Remembering this precious lady, Obera Orr. January 24 would have been her 106th birthday. I had thought that, if anyone would have made it to 100, it would have been Obera. She was a remarkable lady, with a sharp mind and memory, who loved her family and friends, who loved to read and to tend her own garden, who was a sweet, godly lady and a dear friend since I met her in 2001.
She passed to heaven on January 12, 2014, only 12 days before her 99th birthday. Six days before her passing, she had had a stroke and was not awake after that. When I called her that day, on January 6, I had no idea then that that would be the last time she and I would talk, as, only a couple of hours later, she would have a sudden stroke and would not be awake while in the Hospice House afterward.
Although I did not have the opportunity to communicate with her the times I visited her those days in the Hospice House, I have the precious memory of our talk on January 6, when she was fine and alert, when we talked for about an hour, as we normally did when I would call. She talked about when she was in high school, and she talked about the author she was reading, and we talked about her upcoming birthday. She was just a joy to talk with and to visit for many years.
Two weeks before her stroke, on December 23, 2013, while my mother and I both were visiting with her, Obera showed us a photograph of herself as a young lady of 18. I asked her if I could take a photograph of her holding that photo, and I took a close-up of the photograph of her at age 18, as well.
Obera is missed. I treasured our friendship, and I treasure the words she wrote in a Bible of mine in January of 2005: "In our faith, we leave footprints for others to follow. Love you."
The Christian View magazine 
