Rachel read this at the funeral and I love it!
Debbie's testimony:
"Everyone has challenges and trials in their lives. We have been promised in the scriptures that the Lord will not give us more than we can handle. But, he certainly does stretch our ability to handle the trial. I was diagnosed last October with ALS. A year ago if someone had said I would be in this position I would have questioned things but in the last 9 months I have gone from working full time, being very independent and determined to do things for myself to now unable to walk without a wheelchair or walker, losing your fine motor skills in your hands, unable to open packages or jars, and the ability to speak clearly because the disease has advanced to your lungs and diaphragm. After the initial shock wears off you then ask why? How? What now? After I was diagnosed we were given a couple of very helpful articles to read. One was called Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing by Elder Bednar in the August 2016 Ensign. He recounts an experience he had with Elder Maxwell as he went through chemotherapy. He said, "Not shrinking is much more important than surviving; moreover, partaking of the bitter cup without becoming bitter is likewise park of the emulation of Jesus." This has brought great strength and has encouraged me to move forward with the time I have to love family, enjoy visits with friends, and make as many memories as possible. Through much prayer and priesthood blessings we are at peace with what I have.
We have received many blessings as mentioned in the D&C 121: 7-9: My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; though shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."
We know that it is easy to become discouraged and even depressed when these trials become very heavy, but it is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that gives us hope and strength. If we exercise our faith in him through earnest prayer, obedience to the commandments and service, our burdens can be made light and easier to bear. We know this is a small moment in time and we need to try to endure it well. We have received much comfort and help from friends and family which reminds us that the Lord loves us and is mindful of each on of us."
Tributes to Debbie that I want to document :)
Tribute by Jen Harward, Debbie's coworker at Davis High, written when she was diagnosed with ALS in October 2016:
For What It's Worth
As
I look out at the mountains to the east of us, I am reminded that it is
fall, and one of the things that I most associate with fall is
baseball. While it is difficult to argue that baseball
is still our “national pastime,” for more than a century, it has been a
big part of our popular culture and our nation’s history. Though the
Dodgers are still in the mix, we may get a surprising World Series
winner like the Chicago Cubs or the Cleveland Indians
(Go Tribe!). Still, when most people think of Major League Baseball,
the New York Yankees come to mind. Since 1903, when the team moved from
Baltimore to Manhattan, the Yankees have won the World Series a
record-setting twenty-seven times, and their rosters
have included names that are synonymous with baseball. Ruth, DiMaggio,
Mantle, Maris, Jeter, Rivera and Berra, but the player that I have had
on my mind for over twenty-four hours is Lou Gehrig.
Lou Gehrig
played with Babe Ruth, who started before him, and Joe Dimaggio, who
came after him. He spent most of his career in their shadows, but from
that position, he did amazing things.
During his sixteen years with the Yankees, he contributed to eight
World Series victories, won the Triple Crown (award given to the player
with the highest batting average, greatest number of home runs, and the
greatest number of RBIs), and joined the ranks
of the very best in MLB history when it comes to lifetime batting
average, total bases, and RBIs. He also NEVER missed work. From 1925
to April of 1939, he did not miss a game, despite bumps and bruises and
at least seventeen fractures that “healed” while
he played the game. In that time, he destroyed the previous record of
consecutive games played, playing in 2,130 straight games over thirteen
years. Thanks to his amazing work ethic and his dedication to his team
and his sport, he earned the nickname, the
“Iron Horse.”
During the 1938 season, Gehrig’s
numbers fell well below his usual standards, and the trend continued
during the first month of the 1939 season. He felt weak and had a
number of other symptoms,
but doctors struggled to deliver a diagnosis. On May 2, 1939, Gehrig
took kept himself out of the game, snapping his continuous game
streak. He never played again. Eventually, doctors at the Mayo Clinic
diagnosed him with a rare degenerative disease: amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is now often called Lou Gehrig's disease. He never played baseball again.
On July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees honored the “Iron Horse,” declaring it Lou Gehrig Day. Before the game and an audience of more than 62,000 people, Gehrig
delivered what has become
one of the most famous speeches in baseball history. In his speech, he
stated, “…today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the
earth.”
For
the past eighteen years, we at Davis High have been the luckiest people
on the face of the earth because we have had our own “Iron Horse,”
though I prefer to think of her as a “Steel
Magnolia.” In the fall of 1999, Debbie Hall came to Davis High as our
new registrar. Since that time, she has filled that position, but she
has succeeded in doing so much more. Debbie is the person that you go
to when you need answers to almost any question
or you need something done now and done right. Though her high school
diploma says Viewmont High School, she knows more about Davis High and
how it works than anyone I have ever known. She is a TRUE DART! Her
areas of expertise include, but are not limited
to, graduation requirements, transcripts, scholarships, testing,
Dutch-oven cooking for tailgates and faculty parties, and the Homecoming
luncheon. She knows who has worked here and who has gone to school
here. She takes care of our current students. She
takes care of our former students. She takes care of all of us. She
is the ultimate guru of AP testing. I started teaching AP US History
the year that she came to Davis so I never had to worry about AP test
administration because I KNEW that Debbie would
handle it. It would be done and done right! As the librarian, I have
watched Debbie put the Homecoming Luncheon together every year. She
maintains the list of people to invite, designs and sends the
invitations, sets up the tables, modified the tablecloths,
makes the centerpieces, orchestrates the setting up, orders the food,
gracefully stalls when the food does not arrive on time, makes sure we
have enough desserts, and cleans up when it is all done. She does all
of that calmly, pleasantly, and with a smile
on her face. I have never seen her stressed, heard her yell, nor ever
heard her say anything bad about anyone. She has been the glue that
holds us together.
In
spite of her knowledge base, skill sets, and her unimaginable
importance to Davis High, Debbie has spent eighteen years in the shadows
of others. She does what she does without fanfare
or drama. This woman has no ego. She is THE ANTI-DEVA. As I
contemplated writing this thank-you letter, I had to balance my desire
to thank her and let her know how important she is to us with the
realization that she would absolutely hate being the focus
of the letter. I guess you can see which side won. After we learned
that she has one too many things in common with Lou Gehrig,
I had a hard time concentrating on other things. Debbie was on my
mind. When I came to school the next day, I went about my
usual routine, setting things up for the arrival of the students, but I
did it with a heavy heart. I kept thinking about the unfairness of it
all. Then, I did my usual lap around the school with a book before I
opened the library doors, and much to my surprise
(not really), I noticed that Debbie was already at her desk working,
and it was not even 6:45 a.m. This woman is amazing. In my thirty
years at Davis High, I have seen a lot of people come and go. So many
of those who have left us seemed irreplaceable,
but we found a way to go on. Debbie really is IRREPLACEABLE!!!
Debbie,
thank you for all of your years of service. Thanks for all that you
have done for Davis High and for me personally. Thanks for caring about
our students! Thank you for caring
about our faculty and our community. Thanks for sharing your children
with us. Thanks for coming to work every day, for your hard work, and
for your dedication. Thanks for being the person who we could all depend
on, even when what we needed was far beyond
your job description. Thanks for serving as a role model of the kind
of person that we should all strive to be. Please know that you are
respected and loved.
Sincerely,
Jen Harward-----------------------------------------------------------
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