We unexpectedly lost my precious Grandmother, Marian. She was kind and vibrant and one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. Her deep love of the arts, education, nature, and adventure was infectious and helped to make me who I am today.

My Grandmother was a bright mind. An elementary school teacher for thirty years, she was first in her family to go to college. When her father discovered that his daughter wanted an education, he took her application and angrily threw it into tomato sauce. She retrieved the application and submitted the red stained sheets. After three decades of teaching elementary school, she retired so that one of her former students, who was having difficulty finding work, could take her job. Her resilience and selflessness is what most will remember her by.

To her, no one was a stranger. I feel incredibly blessed to have been prayed for and held by her all the years of my life. Beginning at a young age, she would regularly bring me to museums, ballets, and musicals in Philadelphia. She knew the power of the arts. She knew it was meant to be shared. A few months ago, she sent me a video. The video stated that in every poem, painting, and film, we experience Jesus. The original Creator is the source of our creativity. She knew her Creator and she knew what He created her for. Her life was marked by the beauty of the Gospel and the world will never be the same because of
- Aiden Lillie