Eulogy by
Brenda Carlson

Kind, caring, loving, generous, unconditional, great listener, gentle, funny, positive, prayerful, dramatic, honest, patient, humble, shy, selfless, wise and most importantly, believer.

She is survived by: her husband, Ben, of 52 years; her four children, Anita, Corie, Clint and myself, Brenda; sons-in-law, Danny, John and Mark; daughter-in-law Niki; grandchildren Kailey, Brett, Mitchell, Lexis, Faith, Kara, Mike, Jaden, Ava and Elijah; nephew Terry Oakford and his daughter, Alexis, which Thelma considered one of her grandchildren; brothers Mel, Casey and Cliff; and sister Marg.

My mother is predeceased by: her daughter, Cheryl; her parents, Cecil and Margaret Turner; brothers, Les, Harold and Bob; sister Alieta; and nephew Michael.

Thelma Marna Jabs was born in 1941 in Kelstern, Sask. to Cecil and Margaret Turner. She was the fourth of nine children. At age 15, she left school and home to pursue a career in hair dressing. She met Dad at the age of 17 in Grande Prairie and eloped to Plentywood, Mon., on July 17, 1959. They lived in Moose Jaw and then they moved to Grande Prairie and had Anita in 1962, much to mom’s delight.

Then a short move to nearby Beaverlodge where a year later, Corie was born. Twenty-two months later came Clint. Cheryl, was born two years later but went on to be with the Lord at 2 1/2 years. This was a very difficult time for Thelma but she was very comforted by the fact that Cheryl’s last spoken words were, “Jesus loves me!” All the while, mom worked as a hairdresser in her salon.

In 1971, the family moved to High Prairie. After their heartbreaking loss, Thelma longed to have another child and I was born in 1974. Mom always told me that I didn’t replace her precious child, but that God knew what He was doing giving me to them as I was a busy distraction! Mom raised her children along with working full time as the bookkeeper for the family-owned business. More recently, Mom enjoyed working at Trends and Images clothing store.

Mom loved her grandchildren and they brought her much joy. Her first two grandchildren, Kailey and Brett, loved staying over and Mom happily reminisced that they kept toothbrushes and pajamas at their house. Mom was so honoured that Kailey and Brett came and visited her often at the hospital in Edmonton. Corie and John with their children, often made the trek from Vancouver to spend much anticipated time with Mom and Dad.

Mom was so proud that Mitchell had chosen to go into the ministry. She loved laughing with faith and listening to country music with Lexis. Mom and Dad had a chance to visit with Clint and Niki on a fairly regular basis as they lived in High Prairie and then in Clairmont where Mom enjoyed making trips to Grande Prairie before she became ill. She loved baking with Mike, listening to Jaden’s many stories and watching Kara play hockey.

Mom was happy when Mark and I decided to pursue adoption. She was ecstatic when we learned of Ava and Elijah. When we were in Taiwan, I couldn’t wait to introduce mom to the children she desperately prayed for. Mom was overjoyed to finally meet these miracles at the airport. I cried when I saw my mother finally holding my children. She was astounded at how close she felt to them and didn’t doubt for a minute that they were just as much a part of our family as the biological grandchildren.

Although we could see her health declining, we were all shocked to learn that Mom had breast cancer. She took it day by day, trusting God for the strength to endure. In July 2010 she had surgery and started chemotherapy in September but she had such a bad reaction that the doctors stopped treatment after one dose. We worried that we were going to lose her.

In November and December 2010 she underwent radiation in Edmonton. Then in May 2011 Mom suffered a heart attack and was airlifted to Edmonton. She had two stents put in and gradually showed signs of improvement. On the July long weekend we had a great time celebrating Mom’s 70th birthday. It was an amazing time to honour our mother and be thankful for all that she had overcome in the past year. She was seemingly making great progress and had even started physiotherapy which she loved.

Then on Nov. 30, Mom awoke with chest pains and went to the hospital. A week later she was admitted to the ICU at the High Prairie Hospital where she stayed for one week before being air lifted to the U of A Hospital in Edmonton. After doing a variety of tests the doctors decided that she required open heart surgery involving a triple bypass and valve replacement. She was originally supposed to have her surgery Dec. 20 and was disappointed to get bumped to the next day as she was very hopeful that the surgery would greatly improve her quality of life. We were all so certain that it would be a success and I remember telling her I would see her tomorrow in recovery.

Surgery was very early so Dad went in on his own and spent time with her, praying for her and saying the Lord’s Prayer with her. She waved to him as they wheeled her off to surgery. The surgery took a lot longer than it should have as it involved many complications. I can’t explain how difficult the wait was for Dad and me that day – the shortest day of the year became the longest day for all of the family. She made it out and the doctors shared the issues and risks of her condition with us. We prayed hard. Corie shared a vision that God gave her while we were praying – she saw Jesus holding Mom in His arms and angels surrounding her bed. She later realized these angels were the size of small children and that she could only see clearly the face of one which was the face of Cheryl, her daughter that died so many years ago. We feel that this was confirmation that Jesus came to take Mom home and that she surely was seeing Cheryl in heaven.

About an hour after she was out of surgery, her organs started shutting down and she went to be with her Saviour around 10 p.m. Dec. 21. After reflecting on it, Corie’s vision came at the time that Mom stepped into eternity. Dad later shared with us that weeks before he had had a dream where he saw Mom glowing with arms raised, declaring, “I am free, I am free”! Unbeknownst to us, God was preparing us for His plan to unfold and Mom is definitely free. We thank our precious Lord.

I loved my mother dearly as did all her family. Words cannot express how much we will miss her as she was much more than a mother - she was our friend, confidante, counsellor, prayer warrior, spiritual mentor, wise teacher and proud grandmother to our children. In the last few years her faith had grown immeasurably. Mom soaked in the word and she chased after God!

Mom lived her faith and taught her children and grandchildren that God loved us so much that He sent his one and only son to die for us. She greatly treasured the gift of salvation and reminded us often that it isn’t works or good deeds that gets us to heaven but the simple gift of God’s grace through believing in Christ. She walked through the narrow gate. As much as we wished we didn’t have to lose Mom at Christmas, we realize that she got the best Christmas present ever, to be at home with Jesus. Having gone through this at Christmas really stripped our family of the frills of Christmas but brought us back to the real reason of Christmas as we clung to our Saviour and rejoiced in His birth. Mom gave us the only gift we need – she pointed us to Christ.