A Loving Tribute to Terri Fordham, the Love of My Life

Teresa Lynn Martin Fordham

Last night my family and 1,000+ of us said goodbye to my wife, Teresa Lynn Martin Fordham, who after a very brief, sudden illness, went ahead of us to paradise on February, 28, 2010 at only 45 years of age. We mourned our loss, celebrated her life and the legacy she has left behind, and we celebrated her eternal life. Below are the words that I wrote on behalf of our family and shared at the service. May they honor her life and point us to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

First, our family would like to thank so many who have walked with us through this most shocking time of saying goodby to Terri. We could not have asked for better care from the all the medical staff who truly cared and gave their best in fighting to save Terri’s life. We would also like to thank Morrison United Methodist Church for so generously and graciously allowing us to meet here this evening. Also, a special thank you to our church family, Community United Methodist Church, for their steadfast loving support. So many of our dear friends have come alongside of us and continue to carry us through our terrible loss. We have been made aware this past week that not only is our family broken and shocked with Terri’s sudden passing but we are a part of a community not only here in Central Florida but throughout the world who are shocked and deeply saddened with us. We thank you for the tears you have shed with us! We are overwhelmed with your support here this evening. Terri never knew that she was loved this much!

This world will never be the same because of the gift that God gave us in the life of Teresa Lynn Martin Fordham. Terri’s legacy will continue on in each one of our lives. Terri could often be seen walking into a room and lighting it up with her bright smile and infectious personality. Terri was a passionate person who loved life and gave her all to everything that she did. Terri had a strong, even stubborn, driven personality who when she set her heart set on something she would not give up until it was accomplished. She did not like “no” for an answer. Terri had strong convictions about everything that she did with her life. If she believed something was the right thing to do she would not rest until it was accomplished. Sometimes that would get under people’s skin as she would push with passion that which she thought was right or best. Terri was a passionate person who gave 100% to everything that she did and she could not understand those who made shortcuts or who gave less than their best or as she would call it “half-baked.” Speaking of half-baked, Terri was a phenomenal cook who loved to share her hospitality to others through a meal or one of her phenomenal cakes that she would bake and decorate with great skill, love, and care. Terri had a gift of hospitality where she loved to throw a party at Halloween for parents and kids at our home. She loved our Christmas staff party and cooking the best meal possible as her gift of love to our staff. She loved welcoming friends and family into our home and showing them God’s love through the meal and her warm hospitality. Terri loved getting away spending time with friends, scrapbooking her family’s life. Terri was also very competitive in everything she did as could easily been seen in her love of sports, especially as a 4.0 tennis player. She couldn’t wait to hit the courts and often came home spent after a great match.

Another love that Terri had was for music. Terri was frustrated that she could not sing as well as she would like to. She loved to listen to her Shawn, Rebecca, and Amanda sing. She listened every chance that she had to the Florida State University’s coed Acapella group that you heard this evening, All-Night Yahtzee, of whom Amanda, her daughter, is a member. Terri loved to hear her precious daughter, Lindsey, play something soulful on her saxophone. When I, Mike, was up on the stage in a worship service and looked at Terri during the singing of the worship songs she seemed lost in the songs as she gave her all in worship to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and sang out to God with great passion.

One of Terri’s heartfelt passions was teaching children. Terri understood her role as a teacher not as a job or a means to make money but as a calling from God. Teaching was Terri’s ministry and way that she worshiped God. Terri’s #1 goal was to provide the absolute best education and care of all children, especially those whom society and others would be frustrated by or would be overlooked. Terri saw every child through the loving eyes of God and often came home and told us of another child for whom she was fighting to provide the best care. Terri did not teach for the school system or for other teachers but for her children. She would do whatever it took to provide the best care for these children.

By far, Terri’s greatest passion of all was her love for her family and relationship with God. She gave her all to these two. Terri loved and was proud to be the daughter of Bill and Peggy Martin and the sister of Pam and her husband Todd. Terri kept the birthdays of all her family, including nieces and nephews on her calendar. Terri was an amazing daughter also to her mother-in-law, Rita. Terri loved and cared deeply about all her relatives some of whom were able to be here with us tonight and represent those who could not be with us. Terri loved to travel with her family and get away on vacations creating memories with her family. Without a doubt, the greatest day in Terri and I, Mike’s lives was when God gave us the gift of His love in our 4 children: Amanda, Lindsey, Shawn and Rebecca. We had no idea on the day we became husband and wife almost 27 years ago in 1983 how much God would bless us with our four children! They are the greatest expression of love that Terri and I have for each other. We could not ask for more. It is not possible for Terri and I to be any more proud than we are of these precious gifts from God. Terri’s legacy will be carried on through them more than any other way. When our family said goodbye to Terri and gave her to the Lord our children expressed their concern that people would not blame God or turn their back on God because of the sudden, tragic loss of their mother. Their hope and prayer was that God would use this loss of their mother as a means to draw people closer to God and maybe even for some here to today to turn to God and allow Him to forgive them of their sins and then turn their entire lives over to Him to lead their lives as Jesus has done for Terri all these years.

The only other passion that Terri has in her life that equals the love for her family is her love for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with whom she is now sharing her new, eternal life. Terri wanted all the world to know of God’s undying love for all of us. Not only did Terri dedicate herself to telling people about Jesus, she truly strived with all that she had within her to show Jesus Christ to this world with her life. Whether it was teaching Sunday School, helping with Winterfest, leading and organizing our Women of Faith group, or serving on a mission trip Terri was passionate about shining the light of Christ wherever she went.

Terri lived by the words of Jesus who told us the key to life when he said that we are to love the Lord with all that we have and to love each other in the same manner. Terri gave everything that she had to her relationship with the Lord and to us. What more could we or ask for? She truly was the Proverbs 31 woman.

There is a song by Alan Jackson called, “Sissy’s Song” that echoes the heart of our family. Please listen carefully to the words as if we our family are singing them.

As we close this funeral, this worship service we have asked our dear friend, Michele James-Pruyn to sing a song that Terri asked her to sing years ago, “My Redeemer Lives.” As Michele sings this powerful song with her God-given beautiful voice that Terri loved to listen to know that we as a family grieve but not as those who are without hope. Our shock and pain in the loss of Terri is overshadowed by rejoicing in the victory that Terri and we all have over sin and death through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we one day reunite with Terri on the other side of death’s door we will look back on the years we have missed without her as just a very short moment compared to the eternity that we will have together. Terri, you have been my wife, my life partner for these past, almost 27 years. You will continue to take my breath away when I recall the many years of memories that we have shared together. I have loved you with all my life and I will continue to do so for all eternity. We do not say goodbye but we will do our best to carry on your legacy and look forward to our reunion in God’s time on the other side of death’s door where we will be together for all eternity. We all say to you this evening, honey, we love you and will miss you greatly until we meet again!