Our sister, Thresa Dunnells, died quite suddenly last week. The following tribute to her was written by Karen King:

When I received the phone call informing me of Thresa’s sudden passing, the first thing I did when I hung up the phone was flip through my Bible looking for a familiar scripture that made me forget my sadness and instead gave me a smile.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:4

I thought about all of the physical struggles and heartache Thresa had endured her entire life and the discouragements she faced daily and how she never let those things destroy her faith or her determination to keep trying to do her best at being a Christian woman in a hard and unfair world. And I pictured all of those struggles and hurts being lifted from her load of burdens.

Thresa never married, nor did she ever bear any children and rather than complain about how unfair that was, she opened her heart and her arms to every child that crossed her path and showered them with love and encouragement. She loved giving to others and though she had very little, she was always giving thoughtful little tokens or books or whatever she could find to me and my daughters and to so many others. She loved people and she did her best to show kindness to others, even if it wasn’t returned.

Aside from the faith we shared, Thresa and I had some common passions – coffee was one of them. We also loved to read, though she went through far more books than I am likely to go through in my lifetime, even if I live to be 100. I would love to know how many books she has read over the span of her 55 years of life! Poetry was another common interest we had and she wrote many inspiring poems, many of which revolved around her thirst for God’s word and the comfort and friendship she received from her church family. I enjoyed reading them.

She was not able to give money to the church as she would have liked or give to others in the same way that many at church were able to give to her, but she gave much in other ways. She has taken on the role of caregiver a number of times in her life for loved ones and as a profession and has also had to be on the receiving end of care at times. That is never an easy thing to accept, but Thresa accepted these times graciously. She was always willing to help with whatever she was physically able to do – she helped teach bible classes and jr. worship, she worked hard making VBS a success and encouraged our youth through Bible Bowl. She did these things despite her limitations and heavy burdens. Actually, she gave more than she ever realized and I know that God placed great value on what she gave because the things she did in service to the Lord took more effort and energy than it takes for many of us to write a check that we may barely miss each week.

Thresa Dunnells was not just someone in the church who had needs. She was someone who had much to teach us and much to give and the trials and physical hardships she suffered were not in vain. Just last week, Thresa asked me “When are we going to have coffee again?” After a quick mental scan of my remaining summer schedule, I replied with little hesitation “It will need to be sometime after school starts back up.” It was the last thing I remember saying to her. And I suppose I could come down hard on myself for not responding differently, and while it is a worthy reminder that we have no promise in tomorrow, I just keep thinking that she wants for nothing today – including a coffee date with me. She is free from physical distress and she no longer has to wait on anyone to fit her into their schedule or take her where she needs to go. She is wrapped in unimaginable beauty and love . . . at home . . . where we all hope to meet her again some fine day.