Cindy Kodger

Our family lost a beautiful woman – a beloved mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend – to brain cancer on October 3, 2009.

It will be two years on the day after the Lawrence Head for the Cure Event, and today we gather in her honor. Today, we remember. We remember the love she gave so freely. We remember her grace, her sense of humor and the way her family was her world. We remember her blue eyes and that never-ending, beautiful smile. We remember her faith, her drive and her value of the everyday. And of course, we like to remember other more specific and favorite stories.

My husband and sister-in-law remember their mother. They remember how she was convinced that they were absolutely THE best cheerleader and running back in the school. They remember how she was their cheerleader both in sports and in life, the way she tried her best to gave them room to live their own lives and learn from it as they went (though she really struggled with letting them cross the street by themselves until they were in high school), the fact that she never missed any of their dances, games, activities, or the more important events in their lives. She was there as the grew, when they skinned their knees or fell off of their bikes, when they graduated from school, when they fell in love, when they needed encouragement, support or just an ear to listen. She was there when their own children were born and when it became their turn to become the type of parent she had been for them.She was there when they had to let her go, and today they remember, that she is still here even if they can’t see her.

Her grandchildren, Baylee, Abrianna, Eithan and Gavyn, were blessed with an easy contender for the title of The World’s Best Grandmother. She would have made any sacrifice for them, and she did everything she could to make sure they laughed, were well-cared for and, most of all, knew they were loved. She was there when they learned to walk, when they started kindergarten and as they grew taller and stronger. She wouldn’t have missed those moments for anything. And she will continue to be there in ways that they may not yet understand, but one day, will. They were, simply put, her world.

Her mother remembers her in a way that is unique to the bonds between mother and children; the day she was born, watching her grow and fall in love and become a mother herself, watching her live and releasing her back into the care of the Lord, but most importantly, the blessing that she was.

Her brothers and sisters will always remember their best friend, the way she guided them and sometimes got in trouble with them, and the way they wanted to be just like her.

Her nieces and nephews will always remember holidays and games and days gone by with their Aunt Cindy.

And, I have to laugh when I remember her saying, “I try so hard to be a good Christian, but sometimes people just make it so hard!” But, she was a good Christian, a great one, at that. She loved without pretense or judgment. She found the good in everything that she could; she was at church every Sunday even when the chemo made her feel nauseous, and she was always grateful for her blessings. I also remember when her legs grew weak from the tumors, and she needed help to stand. People would ask me if I was strong enough to lift her, and she would answer for me, saying simply, “Yes, she is. She’s stronger than she looks,” with that calm smile of faith and belief in me. She never left any of us to wonder about the love she felt for us.

I was blessed with a mother-in-law that many never get to experience. She was my friend and a woman I loved dearly. And, my family felt exactly the same way about her that I did and still do. She was – and is still – loved through and through, in ways that we can’t capture in a memorial text, but in ways that we hope to demonstrate through the strength and unity that brings us together today as we cover these miles in this Head for the Cure event.

Cindy Jo Kodger was a woman of love, humor, honor, strength and faith. She was a blessing to all who knew her. We will never forget her, and our love for her will never fade. We remember…