My maternal grandmother, 'Nana', was a very spiritual woman and wrote a letter to each member of her family in 1979. I attached a copy of it below along with a photo of her playing Scrabble, one of her favorite games. She had a very sweet, serene spirit and touched many people deeply. I am so grateful to have her as my grandmother, and to have corresponded with her for some years later in her life. We did get to visit her in 1977 after our grandfather died. She had moved to the nursing home and was very contented and thankful. Her faith in Christ Jesus is a precious spiritual legacy we treasure.
Below her letter is a copy of the Memorial Minute recorded by the Society of Friends in her memory.
My dear ones
Ed and Terry
May we all accept this precious gift of God to us, His Divine Son who came to save us from our sins and take us to the beautiful Eternity which he has gone to prepare for all who really believe in Him. He is alive today and is inviting us to come to Him before it is too late. The time of His return seems to be drawing near. Let us all be ready!
Just about two years ago my dear husband of 62 years was called home to be with his Savior, and I cannot mourn for him, but praise the Lord for taking him, and relieving him from more years of suffer- ing, and the necessity of having to live in a nursing home, which he hoped he would never have to do. But I am thankful to have this White Billet Nursing Home, as long as I could no longer stay in our old home, and this seemed to be the best and wisest solution for me.
In my nice little room here, I spend many hours alone, but with the ability to do some reading and writing and knitting, and good care and good food, I have much to be thankful for.
And I do thank my Heavenly Father continually for caring for me as He does.
I have the blessed comfort to be assured that my mate is with the Lord, for he was a firm believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and loved Him, and we are told that whosoever believeth in the Lord, Jesus Christ shall be saved. He repeated in our meeting one time the Scripture verse John 3:16, and said that if that would be the only verse of the Bible that was possible for anyone to know, that would be enough to get them to Heaven if they lived by it.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
And Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
And there are many, many other Bible references that prove this truth. I know beyond the least doubt that Jesus Christ was God in human form, that He was crucified and died a death of horrible agony, was buried, and rose again the third day, and now lives. He has promised to be with us always, and that means every- one, sinner as well as saint, and that He forgives the worst of sinners.
I know and I cannot say it emphatically enough, that all this that I have written is the Truth.
I have felt the rapture, myself, in being in Christ's presence, and I look forward to that Heavenly Home that awaits me. The 14th Chapter of John is one of my favorite chapters, telling about the many mansions that Christ went to prepare a place for us, that where He is, there we may be also.
These are all Christ's precious promises and many more, and I believe them all.
How can anyone fail to chose the right way! It is free, and those who do not accept it must perish in everlasting punishment. I believe that. I spend many wakeful hours especially in the early morning as I lie awake, feeling the Presence of the Lord, and praying that He will bring all unbelievers to accept Him.
When my time here is finished I pray that I may be taken to Paradise, for I feel sure that a place awaits there for me. And oh, how I will rejoice when my dear ones join me there, well as all who open the door when the Lord knocks. But I must await my time when it is His will to take me.
Oh, how I pray that His will be done!
9-23-1979
Ella H. Llewellyn
Devotedly
Nana
Memorial Minute Regarding
Ella Hall Llewellyn
Ella Hall Llewellyn was born in Malvern, Chester County, Pa., the end of January, 1890. She was the daughter of Isaac Hall and Phebe Hatton Hall. Her life as a child was on a farm of 180 acres in beautiful Chester County. Her father took much of his produce of vegetables and fruit to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, and Ella learned early in life how to be a fast worker at the daily jobs to be had on a farm. She was rightly proud of having finally equalled her mother's record of picking 100 quarts of strawberries in one day
when she was about 11 years old.
Her father died when she was 12 years old and there were a series of moves as the farm had to be sold and Phebe Hall met the challenge of raising and educating her two children by various positions; they were lean years but both children graduated from Westtown School.
After completing a course at Bank's Street Business College in Philadelphia, she was employed first with the Moyer Dental Instrument Co., then with the Civil Sevice Commission and finally with the Philadelphia Department of Public Works where she did secretarial work until her marriage.
She and William T. Llewellyn were married on April 9, 1915 at the 4th and Arch St. Meeting House. They settled in Cheltenham where they lived until 1923 when they moved to Hatboro on Moreland Ave., which remained their home until the death of her husband in 1977 when she moved to a nursing home nearby because of increasing infirmities due to arthritis.
She was the mother of four children in whom she took much delight and pleasure, and who in turn were devoted and caring of her. The many grandchildren and great grandchildren held a warm place in her heart.
In Hatboro she was active within the community, giving much time and energy to the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Needlework Guild of America. Within the Cheltenham Friends Meeting, of which she was one of the 4 co-founders, she was a central force. Her loving concern for the spiritual welfare of Cheltenham Meeting was always apparent and uppermost was her interest in all of its members down to the youngest of the group. She gave the Meeting her loyalty and support
page 2
Memorial Minute - Ella Hall Llewellyn
and her home was open to gatherings which were helpful to the Meeting's social activities as well as the sewing group which the women of the Meeting maintained for the work of the American Friends Service Committee for many years.
Ella Llewellyn was a member of the Westtown Committee for more than a decade, and she participated in other Quaker activities beyond her monthly meeting. She and William Llewellyn were active in the religious study group which preceeded the New Foundation Movement headed by Lewis Benson.
She was recorded as a minister of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in the 1930's and her messages were of her deep personal faith. As her years advanced she was most often to be heard offering a prayer in our Meetings for worship. The beauty of her character and the abiding simplicity of her faith shone in her loving face, and the deep serenity of her spirit was a benediction to those who knew her.
Through her children we knew of her interest in her family, her quiet acceptance of her increasing dependence on nursing care, her influence on those around her, and the love and admiration all of those in the home had for her. Though she knew she was becoming forgetful on some things her mind was keen on many things, and her love of word games, especially that of anagrams, was a source of fun for her and her family.
Ella Llewellyn passed away on January 14, 1984 just two weeks short of her 94th birthday.
No comments:
Post a Comment