Eulogy

The sun rises and the sun sets....another new day comes. Yet it is not the same as the one before.

This miracle of new beginnings is hidden behind the newspaper headlines of the day and the ads seen in all the media around. How can such important changes not catch everyone up in at least one moment of wonder and thankfulness.

In the last 30 days both my mother, who was almost 89, and my sister, soon to turn 59, passed away...at home and in their sleep. Both were women of strength, courage in the facing of daily pain and discomfort and a focus on making life better for those around them. This mother-daughter team worked and lived well throughout their lives, related by more than blood and world views.

Terry had many medical treatments, and traumas because of them, by the time she was 12. Betty had good health until an injury when she was 38 set a new course for her life. These two were friends, companions, care-givers for each other over 55 years.

God is so good to us. Terry came as an unexpected pregnancy after all thoughts of having any other children had passed. Yet this youngest child helped the parents learn more medical information, processes and persistence than they ever thought possible. As life turned out, Terry followed closely in her parents footsteps, becoming a Psychiatric Technician and working at Sonoma Developmental Center. While her parents were in one of the first of the classes for this position, Terry was in one of the last ones.

All of her nursing training was put to excellent use in the work she did and at home looking after parents with complex medical ailments, multiple medications and numerous doctor visits. Terry provided all the supports they needed, while juggling her own chronic health needs.

Terry, and thousands of others like her, are the truly un-sung heroes of our day. They do what needs to be done, each day, every day, and sacrifice the "good life" to care for others. This is the miracle of love, with all its ripple effects, that is new each morning. A chosen path of service not self-centeredness.

This woman, Terry Ruth McNeill Ryan, daughter of Betty, mother of Elizabeth, served with all her heart and made the lives of many others better than it would have been without her. May God reward her mightily for all that she has done.