Tricia Guetersloh
My Dearest Uncle Dave and Family. How my heart grieves for you and our great loss. Friday when I heard the news while at work, I sent Todd a text that simply said “My beloved Aunt Janet has passed and is in her Hevenly home and is laughing with Jesus.” My heart was breaking but I was maybe a little jealous that she is with Jesus, that she is no longer suffering and in pain, that she is no longer tired and having to deal with the struggles of life here on earth like the rest of us. I am comforted by all of the above too as I am blessed to know that she is with Jesus, that she is with Grandpa and Grandma and that she is waiting for us to join her and the rest of the family in our forever home in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. For me and the rest of us here on earth, we have truly lost a great light. What I remember most about my Aunt Janet is her laugh, her beautiful smile, her arms that were always open and ready to receive me and envelope me, her joyfulness when we’d come visit, her hospitality, her love of fashion, jewelry and glamour among a thousand other things. She never criticized me, she loved whomever I loved. I wish she could have met my Todd for she would have loved him beyond measure as I do. She always supported me and opened up wide her home and her heart. She had great style and like me, if she found something she liked, she’d buy it in every color. She loved to sparkle on the outside but nothing compared to the sparkle on the inside that was so bright it shined for us all. She always embraced my shall we say eccentricities, my silliness and wackiness and creativity. She let me be who I am, embraced my differences and loved and supported my quirkiness. I like to think that part of my style came from her. I only wish I had her grace and open heart. I will always remember your poodles and her love for them. I will always remember her sparkling eyes and big smile. I will always remember her willingness to love and her tender way of caring for others. I am blessed to have countless memories of visiting her and you Uncle Dave. Your home and our visits were a highlight I think for all of us as children and continue to be as adults. You both always had the best toys, the best games, the coolest comic books and things with which to play but it was the family time that was and remains most memorable and most valuable to me. It was the stories and the laughter that I treasure most. It was the love I felt as soon as I walked in the door. Like me, you both were not able to have children but the two of you always made sure you had things for us to do. We could count on you to have the latest and greatest. I am lacking in your and Aunt Janet’s way of loving and accepting children. I know all of us felt that love and will continue to do so. I’ll hold dear and close to my heart my wonderful memories of the two of you and the fun we had at Cedar Point, playing Atari and Pong, playing croquet in your yard, and the plethora of good times we had that are too numerous to list. You two also had a great love for each other. You are a model of how to love and be joyous as a Godly married couple. You are a shining example of what it means to love in sickness and in health. The two of you loved like no others. You were I think, matched by God and certainly blessed by Him beyond measure. Again what I remember and will cherish is that love. I know a huge hole is now in all of our hearts and lives without Aunt Janet being here. My heart breaks for your loss and for our family’s great loss. But while I mourn, I am also rejoicing for I know that my Redeemer lives and I know that my loving wonderful, stylish and sparkling Aunt Janet lives with Him. I can rejoice in that and I can be comforted in knowing that we too will one day be with our Redeemer and all of our family that is right now living and praising Jesus. I can only imagine how glorious it must be. Know Uncle Dave and everyone else that you are in my every thought and every prayer. Hold tight your wonderful memories and may you too find comfort in the