My sister Barb passed into eternity

I had planned on sending a retirement update, with a countdown (three working days left) before I start on my new career. However, life has a way of changing course for you, like it or not.

My older sister, Barbara Jean Carr, passed away suddenly this morning in Ohio of an apparent heart attack. I don’t know all the details, but we are understandably in shock.

Remember the Bucket List that Bryan and I were creating when we first got his cancer diagnosis? There were things that we had always meant to do, but didn’t get around to. Well, one thing that I won’t regret is taking the opportunity to go to Ohio last month prior to my writers’ conference in Philadelphia. I got to visit with Barb one last time, not realizing it would be the last. We had a good visit, probably the best we’ve had in a long time, although it was short. We had a heart-to-heart talk about life with and without Bryan and moving on after death. Little did we know it would be our last conversation.

Please pray for Barb’s family and for her husband Bill. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year, so he’ll have a major adjustment ahead of him. Also pray for family members traveling to Ohio this week for her memorial service, and for support of one another. We know that death of a loved one tends to bring out the worst in folks who are all hurting, so we’ll need an extra dose of grace to deal with one another.