March 23, 2016 - When our grandmother, Wanda Peace, passed away it was the last thing we expected. After losing our parents and grandfather in the recent years, we were faced with the difficulty of saying our final goodbyes to the one person that had been in our lives the longest. As you can imagine, we are heartbroken and we will cherish the memories that we have of her for the remainder of our lives.
As the closest living family members, we (her four grandchildren) began making final arrangements for our grandmother. This is something that during our younger years we never expected to be faced with, but yet the hand life had dealt us in recent years eliminated our youthful expectations and we were faced with reality. We were blessed to be able to honor our grandmother’s memory how we felt she would have wanted, but none of that would have been possible without the love and support of those that helped us along the way.
So many from the community, some we knew but many that we did not even know, extended their thoughts and prayers to us for which we greatly appreciate! Some members of the community took us under their wing and guided us through this process with love, support, and a hand to hold during this difficult time as if we were part of their family and we cannot say enough how much you’ve touched our hearts. Yanci, Jared and the staff at Mangum Funeral Home was and has always been blessings to us in times like these; they go above and beyond to ensure that everything is perfect for family members as their loved ones are laid to rest. Their professionalism is impeccable and they show the utmost respect to those in their care. Yondi and her staff at Tucker Florist are so impressive with their attention to detail and making visions a reality. They are artists that produce top quality works of art that last longer than you expect floral arrangements to last. In making our grandmother’s arrangements, we explained what we wanted and Yondi and her team opened their shop on a Sunday – their day off – and took care of our needs. Shelby County is lucky to have both of these businesses in the community; there are other counties in Texas, some of which we currently reside in, where you cannot get this kind of service.
As a member of the Center United Pentecostal Church, our grandmother loved her church family and was proud of the house she worshiped in. When she passed away, we saw a church family that truly loved one of its members. Thank you, all of you as there are too many to list names, for thinking of us, praying for us, and opening your church doors to us and providing us with food and fellowship the day of our grandmother’s funeral. This wasn’t something that you had to do, but it was clear that it was something that you wanted to do. We are so thankful that we were able to visit with you and enjoy your company and we know that our grandmother was smiling down on us that day knowing we were in her house of worship with such a caring and loving group of people. We’d also like to extend a special thank you to Pastor Andy Wilson and Sister Kerri Wiggins for their love and support.
Life has carried some of us from Shelby County, but Center, Texas will always be our hometown. While larger cities offer things that smaller cities cannot, the love, support and sense of family we’ve experienced in Center is unbeatable. We are so thankful for Shelby County and you will always have a special place in our hearts.
Thank you everyone!
The Wanda Peace Family
(Tarah Rudisill, Reagan Link, Hilary Peace and Nathan Peace)
