Loreen “Lori” Fitzwater 

Sunrise: September 8, 1953
Sunset: March 26, 2018

Memorial Service

Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

Chico Alliance Church, Bremerton, Washington

Musical Prelude:

Prayer & Scripture:

Comments, Reading (Luke Guidici):

Music & Memories:

 

 

 

Obituary Reading:

Reflections:

Eulogy, Meditation:

Closing Prayer:

Lori’s Message:

Hallelujah (L. Cohen) by Roy & Rosemary

Pastor David

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

Photos & Lori’s song choices for today

“When I Get Where I’m Going,” by Brad Paisley

“It Is Well with My Soul,” by S. Bacher/Hillsong

“The Other Side,” by Colton Dixon

Pastor David

Family & Friends

Dean Neel – Why Wasn’t Lori Terrified?

Pastor David

You’re Gonna Be OK, by Brian & Jen Johnson

Selected Scriptures

John 3:16  –  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:3  –  Jesus declared “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

Romans 8:38 & 39  –  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalms 23: 4 & 6  –  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Romans 10:9  –  If you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Philippians 4:7 & 8  –  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
 
Thank You
Lori’s family deeply appreciates your loving encouragement by your presence here today
and by sharing their faith in her eternal life through Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior.
 

Loreen (Lori) K. Fitzwater

Loreen (Lori) K. Fitzwater, 64, of Seabeck WA passed away at home on March 26, 2018, after being diagnosed with an untreatable, rare form of cancer in September of 2017.  She was laid to rest at Miller-Woodlawn cemetery.
Lori was born in Bremerton, Washington to Lawrence and Noreen (Gay) Fitzwater.  The eldest of three daughters, she graduated from Central Kitsap HS in 1971.  She earned a BA in Spanish from George Fox University in 1976.

In 1972 GFU sent Lori to Barcelona, Spain, where she worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship for three months.  She earned a full term’s credits for her time in Spain.  

 

Lori’s hobbies included gardening and NASCAR.  She was a loyal Jeff Gordon fan and attended many races all across the US.  

Lori was preceded in death by her father and is survived by her mother Gay, sisters Shirlene Fitzwater and Gwen Guidici, brother-in-law Larry Guidici, daughter Tessa Fitzwater, fiancé Chasen Nikolich, granddaughter Brielle and Aurora.

Lori used her remaining earthly time to plan a memorial that she hoped would be meaningful to family and friends.  

Lori was laid to rest in at Miller-Woodlawn Cemetary. 

Her favorite charities were Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation (for childhood cancer victims) and Veterans of Foreign Wars 

It’s September

It’s September

And I’m being called again.

Not by a voice that can be heard,

But one felt by the heart

And radiated into the soul.

 

The caller lives in hazy morning mists

and moves at night to ring the moon.

Gentle, yet powerfully persuasive,

haunting, yet peaceful,

he beckons me.

 

And I would willingly go but for responsibilities whose voices whisper

“Tend us now.  Next year, go freely.”

I long to know what I would find

should I follow.

 

But meanwhile, I will have to be content

to spend autumn days with those who
know his touch…

the leaves underfoot, the silent woods,

until the baggage of my heart and
life is neatly packed

and ready for the one-way journey.

 

By Lori Fitzwater

 

People would often ask me “Who is the caller?”  The answer is death.  I wrote this many years ago.  I find it ironic that my terminal cancer was found and diagnosed in September 2017.  I guess death really did come calling in September….

Spared

God stands down at the end of a long dark tunnel,

A thin-lipped smile drawn tightly across His face.

To get to Him I’d have to crawl

On hands and knees through fetid slime

and unseen things that move.

 

He has been expecting me; waiting for me.

All of me is paralyzed save for my heart,

Which beats so loudly it echoes down the concrete corridor

Like a brown basketball being dribbled down the court.

 

I know why I am here

Dressed in sackcloth and ashes.

I can perform no penance, offer no sacrificial lamb,

Nor escape damnation by marking my doorposts with blood.

 

Our eyes are locked. I dare not speak.

But my mind screams out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”

It is a hopeless plea.  It did not spare the One who asked it of Him two thousand years ago,

The One who deserved to be spared.

 

Then the voice of God answers me softly, tenderly.

“No, it did not spare Him, & because of that it spared you.”

The tunnel is gone. 

I step into the light and into His eternal embrace.  

 

By Lori Fitzwater