Dear Praying Friends:
Update on my mother, Marjory Patton.� For those who may not remember, my mother had been in a retirement village nearly 38 years.� After the death of my father December 31, 1999, she moved from a small apartment to a single room where she received meals and assisted care.� She was transferred to an Alzheimer’s unit about a year and a half ago.� She had really done quite well there, though she has not usually recognized family or friends by name during that time.� When she was still lucid, she voiced several times to several of us in 2006 and 2007 that she did not know why the Lord had not taken her to be with Himself.
About a month or so ago, she fell, breaking a hip and shoulder.� Initially she tolerated surgery well.� She seemed to be making some progress in rehabilitation, which is remarkable at 93 years of age.� However, she deteriorated over the last two weeks, became incoherent, began losing a lot of weight, and hardly was eating or drinking.� Hospice care was arranged for her.� She lapsed into a coma, stopped eating or drinking and passed peacefully into the presence of the Lord Sunday afternoon, May 17th, 2009.
We appreciate many who prayed for her peaceful departure to be with the Lord.� We want to express our special thanks to my brother Richard and sister-in-law Kaye for their love, concern and repeated five hour trips to see Mom.� We also thank my son-in-law Paul and daughter Cathy for their 7 hour trip last week to see Mom Patton again, as well as the many times they stopped to see her en route to their trailer in Kentucky.�� Thanks also to our daughter Becky who made trips to see Grandma and called her regularly on the phone even when Mom no longer recognized who she was talking to.� Our other two children, Kim, who is a missionary in Suriname, and Marc, who is a missionary in Hungary, also visited Mom when they were in the USA
We expect that they will hold a memorial service in her memory later this week at the Presbyterian Church in Waverly, Ohio, where she and dad had been members for many years.� Actually Mom and Dad had arranged for their funerals some time before my father died nearly 10 years ago.� The few family belongings which she still had have already been distributed to the family.�
We sorrow that Mom is not with us here on earth, but rejoice that she is with the Lord and freed of the shackles of sickness, especially these last two years.� It is the end of an era in our family.� She is the last surviving member of her generation, and we are now the “oldest generation.”� We have discussed with the family that we believe it is best for us to remain here on the field.�� We would like to be there, but want to use the Lord’s money in the best way.� When my Dad died, we went back to support Mom.� But this time, there is no one who needs that kind of support.� We would appreciate your continued prayers for the family as they work out the details of the memorial service.�� We would appreciate your prayers as we continue the work here.�� I will enclose a note that I am sending for her memorial service.
One of the difficult things in missionary service is leaving family behind.� We are grateful that we have been able to see my mother each time we have returned home for a mini-furlough, and even for 3 weeks when I was recovering from my heart attack in 2005.� However, each time we leave, we realize that we may be saying our last goodby.� That was especially true last year.� We pray that we will be a good testimony to our people here in Suriname during this time.� With modern transportation, communication with e-mail and international telephones, etc. our situation is so much easier than those of the missionaries a century ago.
Prayer requests:
1.�������� Health and strength for the work here
2.�������� Spiritual growth
3.�������� The arrangements following the homegoing of Mom Patton
4.�������� Our testimony here in Suriname
5.�������� The continuation of the work here in Suriname
I am enclosing a note which I sent to be read at my mother’s funeral.
A Tribute to Mother
The facts are easy to record: Marjory Maude Patton.� Born October 10, 1915 of Herman and Maude Walker.� Died May 17, 2009 age 93.� She is survived by two sons, five grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.� But those facts hardly give a picture of Mom Patton.
I wonder what people thought when the handsome young minister started dating a 17 year old vivacious girl more than 10 years his junior!� Would they believe that they would have 62 years of happy marriage?� Following three years courtship, my mother left her nursing training a year early for marriage.� The studious pastor took 22 books on his honeymoon!� But my mother, with a laugh, said that he never opened one of them.� Dad continued as a pastor in Green Island, New York.� I was born about 2 � years later, and at age 3, in 1941, we went to China as missionaries.
But then testing came.� We were moved to the Philippine Islands because of the war.� We were captured by the Japanese army and spent 3 1/3 years in a POW camp.� For a full two years the family was apart, and my mother and father only talked as they were in the chow lines for men and women.�� The last year, families were permitted to reunite.� But I never remember feeling alone or abandoned during that entire time.� Both parents were respected in the camp.� My mother was always upbeat and encouraged others.� We were released by MacArthur’s returning troups.�� Two weeks later, my brother was born by emergency Caesarian section for placenta previa (a life-threating condition) while the Japanese were still shelling the hospital.� Who would think that my mother, whose health was precarious, would live another 64 years to age 93?
The next 25 years or so were spent raising a family as the wife of a pastor, moving every few years to a new location.� When Dad Patton retired at age 67 to Bristol Village, she was only 55 years old.� At that time, the apartments, Pavilion and skilled care were not available, and her nursing skills were in demand.� She was known and loved by many.� As Dad aged, they eventually moved into an apartment for 6 years until his death December 31, 1999.� After a time, she relocated in the Pavilion, and then for the last 1 � years in Memory Garden.
I am certain that my mother’s belief in the Lord, and her acceptance of Him as savior sustained her during the trials of the 3 year in a POW camp.� Her relationship with the Lord continued throughout life.� But it was a special blessing to see her grow spiritually during the time when her health and memory declined.� She had known the Lord as her savior from sins and as her companion.� But in the last years, she learned to depend on Him completely.� When she misplaced things, she would pray to the Lord, and then find what she had lost.� She grew closer to Him as the power and sustainer of her life.� She had always had a sweet disposition, but as her health and memory declined, she maintained her sweetness, truly manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in her life.� As with Paul, she could say: II Kor. 12:9-10 And He (the Lord) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.� Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.� Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Mom, we will miss you.� But we are glad you are reunited with loved ones, and with the Lord.� We pray that many will be touched by the testimony of your life, and come to accept the Lord as savior, but also make that total commitment to Him as truly our life.
In Him and Content:
Bob and Liz Patton
Missionaries to Suriname, South America
