It has been a year since my aunt finished her race, since her death was swallowed up in a victory that Christ won.
At her funeral, we sang:
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry, to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
We were not meant to understand all the mysterious workings of our Father, but we are confident of this: To live is Christ, To die is Gain.
The following obituary is the finest I have read.
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Kathlyn Noreen (Hansen) Hubbard, age 44, a resident of Neenah, WI went home to be with the Lord on January 25, 2016.
Katie Hansen was born on December 17, 1971 in Aiken, SC to Charles and Betsy Hansen. A Kimberly-Clark kid with three older brothers, she grew up in a tight-knit family that moved from South Carolina to Wisconsin, Mississippi, Connecticut, Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama before she graduated high school. Through these moves, her mom and dad taught Katie to trust in Jesus, be brave, love others, and put down deep roots.
Katie attended Auburn University (Alabama) where she met her soon-to-be husband, Norman Hubbard. She graduated with a degree in English and History, Secondary Education, and the two were married December 14, 1994. Katie taught 8th grade English for a year, but she found her true passion and calling as a mom and mentor when her first child was born a year later.
Katie and Norman eventually had four children: Tom (07/31/96), Kayla (04/15/99), Rachel (03/12/01), and Joseph (11/09/07). Her life was full - in the best sense of that word - with the care and activities of her kids. Her days and journals were filled with prayers for their good. She somehow managed to blend firmness, mercy, and wisdom in her parenting.
In 1999, Norman began working with The Navigators, a ministry that helps college students grow in Christian faith through life-on-life discipleship. Katie stood by him as a lifelong partner in this work of raising up young Christian leaders. They worked with students at UW-Eau Claire from 1999 to 2006 and The University of Illinois from 2006 to 2015. Many young women would say today that Katie is the most influential friend and mentor they have ever known.
A difficult chapter opened in Katie's life when she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in 2009. Two more diagnoses would follow in 2012 and 2014 as the cancer spread to her bones and liver. Katie trusted in the Lord to heal her, if He willed. She took every reasonable step to arrest the progress of the cancer and remain with her family. She lived well through terrible pain for many years.
For reasons we may not learn until we join her in heaven, it was the Lord's will to close the chapter of her earthly life and open a new one in glory at age 44. Though her passing brings grief, there is no fear in it. Though there is loneliness for those who survive her, there is no bitterness. Jesus, her Lord, shattered the power of death many years ago when he rose from the grave. Katie is with Him now and it fills our hearts with hope.
Katie will be remembered for her great love for her kids, her open (and beautiful) home, her wise counsel, her love of reading, her beautiful garden, and her depth in the Word. She will be greatly missed on earth by her husband, Norman Hubbard; her four children (Tom, Kayla, Rachel, and Joe); her parents, Charles and Betsy Hansen; her brothers and their spouses (Ethan and Chris Hansen, Ted and Denise Hansen, and Paul and Melanie Hansen); and by a host of other family and friends. May all of us greet her again someday in heaven because we have trusted in the Savior whom she loved with all her heart.
Visitation for Katie will be held on Friday, January 29, 2016 at Calvary Bible Church, 1450 Oakridge Road, Neenah from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 30, 2016 at the church. An additional time of visitation will be held at the church on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until the hour of the service.
Published in Appleton Post-Crescent from Jan. 27 to Jan. 30, 2016
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