she would purchase a number of the same item. Evelyn was a breast cancer survivor.

Evelyn came to the Union Church for a while until she could no longer manage the steps. There was no way you were going to get here into the elevator. She didn't trust it. I always enjoyed visiting with her when we saw each other at the restaurant.

Her health issues became more of a problem and she had to be placed in a care facility. She was in several facilities. At times she could be quite difficult. I have to believe that much of this was caused by her physical problems. There were times, when the Evelyn Jerry fell in love with was there. That is what kept them going. Fortunately, she married a man who took his vows to her seriously. Jerry cared for Evelyn in a remarkable way over the years. He came and took her out often and took her home in the afternoons until he couldn't anymore. Jerry served well as her advocate. The two of them were the example of committed love. Jerry is a model of what every husband should aspire to be.

On December 7th Evelyn completed her journey here on earth. The last thing she said to Jerry was a simple, "I love you."

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In some respects, Evelyn Quigles' story was a sad one. Her physical problems were a mystery to Doctors. It wasn't until later that they discovered she was having mini seizures. Tests indicated that she could have dozens in a single day. Sometimes they were imperceptible, at other times she would collapse or fall asleep. She could hear you; she was unable to respond. It is reasonable to conclude these seizures affected her mental state. It is reasonable to conclude each seizure made her a little less than who she was. I suspect some of her fits of anger should be attributed to these seizures. They put a strain on the marriage and made Eveyln sometimes VERY stubborn and determined. We are left to wonder how different her life might have been if they had been able to discover and treat these seizures early.

I believe Evelyn is now finally whole again. Jesus said,

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

The phrase I love is "I know them." God knows us the way we really are . . . without the problems, the diseases, the mental strains. He knows the way He made us to be before all the evil, disease and wickedness entered the world. God saw Evelyn in a way none of the rest of us could see her.

The Bible views death much differently than we do. We see it as the final defeat, the Bible sees it as the day of victory. We see it as a day of loss, the Bible points to it as a day of finally arriving home. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, will live even though he dies."

When Jesus said this, He was talking to his dear friends, Mary and Martha at the funeral of their brother, Lazarus.There are three things to notice.

First, there is a promise:“He who believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”Jesus says there is life beyond the grave.

The Bible’s teaching is consistent.Death is not the end.There is existence and life that extends beyond the grave.It is a life that starts the moment we believe and goes on forever.It is a life that makes this life seem like only a moment. The Bible tells us that there are two possible destinations: Heaven and Hell. The life called Heaven is described in the Bible as a time and place filled with unimagined joy and the elimination of all that is evil or painful.We are told “God will wipe away every tear from their eye.” There is nothing good about the other alternative.

Second, there isa condition to the promise, “He who believes in me.”There are two common views about Heaven.One view says everyone who dies goes to Heaven except maybe the reallybad people (and we never consider ourselves in that group).So, the only thing you need to do to go to Heaven is . . .die. The other view says that only those people who live “good” lives go to Heaven.We tend to think we may fit into that category. The Bible says neither is true.

The Bible tells us that none of us have lived a good enough life to earn God’s favor or what we often think of as “heaven”.Even the best of us sin (or go against the ways of God) . . . and we do this with unfortunate regularity.Think about it, even if we only did what was wrong in God’s eyes either in thought, word, or deed three times a day (which would be a staggeringly good day for me), that would be 21 times a week (if we could maintain this goodness) . . . almost a thousand times a year!By the end of our lives we would have committed tens of thousands of sins. And this, I remind you, is a person we would consider an unrealistically good person! The point is: the debt of the best person is greater than they can pay.

The Bible tells us that the whole point of the death of Jesus was to give His life as a payment for our sin-debt. I always wondered: “How is it possible for one man to pay for the sin of millions or billions of people.

It helps me to think about it this way: If terrorists tried to take down the White House how many Secret Service personnel would give their lives to protect the President? I suspect all of them would be willing to give their lives. And how many members of the Armed Forces would give their lives to protect the President? I would suggest it would be hundreds or thousands.Why would you trade all those lives to protect just one? It has nothing to do with politics or the person in the White House. It has everything to do with the office or position of that one person.

Now turn this around. The Bible teaches that this one man, Jesus, could give His life as a payment for millions upon millions because His position as Son of God made the sacrifice possible. It would be like the President trading his life so that thousands of others could be freed. The office of “Son of God” is much more valuable than “President of the United States” therefore the value of that life is exponentially greater.

The condition to receive forgiveness and new life is that we put our hope, faith, and confidence in Jesus and follow Him in the way we live our lives. The Bible is clear, only those who sincerely and truly trust Jesus Christ will be granted Heaven. Sincere trust is not a prayer you pray; it is not a membership you hold; it is the direction of your life.To really “have faith” or “believe” in Jesus means being willing to follow Him and trust Him.

For those who believe (the Christian), death is not the end of the story; it is merely the end of the introduction to the story.Death, to the believer, is merely a time of transition.It is the transfer point leading to new life, reunion, healing and celebration.

You might hear some people say, "I'm not interested in going to Heaven because all my friends will be in Hell anyway." There is a fatal flaw in that way of thinking. Friendship, enjoyment, celebration, loyalty, and all other good things are gifts from God and will be withdrawn from those outside of Heaven. Hell will not be party; it will be a place of suffering and regret.

I don't know what Evelyn truly believed. But God does. We entrust her today to the One who always does what is right.

And perhaps we should use this time to reflect on our own lives and learn some things.

We should strengthen our definition of commitment and the promise of "loving someone in sickness and in health." We live in a day when the sense of commitment has often given way to the pursuit of what is enjoyable, easy, and fun. We are more shallow because of it. We have too often traded love for amusement.

We should remember that often, things are not always what they seem. If you meet someone who is difficult you don't know what else is going on in their lives. You never know what another person is dealing with. We should extend each other a little more grace.

We should celebrate our family while we can. Life can change slowly, or it can change in an instant. We would be wise to not waste opportunities to appreciate those whom we love most. As we face another Christmas, we should take a good look at the treasure that is housed in family members rather than focusing on their quirks.

Finally, instead of being irritated the next time you see an older couple holding hands but moving slowly, maybe we should stop and admire them.

Let's pray together,

Father, today we ask you to help us to grasp that which we cannot see. Help us to see hope in the midst of loss; life in the presence of death. I thank you for the example of Jerry and Evelyn Quigle. I ask you now to comfort and strengthen Jerry and his family. Renew within us all a true and living faith. I ask in Jesus' name.