Rachel Gasque

Rachel Elizabeth Gasque died in Greensboro, NC, on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020. Formerly of Winston-Salem, Rachel lived since 2002 at the Masonic and Eastern Star Home, now known as WhiteStone, in Greensboro. The daughter of Tristan Albert Williams and Mattie Greene Williams, she was born in Monroe, NC in 1919. After graduation from Queens University of Charlotte, she taught second grade in Gaston County. She was a member of the Eastern Star chapter 249 at Elkin, NC, and long-time member of Ardmore United Methodist in Winston-Salem. Preceding her in death was her husband of 62 years, William Gasque (2003) and a son, William Ronald Gasque (1975). Rachel is survived by a son and daughter-in-law David Gasque (Elizabeth) of Herndon, VA; a daughter-in-law JoAnn Gasque Major of Irmo, SC; three grandchildren Marcie Reid (Keith) of Irmo, SC,  Ronnie Gasque (Courtney) of Irmo, SC,  and Tristan Gasque (Camile) of Herndon, VA; and seven great grandchildren  Liam, Griffin, Wallace, Jaden,  Isabella, Sophia and Kiera. Private graveside services for the family will be in Westlawn Gardens of Memory, Clemmons, NC. Memorials may be made to Ardmore United Methodist Church, 630 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103, to Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, 110 East 42nd Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10017, to the loving and caring staff and residents at WhiteStone, 700 S. Holden Road, Greensboro, NC 27407, or to a charity of your choice. Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel in Winston-Salem, NC, is serving the Gasque family. Online condolences may be made at www.hayworth-miller.com

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Psalm 139         New Living Translation

1   O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2   You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3   You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

4   You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

5   You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6   Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

7   I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

8   If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I go down to the grave, you are there.

9   If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10   even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

11   I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

12   but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

13   You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14   Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15   You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16   You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

17   How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

18   I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me!

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1 Corinthians 15:35-40        New International Version (NIV)

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”

36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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When I die, if you need to weep,

Cry for your brother or sister

Walking the paths beside you.

And when you need me, put your arms around someone

And give them what you need to give me.

Look for me in the people I’ve known or loved.

And if you cannot give me away

At least let me live in your eyes and not on your mind.

You can love me most by letting hands touch hands,

By letting eyes see the invisible,

By letting ears hear the cry for connection,

By letting arms hug everyone,

By feeling the painful joy of letting go of children who also need to be free

Love does not die, people do.

So, when all that’s left of me is love,

Give me away.

-- Anonymous