Dear "Papa", Bette and Ben:

I have been trying to find a way to share with you the very special visit I had with Pauline on last Saturday. She said some things which I hope you will find both meaningful and helpful. I also feel that she had a beautiful and rare experience.

"Mama" was so special to so many. She always had a way of helping others, whether it was "doctoring" them or helping in some other way to solve their problems. What made her so special was her genuine, sincere interest in people. Even as she lay there on Saturday, she asked me to go and get some Robitussin for the lady in the room with her who was having a bad coughing spell.

When I first went to her room, she appeared to be sleeping, but opened her eyes when I approached her bed. She seemed to want to talk and was in a reflective mood. She talked about her life with "Papa" and how good it had been, and she said, "I know he loves me." And about Bette and Ben. She reflected on the years you were both young and on your lives now, your marriages and your children. How good you had all been for each other, and she said, "What would we ever have done without them."

It was at that point that the nurse came into the room to close the protective blinds because of the storm that was brewing.

She was quiet for a few moments and then said, "There is something very unusual about the storm." I asked her what she meant and she said, "Well, its unusual – I think God is somehow all around us, protecting us – Papa and me and you people over there and the Davis’s." I realized that she apparently thought she was at home and she was talking about home, the office and Davis’s. I had an opportunity to tell her I loved her and she said she knew… "I know it more than you think I do." Then she was reflecting on her own personal Christian life, how that she had tried to be a good Christian, but somehow never quite measured up. I firmly told her that she was one of the finest Christian people I had ever known and that she certainly did "measure up". She knew her purpose here and she acted upon that knowledge. Again she was quiet, and then she said, "Did you ever think the end would be so beautiful as this?" When I asked her what she meant, she said, "We’re all here together on the hill and it is beautiful." She became very peaceful and said, "I think its time for you to call Bette." And she was trying to say the telephone number. I was so moved and know that she was at that very moment very close to God and possibly death. I went to the telephone to call Papa and while the phone was ringing, glanced back at her in the bed and she was having the seizure. I went immediately for the nurse and you know the rest.

We’ve all heard of people who have experiences such as this and I feel Pauline was very privileged because I am convinced that she truly felt the presence of God in a very special way. And I will always be grateful to Him for allowing her to live long enough for all of you to be there with her. That was not only helpful to her but surely helpful to all of you.

We will all miss her, but perhaps no one as much as "Papa" will. "Papa" seemed to be her favorite name for the one she loved so much. There is no way I can tell you what she meant to me personally. And there is no way I can begin to tell you what you all mean to me – just know that I love you.