In Memory of...
Stephen Neal Dysinger
Stephen Dysinger was born in Atlanta, Georgia on October 19, 1992. After living 3 years in Georgia, he moved with his parents to New Hampshire where he spent the next 8 years of his life, and where his brother was born. In 2003 he moved to Loma Linda, California where he spent the final 3 years of his life.
Stephen was an amazing boy. Each day he flung himself at life with boundless amounts of passion, energy, enthusiasm, boldness, loyalty, humor, creativity and sensitivity. His life was not without tumult. He grappled with displacement after the birth of his brother (who was critically ill much of his first year of his life), miraculously survived a house fire, endured the struggles of his parents temporary separation and wrestled with the challenge of keeping his emotions at levels family and friends could tolerate. His nightly prayer was “Dear Jesus, please live in my heart, help me to be Your boy”.
Throughout his life Stephen was a huge animal lover. At various times he had his own rabbit, guinea pig, and two separate dogs. Stephen was also an enthusiastic lifelong reader. His favorite series were The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Redwall, and Harry Potter. One area Stephen will be particularly remembered for is drama. He had lead parts in several school and summer plays, and was voted “Most Dramatic” in his 6th grade class. His unfulfilled Make-A-Wish was to be in a movie. At various times in his life Stephen wanted to be a veterinarian, preacher, and actor. During his final illness however, his goal was to be either an anesthesiology or oncology physician.
Stephen thoroughly loved his family. He knew how to be a totally devoted son and still completely challenge the parenting skills of his Mom and Dad. His 8 year old brother William could not have had a more dedicated sibling. His extended family including 4 Grandparents, 15 cousins and numerous aunts and uncles were also important to Stephen throughout his life. Friendships also meant a lot to Stephen. Some of his best memories were of the times he had with friends during the 9 straight years he went to campmeeting along the Maine coast, and the last 4 summers he spent at Camp Lawroweld in Northwestern Maine. During his final illness Stephen especially came to appreciate his California friends from Loma Linda Academy and the Azure Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The week before Christmas, 2005 Stephen was diagnosed with metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma which had started in the muscle below his right twelfth rib. This is a rare, almost universally fatal type of cancer that occurs only about 30 times each year in the USA. Stephen’s courageous combat with cancer over the next seven months included an initial diagnostic biopsy, three months of aggressive chemotherapy, a major 7 hour surgical resection, 6 weeks of proton beam radiation therapy, and more chemotherapy. Although Stephen’s initial response was amazingly good, two and a half weeks prior to his death the cancer was found to have spread to his spinal fluid and meningis. He died quietly and peacefully at home at 1:11 pm, Thursday, July 20, 2006.
In many ways Stephen’s battle with cancer helped to define his life. His faith was inspiring to all who knew him. He managed to thoroughly live each day and each moment with no significant worries about the past or the future. He showed an amazing strength and desire to live, but was also at peace with death because he knew that heaven was next.
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Piper Marie Ivins
My precious wife, Piper Marie Ivins, was born on July 31, 1964 in Canadaigua, NY. It was into an extremely dysfunctional family that she entered, and she endured more in her early years than any one person should have to in a lifetime. Pipers parents and grandparents were heavily into spirit worship, her parents divorced when she was young, and throughout her childhood she suffered with physical and emotional abuse. Piper vividly remembered the rejection she felt at age 4, her mother left her with her father, because she didn't want her anymore.
Piper loved being a mother. Her fondest memories were of her two boys, Joseph and Gregory, when they were little in that inquisitive, mind expanding, ever exploring phase of life. She loved watching their eyes light up, the expressions on their faces as they tried new things, and seeing them get excited about their accomplishments and the new things they learned. The tears would often flow as she recounted those memories, but her most precious memory of all was holding them in her arms, stroking their hair and face while singing "You are a Masterpiece". Oh how she loved those boys.
There aren’t many women who love the great outdoors as much as Piper did! Horseback riding, roller blading, hiking, camping, fishing, floating down the river, she was game for just about anything. She was the coolest girl ever! The first time I took her rock climbing she scaled a 55 foot face like it was nothing. When I met Piper she was head of the horsemanship program at Tranquil Valley Youth Camp where she taught horsemanship and equine husbandry. Here her deep love for horses and children where combined and her caring gentle disposition shown clearly. It was there that she captured the heart of one of my children and later came to love them all. She was the most beautiful person I've had the privilege of knowing. Her servant’s heart endeared her to all who knew her.
Even before we were married we felt the call to music ministry and our passion became singing praises to the One who had filled our hearts to overflowing. We recorded our first CD "Peaceful Praises" in 2008 and were in the planning stages of a second one when Piper was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our focus then turned to fighting for her life. When we realized Piper was in stage 4, and that apart from a miracle she was going to die, her heart turned toward others. That was the birth of a dream to record another CD. Piper saw hurting people all around her and she desired to help them find that Healing Source that she had found. Her desire was for more than just a music CD, she wanted this to be her "legacy". Music and testimony of how God has healed her and given her that peace that passes understanding, hoping that those who listen will find the peace and joy that she had found in Jesus Christ. (If you are interested in obtaining copies contact me at ivinsimprovements@gmail.com)
On November 12, 2011, at 47 years old, in the waning hours of the Sabbath (her favorite day of the week) my “Sweet P" finished her race a VICTOR. She had “fought a good fight, she had kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for her a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give her at that day: and not to her only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
Through the whole ordeal I watched my Girl grow into the most Christ like person I have ever known. It was amazing to watch her love for her Heavenly Father grow deeper and deeper. I asked her once "Darlin, if you could trade the experience you have found for your health would you do it?" Without a moments hesitation she emphatically replied "NO WAY!" I know I will see my Girl again. Sometimes our humanity asks, why... Why this pain and suffering? I don't know why, but I can tell you this. My Girl touched more lives in the last 2 years of her life than in the previous 45.
Friend, if you're hurting from past mistakes, suffering from disease or a broken heart, if you haven't found that peace, give your life to Him who can make you new. You will find a "Forever Friend" in Him. He longs to do for you what He has done for so many others, to create in you a clean heart. I believe that if God is able to reach your heart through our suffering, then my Girl didn't die in vain. Our greatest desire is to see all of you in Heaven. -Stanley Ivins
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Sandra Lee MundieGrowing up, Aunt Sandy loved to sing, play the piano, work puzzles, listen to music, and spend time with family. She graduated from Leonardtown High School in 1989. She played goalkeeper for the field hockey team and won the state championship her senior year; one of the highlights she experienced during her short life.
In her late teens she began to experience unusual happenings that she wasn’t able to explain or account for. At 18 she knew for sure something wasn’t right and at 19, after multiple doctor visits and tests, her symptoms were finally diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis; this was the beginning of a life filled with physical struggle.
Throughout her twenties and thirties, she faced many challenges as a result of her condition. She experienced numbness in her legs and arms, which caused her to fall and drop things. Double vision and seizures were also becoming more frequent and debilitating. I can remember one time especially when Aunt Sandy was admitted into the hospital after an immense episode and her speech became slurred and her short-term memory was severely compromised.
As Aunt Sandy’s disease progressed, life for her consisted of being in-and-out of hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and finally nursing homes. With the advancing of her disease, she could no longer live the vibrant life she cherished of serving and helping others. She went from walking with a limp, to the use of a cane, and then a walker, before eventually relying on a wheelchair as her only means of mobility. MS presented her with extraordinary challenges, yet through it all she was a very loving and selfless person. She showed incredible empathy for others despite her own frustrations and difficulties.
On May 17th, 2009, my dear Aunt passed away at the young age of 38. Ironically, MS didn’t take her life, it was cancer that manifested as a result of her MS treatments. She was tremendously courageous in her battle against MS and continues to be an immense inspiration to me. In honor of her valiant struggle, I dedicate the struggle of this 500-mile bike trek on the Natchez Trace Parkway to her fighting spirit. The memory of Aunt Sandy and the challenges that she fought will be with me as I Pedal-4-Prevention. -Andrew Ketts
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Siegried Centerwall
Siegried Achorn Centerwall ( 1926 – 1992):
a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Her nickname was Siggy. Her mom and sister called her Bunny (because she had the
cutest way of wiggling her nose as a little girl). She is Mom to me and my five siblings.
Mom was a newEnglander, her grandfather was a fine lawyer
and member of the board of Boiden College, ME. She, like him, excelled in academics. She was an independent thinker. She went to high school with her sister
at Mt. Holeoake (a prestigious girls school) which later granted her an
honorary doctorate in public health in 1985.
Mom finished high school at sixteen. She proceeded to college and finished
with a Masters in Chemistry. She
remembers enjoying a half gallon
of ice cream to celebrate finishing her finals. Mom always had a sweet tooth and a fondness for ice-cream. Now don’t think that she was a glutton-- She was thin and gentile and handled
herself with much grace.
Mom’s mother, my Nana, was a nurse in the second world war
where she met my Mom’s father, She
was a philanthropist , taking care of girls who were in need in their
neighborhood. Mother was much like
that. She decided to go on to
Medical school at Yale University and help the world. There she met my handsome, charming father, Willard
(Bill ) Centerwall. Grandma called
him Billy. Dad took his
stake out on Mom when he first laid eyes on her. They were in the same medical class and there were only a
few girls in their class. Dad won
Mom over with his attentiveness, his one armed push-ups , his humor and
faith. Dad and Mom went to church
together, studied together (Dad says that Mom asked for his help locating
things under the microscope, so that he could spend time with her. He believes this because he says that
she was the smarter one out of the two.
He was very proud of her.
It was not long that he proposed and that they were married Sept. 2
1949.
Eleven years later they had six children and were headed to
India as missionaries with the Disciples of Christ Church. Dad worked for White Memorial Hospital
and the School of Medical Evangelists in LL. Dad thought it humorous that their picture in the paper of
us disembarking for India had a caption under it “Drs. Centerwall travel to
India to teach family planning”.
Dad grinned and said , “We were slow learners." Dad and Mom had decided before they got married that they
wanted six children! Both coming
from small families they wanted a full nest.
Mommy juggled being a homemaker and a public health
doctor. She was always interested
in giving us healthy lunches for school while other kids ate twinkies for
desert, we had apples. On the way
back from India we traveled through Europe and we kids who could not remember
America and who never had ice-cream , remember eating ice cream more than the
museums, much to Dad’s disappointment.
Dad’s curiosity of the world was insatiable and Mother was
happy to sleep in the same bed at night.
She made our family vacations fun, planning camping trips and cousin
camps ( for the grandkids). She
was very faithful in her Bible Study and church relationships and continued to
help those in need. Every grand
child that was born, she welcomed with much enthusiasm. She supported us whole heartedly.
During our growing up years in California, Mother worked for
the San Bernardino County Health Dept. in child health and Disability
prevention. She was the head of
the Head-start program (feeding preschool children). She later became the director of Maternal and Child Health
in Sacramento for the State of California.
Around 1979 Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had weathered some difficulties at
work and in the family and the accumulated stress took its toll. She was treated at LLU successfully but
had a remission in 1991. She took
this very bravely. She sought
healing from God. She read the
entire NT selecting all the passages on Christ’s healing the people. She journaled after her devotional
readings. She improved her diet
and she went through Chemotherapy.
I was over seas
in Tanzania at the time and flew back with our three children. Paul was almost two. He will never remember Nana. He was there with the other 9
grandchildren on the property. We
four sisters took turns taking care of our mother. She wanted to live .
She wanted to see her grandchildren grow up and be with her
children. She was brave. She lost her sister two years before to
cancer. And now despite hers and
Dad’s efforts we needed to remind her that it wasn’t a lack of faith that she
was not healed. God gave her rest
until the last trumpet call when Christ will take her to the Father.
You see, Mom didn’t have a father that she could rely
on. She suffered that loss. She lost her second baby to a severe
illness that ended her life at three years. Her family and children suffered calamities. Through it all she was brave ,
supportive and she increased in faith.
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