Kerri Urbahn

What defined my mother was her desire for God and her remarkably unshakable faith. She took care of my beloved father through his battle with ALS - a time which can only be described as a descent into hell for two and a half years. That experience alone would have turned most people bitter (in fact, it almost destroyed me and I struggled with anger at God for the next seven years thereafter). Not my mom. Instead, she fought despair with worship and disappointment with gratitude. After a brief bout with cancer right after my father's death, she decided to start over and move from Long Island, NY to Forest, VA where she knew no one but hoped she could have an impact on the spiritual lives of students who attended Liberty University. She did just that - hosting student groups at her home, mentoring young women, singing her heart out in the Thomas Road Baptist Church choir, and looking to share the love of Jesus with whomever she could. When the cancer came back with a vengeance in 2023, her faith and her attitude didn't change. I spent the week before her death with her and during those eight days she shared with me how she had felt herself getting angry at God for the pain she was experiencing. But then, in her own words, she told me immediately "rebuked" herself reminding herself of all of the ways God had been faithful to her. She then spent the next two hours recounting to me decade after decade, instance after instance of just that. That was the last long conversation we had. Less than a week later, she was gone.

My #1 fan and a spiritual giant: Mom, I will love you forever. But I take some comfort knowing you are exactly where you are supposed to be and what you were always made for: to be with Jesus in heaven and reunited with Dad and all the saints who have preceded you.

Gail Gleason Kupec: February 14, 1952 - October 16, 2024