My heart is grieved today for the loss of Eddie Strother. He will be laid to rest today after his memorial service at 11 am today in Longview, TX at New Life BC.
Eddie was not only a member of our family through marriage to my father-in-law’s sister. He was a friend. He was someone I looked up to as a child. We went to the same church. I knew him for over 40 years. He was a gentle giant, small in stature but strong in character and faith. He was a black belt. He was a bus captain at our church. Most of all, he was a dedicated, devoted father to three children, Kim, Kristy, & Clint. All three had unique needs. Eddie always went the extra mile to care for them, even to the very end. Now someone else will have to care for them for the remainder of their lives. Eddie has already made those arrangements too, knowing he would not be able to indefinitely. Those kids, now adults, will struggle. Their mom long gone. Their stepmom, likewise, gone. Now their dad, their lifelong caretaker, is gone too. Pray for them please. Pray for them often. They will need what only God can provide to fill the void that they’ve never lived without - until now. Growing up with these kids at the same church and school, they used to be the butt of many jokes; told by people who didn’t understand them or really know them. May they now be beckoned for to the Father, the God of all comfort and wisdom and provision.
I admired Eddie Strother. I’m saddened by his loss through death’s door. I’m grieved for his adult children as I can only imagine the deep hurt they will now experience from loss of such a love of and for a father, their father. I wish I could’ve physically been their today to tell them that I love them and how much I thought of their dad. He sacrificed. He loved. unconditionally. Now his race is complete and his rest is eternal. For that, I rejoice. I thank God for a life well lived, not a perfect life, but a devoted one dedicated to what was, and is, most important - family and faith. I will miss you Eddie Strother. Thank you for your life. I am one who was indelibly impacted.
