September
26, 2007
Column #1,361
"She Lived Her Life Entirely For Others."
By Mike McManus
The brochure for the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Kingsley Gallup
features a picture of her as a teenage ice skater leaping with abandon high in
the air. It captured the zest of the woman who married the famous George
Gallup, Jr.
At her memorial service her son George spoke first, saying, "I would like to
tell you about the most important person in my mother's life." Of course, I
thought he was talking about his father. But his next sentence was, "He isn't
sitting here with us today...He came into this world, although he was not of
this world. He led a humble, simple life...He taught us how to live with one
another, love one another, and to forgive one another."
Her daughter, also named Kingsley, said, "Anyone who knew mom knew she lived her
life entirely for others...whether advising or encouraging, mentoring or
nurturing...Serving others was what mom loved to do. She found total fulfillment
in it. She spent her days doing precisely what she loved. What more could any of
us ask for?"
Recently Kingsley gave birth to their first grandchild, Daisy, and is pregnant
again. She shared a letter from a friend to Daisy about her grandmother:
"Listening is what your Grandmom did so well for both family and friends. She
would listen to a sea of woe from people she cared deeply about, and her
reaction was always soothing, `Yes, yes, I know."
Daughter Alison, talked of the "cozy elegance" of the home her mother created,
but added, "My mother was an independent, feisty woman with her own opinions and
ideas. She was a champion for injustice and an advocate for the underdog...
"She was comfortable with who she was and did not allow herself to feel
overshadowed by the attention my father received. She was content to be the
silent, often unrecognized partner.
"Most important, my mother was a woman of faith. Over the past 25 years I saw
her faith grow from a quest to unshakeable conviction. She believed intensely in
the power of prayer and the healing miracles experienced in her small groups."
"I can't discuss my mother without including my father and their incredible
marriage. Growing up I never once doubted their love for one another. And over
the years, I watched their love grow even stronger. My parents were truly a
team, best friends and prayer partners...My mother grounded my father and my
father allowed my mother to be less earthbound."
As I sat listening to these inspirational words from her children, I decided to
give them a wider audience, writing this column about Kinny (as her friends knew
her).
My wife and I met her 30 years ago when we persuaded George and Kinny to attend
a Faith Renewal Weekend at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Darien, CT, led by
Rev. Terry Fullam, a remarkable Biblical scholar, who changed our lives and
touched many others, including Kinney's
George and Kinney were our house guests that weekend. We loved her from the
start. She was so approachable and comfortable. She made us feel like old
friends, and had a rare ability to make people feel important and loved. She
laughed a lot, and poked gentle fun at George. In fact, after George spoke at
our church, she stood up and took strong exception to something he said.
Attendees were astonished she would contest what her famous husband said, but
were delighted and endeared to her.
We have known few couples with such a vibrant marriage. About a decade ago, I
remember one evening when we shared concerns about our children, and prayed for
each other's.
Eight years ago Kinney was told she had a virulent form of breast cancer. George
told the crowd, "She had no better than a 50 percent chance of surviving the
first year...but Kinny lived eight years, sustained by her own God-given
strength and courage, support from her family and friends... She made a very
conscious decision that she would live out the rest of her days witnessing to
the power of the Lord in her life."
A friend, Chris Albe, witnessed, "She looked for, and saw Jesus in each of us."
As a prayer partner, Kinney challenged Chris "to write down petitions, and see
them answered." Of course, one was that she would be healed from cancer.
That prayer WAS answered. She did not die of cancer but of liver failure - a
peaceful, painless death. But not before leading many people to a closer walk
with Jesus Christ.
As George concluded, Kinny would "remind everyone that this life is just the
beginning."
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