How can we possibly share our mom’s beautiful life story in a short period of time. We could write a book or even make a movie about our mom’s life and maybe one day one of us will but for today, we will share some stories and memories we hold closest to our hearts. But first we want to thank you all for coming today to celebrate the love and life of our beautiful mom. And thank you Pastor Dan for being here with us today, Mom loved and respected you as a member for many years at Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville. She was an incredible daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother with many gifts, tremendous energy and a fabulous sense of humor. She was guided daily by her devotion and deeply unwavering love of God and biblical scriptures. The most important thing in life was her family, her children. She loved going to the beach. Mike remembers as a little boy one particularly exciting drive to Dania Beach with her speeding up across a drawbridge as it was on it’s way up, flying through Starsky and Hutch style at full speed to get to the other side. Katie remembers traveling in the trundle seat in the family station wagon. She, Kerri and John lived their younger years riding in reverse as the 6 other kids piled up over each other in the front and middle seats, without wearing seatbelts. Jim and Joe occasionally joined them in the back seat. Kelly, Kathy, Katie and Kerri earned their Girl Scout Cookie Badges by selling 300 boxes of cookies each. Mom drove us to every neighborhood and trailer park in Lake and Sumter Counties. She would have one of us hold the car door open while driving in tandem as we ran away from dogs chasing us across front yards. She was the best Girl Scout Leader, especially on camping trips, we always enjoyed hot, gooey smores around the camp fire and stayed up extra late. Grocery shopping was a weekly excursion at Winn-Dixie. With all the kids in tow she was load up 4 shopping carts. The bag boys would scatter upon seeing us enter the store from fear of dealing with too many groceries to bag. We of course loved these trips with all our grocery cart races up and down the aisles and snack eating. She was an amazing cook and baker, magically preparing one pot dishes and pressure-cooker delectables nightly for 11 ravished people followed by a homemade, delicious banana pudding, cherry cream cheese pie and chocolate pudding cake, to name a few. She enjoyed watching scary movies about mummies, werewolves and vampires on Saturday afternoon television. And she loved watching all the classic black and white films, had a huge collection of VHS movies. Big John Wayne and Russell Crowe fan. She loved music, singing and playing the piano. Opera, Broadway “Phantom Of The Opera” and musicals. We, the Ryan kids must have watched and listened to the “Sound Of Music” 10,000 times. Her youngest brother Butch is here today representing the Swearingen siblings, Terry, Billy and Ann. He remembered her having control of the radio and record player when they were kids, she was the oldest and always wanted to listen to opera. And she would sing, sing, sing. Anyone who has heard Mom sing knew she had a beautiful voice. Even up to very recently, she possessed a powerful, clear soprano pitch. She taught us all the love and appreciation of music. Sports. She would burn a hole in the glove of any guy who was brave enough to play catch with her. Everyone couldn’t believe how powerful her throwing arm was. At the age of 15, she was recruited to play for the All American Girls Softball League She taught Kerri how to play softball, at the age of 8, she was too young to play, the league started at 9 years of age but Mom convinced the coach she was good enough to start early. And she was. Mom coached Kerri and her friends for two years. They both coached a team together when Kerri was in her early 20’s. She nursed a little Shanan back to health after she was stung by two wasps in her left eye. While visiting Katie and her family in Orlando, a very young Emily would love waking up and doing morning stretches with her, toe touches and bicycle exercises. Emily shared a quote, “A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher and a little bit best friend.” Lisa Marie remembers Grandma playing cards with her and her sisters. Grandma would still beat them. Mom’s caretaking and staunch determination to find a cure for John showed no limits. She traveled to the National Institute of Health in Maryland, Shands in Gainesville and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She was a true lady. She was kind, gentle and sweet to others. Her presence made life easier for everyone around her. Not just an inspiration but a light, a force that led the way with a beautiful smile and bright green shining eyes that both belied the pure steel of her strength and determination. Strong is too pale, too shallow and too small fo a word to describe Mom’s vibrancy. Quite simply, she was ferocious. She passionately held on to life and to love with a forcefulness that was absolutely awe-inspiring and completely breathtaking. She never swore and she taught us to respect her and each other, to be polite and have table manners. And she rarely raised voice, unless she was at a Florida Gator game or watching it on t.v. And she LOVED the Florida Gators. Mom was the loudest fan in the stadium and it wasn’t always just cheering for touchdowns. It was also yelling at our coach to make a better call or yelling at the ref or umpire to get some glasses. She was the loudest in the stadium, even heard by Patti, Jacob and Jeremiah while watching a game on the Sunshine Network. She wore her orange and blue proud! Dad loved Mom with all his heart and she shared with me during the past few years of her life how much she loved him. He would drive to Orlando every Sunday, rain or shine to visit her and did so for the past 5 years. They'd watch football games, baseball games, classic movies and played cards. On many occasions Dad would stay til almost 12 midnight playing cards with her, she would always keep score and almost always beat him, their game of choice was rummy or gin rummy 500. They'd spend hours talking and reminiscing about fond memories from the past and talk intimately about their mortality and joining John in eternity. He was a huge part of her life, often times the relationship was quite turbulent but I thank God they reconciled their differences, found peace in their relationship and both grew back in love with the other. Mom, it’s impossible to put into words what you meant to us. We loved you with all our hearts and will truly miss you each and every day for the rest of our lives. Tell John we say “Hey” and “Go Gators”.