We are here today to celebrate a woman who is so easy to celebrate. Mom, Sally, Grandma or whatever you called her, never demanded a celebration. When Michael and I asked her about a memorial service, she said she didn’t need one. But we know she was loved by so many. So here we are near the places and people mom spent most of her life around. And I’d love to share about her life.

A few years ago, I was walking around the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and sat down on a bench with a memorial plaque on it. It was dedicated to a woman and underneath it said, “A cultivator of a beauty.” I snapped a picture and that phrase stuck with me. I saw it as a phrase to aspire to. I came across that picture a few days after mom’s passing and realized that description fit her life perfectly, Sally Beaty Gardner, a cultivator of beauty.

Mom loved gardening and her favorite flowers were yellow roses, like you see here today. From as early as I can remember, she was committed to making her yard beautiful in every season. This required much tenacity, intentionality and dedication, similar to how she sought to live her everyday life.

I could talk for days about the many ways she made life beautiful, but today I will share three distinct themes.

First, tenacity. She was petite but she was fierce and fiercely loyal. 

She was born in Athens Georgia and she always meant to be a Georgia Bulldog. She was a proud graduate of the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs! She never missed a football game if she could help it. 

She loved her parents, Charles and Mildred, deeply. She became the glue that kept her family together after her mom passed in 1995 and she took care of her dad until his very last breath in 2008. Mom was the oldest of three, and she was in charge, making sure to keep her younger brothers in line, Mac and Chris. As a child she was a good student and a Brownie. She was also forced by her mom to take piano lessons but always wanted to be a dancer. As her brother Mac tells it, she held onto a door knob to dance to American Bandstand because her brothers refused to dance with her! This explains why when I expressed interest in dance as a child, mom couldn’t wait to sign me up!

She was also tenacious about her hair. Though she was petite, she tended to leave a lasting impression with her many hairstyles and colors. She had long brown hair in her teenage years but tells the story of how her cousin Letty convinced her to chop it off right before her senior pictures. The early 80s gave way to the mom mullet as she no longer had time for long locks with two kids in tow. That gave way to perms and eventually to colored hair. Her brothers would comment almost every Christmas about how mom’s hair had changed yet again. Michael and I were recently looking through old photos and showing them to the grandkids - they just laughed and laughed at Grandma’s funny hair.

She and my dad met on a blind date, set up by mutual friends of their parents. They married in 1972 and celebrated 50 years this past August. Mom was told early on in their marriage that she would likely never be able to have children. Yet this never stopped her desire to be a mom. In March of 1978, on Easter morning, she gave birth to Michael. A little less than 2 years later, I came along and our family was complete. 

Mom poured all she had into dad, Michael and I. She faithfully walked alongside dad through job transfers and as a pastor to many churches. They became the quintessential retirees - going out to eat dinner as much as they could - at 3 p.m. in the afternoon!

Michael and I both were very close to our mom. She has always been very present in our lives. She stayed home with us until we were school aged and our earliest memories are of mom just being with us. We wanted to be right by her side. As we became adults, she cheered us on in our many ventures, from grad school, to marriage, to children of our own. She was our biggest fan. 

And that leads to the second theme of mom's beautiful life…her intentionality with others. Mom left others better than she found them. She never looked to be the center of attention, instead she held a quiet, gentle presence that just drew people to her. 

The overwhelming phrase we have heard in these days since her passing is “I just loved your mom.” She was known for her kindness, what a way to be remembered. Whether it was in the classroom, at church or small group, in her neighborhood or even in the doctor’s office and hospital, she had a way to make people feel known and seen. An example from her teaching days, I remember visiting her classroom and there would always be a child’s desk or two placed right next to her desk. I’d ask “Mom, what kind of trouble is that kid in?” and she’d calmly respond that he or she just needed a little extra attention. She didn’t punish or push kids away, she drew them to her.

When she and dad moved to her dream retirement home in Florida, she placed a bench much like this one on stage today in the front of her home. That way she could talk to the neighbors and their kids in the afternoons after school. When she began her cancer treatments, she quickly became a fan favorite of the nurses and aids. The last full sentence she said, the very day before she died, was to the hospice aid. Mom wanted her to be sure she knew how grateful she was for her and her care.

I am so very grateful to be a part of her beautiful legacy of kindness and care. We will always miss our mom. She’s been our constant our entire lives. But I know she’s always with us because so much of who we are is because of her. And her legacy will continue to shape her grandkids. 

We loved watching mom be Grandma. She spoke the language of children, youngest to oldest. We called her fun Grandma because time with her meant playing, reading and adventures. The first to know her as Grandma is Ralphy, her 8 pound granddog who she fenced in her backyard for, who she taught to beg for people food, and who knew exactly when we pulled up at Grandma’s house.

And then came the grandbabies, her “babies.” I remember it like yesterday, the day she held her first granddaughter, Emery. She stared in complete awe, complete love, like she held her legacy in her hands. That little girl has grown up to be the entertainer. Then along came Josephine who loved to snuggle up with Grandma and her blankey. Mom met her latest grandbaby Annie a little over a week before she died. There was such a peace in those few but precious moments of brand new life meeting a life not long for this world. Baby Annie will forever be known as the one who last made mom smile and laugh.

She became Bonus Grandma to our two kids just a couple years ago but it was as if she had always been in their lives. I’d come home from work on the days she came over to help with homework after school and she’d be on the floor playing games with Michael and Dylan. She made the best rice crispies and she even helped Mikey make an entire Roman Colosseum out of them for a school project. We gave her a boogie board this summer to play in the waves with the kids. She was best known for egg and scavenger hunts for presents. I suppose I can now share the secret that one Easter when it was super hard to find the eggs, Grandma with help from Grammy convinced you she had hidden them outside when she had not. After about 20 minutes of searching, she snuck out to hide the eggs around the side of the house you weren’t on. And suddenly you found them.

So, what made mom’s life so beautiful? What sustained her beauty?

Her dedication to Jesus. And that’s the third theme, she trusted Jesus no matter what. She was raised in the Christian church and when my brother and I were young, she and my dad made a commitment to raise us in the church. That commitment had a profound impact on all of us. Mom wasn’t the loudest or most outspoken about her faith. Instead, her relationship with Jesus became her quiet, internal strength. She had a brown leather Bible that she read from daily. One of her favorite verses was Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” 

She had an honest faith. She asked the Lord “why” when our family or people we knew were going through really hard things. She knew her questioning didn’t affect her love for or God’s love for her. It made her relationship with the Lord stronger. And though she questioned God, she didn’t blame God for her circumstances. One of the things I’m most grateful that she taught me was the difference between Jesus’ love and things that happen to us. One is not caused, withheld or prevented by the other. We are loved no matter what.

And it was that deep seeded love and trust that led mom to say as soon as she learned she had cancer, “The Lord has been preparing me for this.” She knew she was not alone. Jesus was with her. And that faith never wavered, no matter how sick she felt. There was a peace about mom, it’s almost too hard to describe, but it carried her and it carried us. As her days drew closer to the end, she reminded us that she knew where she was going and she was not afraid. 

Jesus, precious, Jesus. How mom loved Jesus. And in that we rest that mom is finally home in heaven with Him.

What a mom. What a legacy. She didn’t need a bench with a plaque imprinted with her legacy. 

She left her imprints on the hearts of people, of children, of her family. And we all are better for it...that's her legacy, that's her beautiful life that we celebrate today.

Well done, mom, well done.. Thank you for loving me, for loving our family, others and Jesus so beautifully. I love you.

#cutemomstrong

Join us to remember and celebrate the life and legacy of Sally Gardner on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. The service will be held at Gwinnett Church, 300 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Sugar Hill, GA 30518, in the student building.

Mom's favorite cake will be served after the service.

In lieu of flowers, we would love for you to support County Line Elementary School in Winder, Georgia. This is the school mom taught at for many years and retired from in 2014. Purchase a gift from this Amazon Wish List for the Kindergarten team and for kids in need of winter clothing at the school.

We are so grateful for your support and prayers. Mom was so loved by so many.

#cutemomstrong

Our cute mom passed peacefully from this earth Tuesday afternoon. She is at home forever with Jesus.

Our Heavenly Father so graciously rescues us from this life into eternity in heaven. To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. We rest in this.

And yet, mom's absence is profound as we begin to wrap our minds and hearts around our loss. These four months from diagnosis to her finish line have been exhausting and yet our greatest honor to love and care for our mom. Her love and care for her family runs deep. We plan to honor her with a service in north Georgia in the coming weeks. We will post more details here when we have them. 

We had a very sweet Thanksgiving week with our family surrounding her. Her grandkids kept her entertained and added so much joy. We ate Thanksgiving lunch picnic-style so we could all be around mom. That holiday evening, there was a shift in mom and we can now see that she had accomplished her one last goal of being together with all of her family. She was ready to go home.

We find find comfort in these verses:

2 Corinthians 5:6‭-‬7 NLT

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing.

Psalms 73:23‭-‬26 NIV

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

We so appreciate your love, prayers and support in the days, weeks and months to come. We miss our cute mom. 

#cutemomstrong

What a courageous journey. Despite all odds of her late stage diagnosis, our cute mom braved five brutal rounds of chemo over the last three months. Yet, her latest scans detected that the cancer is not responding to the treatment as we had hoped. 

And with that, mom has made the brave choice of quality of life over more rounds of chemo and immunotherapy. From the very beginning of her diagnosis, she was very clear on her goal: she did not want to spend the rest of her life in discomfort from the side effects of chemo. She is at peace with her decision and in that we find comfort.

What does this mean? We have initiated the hospice process. Mom has been in the hospital the last couple of days getting her numbers up in order to be released for home hospice care. We hope to get her home tomorrow.

We do not know a timeframe or timeline for mom's remaining days. Our focus is on comfort for her and cherishing our time together. This is hard but we do not feel alone. Jesus is our Source, He is our Hope and He is our Strength. Mom has loved Jesus for a long time. Her future forever with her Lord and Savior is drawing near and she rests in that.

Our immediate plan is for Michael, Molly & the girls to come over to Florida for Thanksgiving week so we can all be together. Please pray that this time is sweet, intentional and peaceful. It's so very difficult to navigate all of this with 5 grandkids ages 13 years to 2 months. Pray for their hearts and minds in the days to come. 

Pray for our cute mom, for her courage and for her faith to guide her. Pray for the rest of our team as we navigate her care, take care of ourselves and make the most of this time with mom. We love her so much, we want more time with her but we do not want her to suffer.

We so appreciate your love and support. 

#cutemomstrong

Cute mom's goal for the last several weeks has been to feel well enough to get to the beach. That goal was accomplished yesterday, as pictured here. It was a chilly and breezy day, but she bundled up and soaked in the ocean air. We can't wait to go back on a warmer day (60 degrees in October is not normal for here!) What a big day - keep praying for more good days and more strength for our cute mom!

Sally is a third of the way through her 12 chemo rounds. That's something to celebrate too! This past round, she also started an immunotherapy treatment. This works with her immune system to fight the cancer, while the chemo keeps attacking the cancer cells. She is tolerating the treatments well with a few side effects.  

Mom also got a Kangaroo! That's the company name of her feeding pump. This gives her consistent nutrition at a slower rate through her feeding tube. The downside is that she's hooked up to it for 20 hours a day but that should decrease over time. We are still trying to navigate the optimal feeding amount and she's been battling some nausea. We would love your prayers for wisdom with feedings. Nutrition is a big component of fighting cancer and we want to get this settled soon.

Every day we are reminded to take this journey one day at a time and to keep our eyes on Jesus. What we are going through is hard, but we know we are not alone. Thank you for praying with us and for us.

Round 5 starts on Tuesday.

#cutemomstrong

It's been an eventful and uneventful two weeks.  Mom's new feeding tube has given her much more strength to handle round 3 of chemo. She had her latest infusion last Tuesday as we braced for Hurricane Ian, which at the time was projected to sweep right across Jacksonville. Mom came home from chemo with a slow-release pump which she should have had disconnected that Thursday. Instead the cancer center closed and mom was a trouper to stay hooked to her pump through the weekend. The look on Ralphy's face in this picture says it all...really, a hurricane on top of everything else?

We settled in for the storm, stayed connected to local weather, and watched Ian unleash its fury further south from us. We did get a few days of heavy rain and wind but kept power. We pray for those who lost everything in the storm - it is crazy to see what a powerful storm can do. Much like this cancer journey, life changes forever in an instant.

This week has been much quieter. Mom got her pump off on Monday and hoped for a happy week. Unfortunately, she has had some issues with nausea as her body  adjusts to being fed through her tube. We are in touch with her nutritionist and trying different methods to relieve the symptoms. Good news...she has gained a few pounds so we know the feeding tube and nutrition is working. 

Please pray for mom's nausea and feeding issues to be resolved. Please also pray for encouragement for her. She so wants to feel better on her weeks off from chemo. Her goal is to get to see the beach. 

Round 4 of chemo begins on Tuesday. We so appreciate and feel your love and prayers.

#cutemomstrong

"All our hope is in You." That's the line I keep repeating from my favorite song at church lately. On the good days and the hardest of days this remains true. Jesus is our Hope. A rainbow was in the sky as Mike and I drove home from being with mom on a recent hard day. I texted this picture to mom to remind us all that our great God is with us.

It's been quite an eventful round 2 of chemo and recovery week. The treatment packed quite a punch. That combined with mom's limited ability to get food and nutrition down made for some really tough days. Last Monday, a call to the oncology nurse led to mom being scheduled for a feeding tube procedure on Friday. 

The procedure went smoothly. Mom can now receive all her food and nutrition through her tube. She can still drink and eat soft foods like normal but does not have to worry about getting enough food down. She is already feeling her strength increase.

The best, most unexpected news is that the procedure was preceded by an endoscopy to view mom's esophagus and stomach. The doctor told us that mom's tumor has shrunk 50% from her scope in early August. That's amazing given she's only had 2 rounds of chemo. This is just the good news we needed.

We are so in awe. We can only give thanks to Jesus. Thank you for continuing to pray with us for our cute mom. Chemo round 3 starts today.

#cutemomstrong

Cute mom has finished round one of chemo. And...she took it like a champ! Overall, she has experienced a few side effects but has been recovering well on her week off. She's had the best news to keep her spirits up - a brand new granddaughter, Annie Ruth - who arrived last week.

We are so very proud of Sally. We realize every day how brave she is to face her diagnosis head on.

Next week begins chemo round two. Each round, she goes in for a 4 hour infusion and comes home with a slow-release chemo bag for 2 days. This will be her treatment routine, every other week, for 4 to 6 rounds. After that, she'll have another PET scan.

Please continue to pray for her side effects to be minimal, for her ability to eat and gain strength, for wisdom as we continue to navigate her treatment with her oncology team, and for endurance for mom and for all of us caring for her. We are taking this journey day by day, trusting Jesus to give us all that we need.

We have experienced so much kindness on this journey so far...and we feel so loved and supported. Thank you! If you'd like to drop cute mom a word of encouragement, you can scroll to the bottom of this site.

#cutemomstrong 

Sally is our cute mom and our fun Grandma. Until a few months ago, she's been healthy and active. Here's a pic with her new boogie board. She just played with the grandkids in the waves at the beginning of the summer.

In late June, mom began experiencing trouble swallowing. Shortly after, her back started hurting daily. She started Aleve for her pain and scheduled a follow up appointment with her gastrointestinal doctor. At her appointment in late July, her doctor scheduled an endoscopy for the following week and told mom to stop taking pain reliever for her back. A couple days later, her back pain escalated and she became very weak. We took her to the emergency room and she was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days. 

After a series of tests, an endoscopy revealed a large mass in mom's esophagus going into her stomach. We met with an oncologist who confirmed that mom has stage 4, non-operable esophageal cancer. It's treatable but not curable. A PET scan a week later showed that it has metastasized to a few other places in her body. 

Still, with mom's good health, she is a candidate for chemotherapy. She had a port put in and we are awaiting chemo infusion treatments to begin next week at Baptist South/MD Anderson in Jacksonville. Thankfully, it's only 25 minutes away from she and dad's home. For now we are focused on managing mom's pain, navigating a soft food diet with her esophagus and making sure she is as strong as she can be for the journey ahead. 

It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks, one that reminds us of how quickly life can forever change in an instant. And yet, our hope rests secure in Jesus. He is our Source and our Hope. We so appreciate your prayers as we navigate the road ahead. #cutemomstrong 

Sally is loved by so many...including her family! 

Pictured here are...

Melissa, Mike, Dilly, & Mikey

Sally and Bill 

Michael, Molly, Emery, Josephine & baby Annie (who arrived after this picture)