Thelma Loretta Caviness
November 28, 1924 - March 8, 2007
Obituary
Thelma Loretta Caviness,
Thelma went to be with her heavenly Father March 8, 2007 at the age of 82. She was born in Sterling, KS to John and Laura Deadmond. in 1924. Member and former deacon of John Knox Presbyterian Church and active in the community of Burien. Thelma is survived by her three children, Sharon Cyr, Vicki Dean Russell, and Kenny Allison Brookman, brother Bud Deadmond, grandchildren David, Kathleen, Rhonda Robby, Kym Sam, Troy, Loretta Paul, Natasha Britt, Cody, Shane, and Kade, great-grandchildren Jarred, Jordan, Clark, Sammy, Sabrina, Brynna, Kyla, Trevor, Tucker, Tanner, and Tabor. Memorial Service Wednesday March 14, 2007 at 2:00pm at John Knox Presbyterian Church, 109 SW Normandy Rd., Normandy Park, 206 241-1606.
I have so many Wonderful Memories of my Grandmother. I will always remember her great hugs, watching her in her garden, playing games, doing puzzles and family gatherings in her backyard. I will always remember when I was a little girl and she used to give me perms, she would roll my hair so tight that it would give me a face-lift. I will always remember the Easter Egg Hunts, Huge Thanksgiving dinners and Wonderfully Warm and Wonderful Christmas Days at Grandma’s House. My Grandma used to take rocks and turn them into beautiful jewels, she passed that love of rocks and crystals onto me which is a joy that I still enjoy along with my Mom to this day. My Heart will always be filled know that my Grandma Loved her Children, her Grandchildren and her Great Grandchildren all so much. I know that she will be watching over all of us. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA. XOXO
Im going to miss you grandma.
So sorry to hear this. Thelma, along with Crystal, Rachel, and Maxine, was such a good friend to my mother, Beulah Rayburn. I also enjoyed visiting with her and will miss her.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thelma, I am going to miss walking around the track with you in the morning and talking with you. As I have told you many times; you are the best Mother-in-Law a girl could wish for. Your smile and sense of humor will always be remembered.
Love, Allison
Mother, I miss you SO much.I will never forget all the things you taught me to become a responsible and caring person like you were. There were good times and bad times. I choose to remember all the good times growing up traveling, camping, fishing, and spending time together. I am so happy that you are no longer suffering and that you are in heaven with God and Jesus. It’s a comfort knowing you had a strong faith. I will always miss you and I Love You very much! Farewell, and rest in peace. Your son, Kenny
Grandma,
I’ll always remember when we would sit at the dinner table playing some type of board game, or putting a puzzle together. You are one of the coolest relatives I have, and I will always remember you. I also remember you teaching me how to feed birds, and how to put a puzzle together quickly. My favorite thing that you taught me was how to play a range of different card games, from blackjack to five card stud. I will always remember you. I love you grandma, and I’ll always miss you. Love, Kade
I work at the assisted living facility where Thelma spent her final days; she and I were good friends, and spent almost every afternoon together in her room, talking about God and fashion and politics and nearly anything we could think of to talk about.
One day Thelma asked me about suffering. She was having a very hard day, and we had been talking about heaven quite a bit that week. She asked me, “Why doesn’t Jesus just take me home? What possible good could I be doing here? I can’t even leave my room, and I am so unhappy. I get sick, and it looks like I must be ready to die, and then I get well and I have to keep living again. I just don’t understand. I just feel like giving up. I know He must have something for me to do here, but I can’t imagine what it could possibly be.”
So we talked about trust, and about God’s sovereignty and holiness, and we prayed together that Thelma would be allowed to die soon.
But instead, she recovered a little and continued living for several months. And I myself began to wonder why God would let Thelma go through so much pain and misery.
About a week after Thelma passed away, a woman came to me in tears and asked to speak with me privately. We went to her room, and she told me that she knew that she was going to die soon, and she was so afraid to die. She had read Thelma’s memorial, which began, “Thelma went to be with her heavenly Father,” and she wanted to know how I knew that Thelma had gone to heaven.
I was able to share the gospel message with this woman, and she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior that very same day. She has been sharing the good news of Christ’s sacrificial love with other residents or the facility ever since, with a passion like I have never seen before in anyone.
I wish that Thelma could know that her suffering was not meaningless, and that in death, just as in life, she was cradled safely in the arms of God. Not a hair fell from her head without His knowledge and design. I wish I could talk to her and let her know that her difficult ordeal during her last days on earth meant the salvation of perhaps dozens of other people.
But I’m sure she already knows that.
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
There must be quite a party going on in heaven right now. =
To Thelma’s Family –
My sincerest condolences. Thelma was a very good friend and I enjoyed her company immensely. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral to tell you this in person. I have been very sick. Jean