A Tribute to Mom by Don Thorpe

Mom always believed in the good in people; and never gave up on them; even a rebellious son, who finally went on mission at 25 years old. One of her neighbors said they used to talk over the fence and Mom told him lots of stories, but she never told him anything bad about people. When others gossiped about someone and Mom came into the room, they'd say, don't say anything bad about anybody because Leah will say something nice. Stephen Spielberg said in the movie, Always, “The only thing you regret when you die is the love you didn't give” -- Truly, Mom has no regrets, because she loved everyone.

Mom was close to the spirit, and she would always ask us to pray over her home before we went anywhere. I took Catherine (my wife to be) to meet my mother on our second date. Catherine walked into the room to meet Mom, and heard a voice in her mind tell her, "she will be your mother-in-law."  Catherine didn’t know what to think of that and was quite for rest of the visit. She didn’t tell me about it until after we were married.

Like Oscar Wilde's Canterville Ghost, Mom has helped us to see what life and death is, and that love is stronger than both. Just before I took her to the hospital, Mom told me she didn't want to die, and I told her she would be around for a long time. But that wasn’t to be. Just before Mom died she looked at me and asked with her eyes, why is this happening?  I felt guilty for taking her there and signing the permission papers for her operation. And at the Viewing after everyone else had gone, I told her I was sorry. Then I felt her positive warm presence, and I said, see you tomorrow, Mom -- and I felt her answer, see you tomorrow, son; in the Celestial Kingdom.