At 99, Mrs. Tommy Lee Cone went home to be with Jesus. As we celebrated her life, I wasn’t sad. Each of the scriptures she handpicked to be read were evangelical. She wanted everyone to know the Savior she loved and lived for. The hymns were beautiful and represented her love for music well. My heart was full as I imagined Mrs. Tommy Lee in heaven, directing the choir, and singing praises to Jesus. She is finally healthy and whole again, with a brand-new body. Oh, what a day it must have been when she met Jesus, face to face.

I first met Tommy Lee at the age of four. I can still remember her huge smile bursting from her tiny frame as she waved her hands up and down to the beat of the music. She and her husband, Reverend Leonard Cone, came to bring healing to our congregation after a church split. They filled in for only a year or two, but Tommy Lee kept in touch with our church folks for decades beyond.

            At the age of seven, I accepted Jesus and followed through with baptism. There was Mrs. Tommy Lee, who mailed me a sweet note and a nickel with a cross carved into it. Every time I held that precious coin, I thought of Mrs. Tommy Lee.

            Over the years, we ran into each other at associational choir gatherings, and I was always greeted with her joyous smile and firm hug. When I graduated from high school, once again, she sent me another coin with a cross carved into it and told me she was praying for me and she planned to write me while I was away at my summer job at Ridgecrest. I read and reread her letters and kept the tiny coin in a special place all summer.

            Over the last twenty-five years of adulthood, so often I’d be in Perry and show up at Mrs. Tommy Lee’s house. She seemed so excited to have surprise company and hugged me and hurried me to sit down and start talking. Without fail, her consistent opening statement still makes me smile, “So, I want to hear all about what you’re doing for the Lord.”

            Tommy Lee was such an encouragement. She always reminded me to keep my eyes on Jesus and not get distracted by the troubles of this world. She met and held each of my kids when they were babies and she faithfully prayed for me and my family, as long as her mind stayed clear and fresh.

            For those of you who follow my writings, you’ll remember my journey to be reconnected with Tommy Lee back in the late spring. After dreaming about her, I spent a week hunting down living family members and finally found where she was located. My youngest and I visited and sang old hymns for two hours with her and she slowly came alive and joined us in the singing. If you missed that column, you can go back on my blog and find it.

At her funeral, I shared the video I took of her singing with many of her family and friends. Apparently, her dementia was rough these last couple years and while she’d play the piano on occasion, there wasn’t much talking and singing that happened. I didn’t realize what a special privilege I was afforded to have her sing and talk with me the way she did.

When I posted the video of her singing on Facebook, person after person commented. She and Mr. Leonard touched countless lives. They led people to salvation, comforted them in their loss, healed broken churches, encouraged young marrieds, and made a huge impact for the kingdom. I also found out that when Tommy Lee was in her eighties, she got on a trampoline and jumped with some little kids!

Joy. Encouragement. Love. Hope. And Jesus. These are what poured out of her life. Even in her pain, she forced that sweet smile of hers. Anyone who knew her was blessed for the better. I’m so glad I got to see her one last time back in June. And I’m even more blessed to have been able to attend her funeral and in a way, usher her home.

Mrs. Tommy Lee will be missed, but she’s so much better off in her heavenly home. Singing and dancing. Worshipping and smiling. Waving those arms wildly.

May all of us who knew her honor her memory by wholeheartedly living our lives for Jesus. That’s the best gift we could ever give her while here on this earth.