Glennis Kay Farnsworth, 1929-2018
This feels
like a love fest for our dad. Thanks so
much for taking time to be with us this afternoon to celebrate the life of
Glennis Kay Farnsworth. He was a good
man, a godly man, a wonderful husband to Mom and a shining example of Christian
servanthood to us his children, his grandchildren and many of you as well.
I would like to take a moment to thank my siblings Mark, Heidi and Laura, and their families, for taking such good care of Dad and Mom in my absence.
My wife Marisol and our children would have liked so much to be present here today, but circumstances make that impossible. However, they wanted me to express to you their love and gratitude.
Two months
ago the 35-year-old actor Mark Salling committed suicide shortly before his
sentencing on child pornography charges.
His last public appearance took him to a convenience store to buy a pack
of cigarettes. Hours later he took his
own life.
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My father
passed from this earthly life on Friday, March 23 after being admitted to the
Reading Hospital a week before. Prior to
going to the hospital, Dad’s final public appearance took him to prayer meeting
here at Exeter Bible Church. That, my
friends, shows the contrast between despair and loss and hope and
salvation. Dad did not have any
skeletons in the closet that went unconfessed or unresolved. He did not have any enemies or conflicts that
lingered on without reconciliation.
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Yet Dad would have been the first person to share that any goodness in his life came as a result of one thing: the work of Jesus Christ in his life as a child of God. He came to faith in Jesus at age 16 at Moreland Baptist Church under the ministry of Reverent Taylor. Thus begun a lifelong commitment of service to his Lord and Savior.
Among other ministries, he helped to start the Christian Service Brigade (CSB) program at Exeter Bible Church and served for many years as a leader and committee member. He was a fun leader, teaching us to make candles and to start a fire without a match using friction. He always pushed me to work in my Battalion achievement books, even when I did not want to. He was so pleased when I attained the Herald of Christ Award in 1984, CSB’s equivalent of the Eagle Scout Award.
Perhaps one
of the areas in which I most feel Dad’s influence in my life is the passion
that he and Mom had for foreign missions.
We often had missionaries in our home, and my parents generously
supported missionaries. Mom and Dad
served three times on summer mission trips, two times in Alaska and once in
Brazil. Their passion affected me greatly in my own
quest to be a missionary.
I would
like to share a few memories of Dad.
When I was a boy, we took annual camping trips during the summer, when
Dad had vacation from his job as a fourth grade teacher. Some of these trips in our pop-up camper took
us far, to California or Florida, with stops in between, and other times, to
places right here in Pennsylvania. One
summer we went to Rickett’s Glen State Park, and Dad and I rented a boat to
visit a small island in the middle of the lake.
I forgot to put down the anchor, and soon we realized that the boar was
drifting away, out of reach. Dad yelled
to George Feinauer, another member of Exeter Bible Church, who was also camping
there with his family. George, in the midst of shaving, rushed to rescue
us in his boat, with shaving cream all over his face. That was Dad’s and my Gilligan’s Island moment!
Another
time we went miniature golfing at Shell’s in Reiffton. I was not hitting any of the holes very well,
which should not surprise many of you.
In fact, my younger sister was playing much better than I, and I was
griping about it. Dad tolerated my
behavior for a while before taking me to the side and saying, “Don’t act like a
jackass!” That was so untypical for Dad,
but he wanted to make a strong point that my selfish attitude could kill the
joy for everyone else. This has stayed with
me as a forceful reminder all these years and helped me with my own family.
Dad was very handy. He could fix almost anything. I watched him do this many times, but I was not a very good learner. Still, I did pick up certain things.
A couple months ago I had a flat tire, and I seized the moment to teach Joel, Jacob and Elias how to change a tire. There, in Ecuador, as I watched my sons working, I remembered Dad and his patient love. He nurtured us; he doted over us; he loved us. He taught us about love, about faith, about God. He and Mom faithfully prayed for us. Often, as I passed by their bedroom door at night, I would hear their praying for us children by name. That has always been a comfort to me, having my parents’ prayer support.
Dad enjoyed
his fourteen grandchildren. When Amelia
used to ask her grandpa what time it was, he would answer with a smile, “Half
past kissing time and time to kiss again.”
What wonderful memories we have!
Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom. The day we learned of Dad’s passing, our six-year-old son Elias prayed, “Thank you, God, that Grandpa is with you in heaven.” That is our eternal hope and gives us peace that passes human understanding.
When my dad’s
mother died in 1987, I wrote a song about her and my maternal grandmother, who
had passed away in 1980. It’s called “Ride
a Bed to Heaven.” I share the words of
the chorus with you:
Ride a bed to heaven
To suffer long and not lose
faith
Ride a bed to heaven
What a way to go!
Ride a bed to heaven
You were faithful till the
moment that you
Rode your bed to heaven
To a place where you will never,
ever
Feel no pain no more.
No more
tears, no more pain. Imagine that! When I think of Dad now, I recall the words
of Don Wrytzen’s song “Finally Home.”
But just think of stepping on
shore and finding it heaven
Of touching a hand and finding
it God’s
Of breathing new air and finding
it celestial
Of waking up in glory and
finding it home.
Philippians
1:21 says, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” During his 88 years of earthly life Dad lived
for Jesus, and now he is enjoying heaven.
That is the future that awaits all of us who have put our faith in Jesus
for salvation, when He calls us home to heaven.
Thank you
again for sharing this special time with us, to celebrate Dad’s life. We love you all. To God be
the glory, great things He has done!
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