After a long hard battle with ovarian cancer, Peri Shannon Thomas passed away Wednesday, January 29th. 

• I want to let you all know that I am absolutely blown away with how many of you have already reached out!  This is another testament to how much Peri influenced people.  Amazing!  Please know I am getting you messages and want you to feel comfortable sending them.  Please do not be offended if my response is slow, or maybe not at all.  I also want to give you the info for the memorial service.  I know it will be no surprise to you, but Peri has given me a few instructions about this!

  Date: Tuesday, 2/4/2014

  Time: Visitation at 1:00PM – Service at 2:00PM

  Place:  Balmoral Presbyterian Church
  6413 Quince Road
  Memphis, TN 38119

  Please, in lieu of flowers, make donations to;

  Madonna Learning Center
  7007 Poplar Avenue
  Germantown, TN 38138

  or

  Balmoral Presbyterian Church
  6413 Quince Road
  Memphis, TN 38119
• Peri’s suffering and pain has come to an end.  She fell asleep and did not wake up this morning.  I was talking with her the night before last and she was explaining to me, in great detail mind you, how the banana split she wanted needed to be made.  She spoke about how every year on her birthday her mother got her a banana split from Baskin Robins.  Needless to say, I was getting her that banana split at 8PM that night!  Later that evening she started to slip back into an unresponsive state.  As we continued to talk I noticed that she seemed to be staring off in the distance.   I asked her what it was that she was seeing.  Her response was one word, HALOS!  That was the last thing that she spoke to me.  HALOS…WOW!

  Our family is strong.  We are all supporting one another.  I am so glad to have such a strong family.  One comprised of a conglomeration of both her side and mine.  Together it makes a pretty cohesive unit.  It can be a bit odd and strange at times, but a strong cohesive unit, nonetheless.  I love them all.

  I can’t name all the individuals from outside our family that have made this horrible experience tolerable.  I would leave someone out and I don’t want to do that.  So to all of you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  My kids and I will need you as we continue our lives without Peri.  That seems so odd to say.  I can’t imagine our lives without her.

  I will get more specifics to you as to her service.  This is what I know now.  It’s going to be at Balmoral Presbyterian  Church in Memphis, TN.  Her birthday party is now going to be a combination of her memorial and birthday celebration.  I will post those specifics once they are nailed down.

  As I write this I feel that there is a sweet sweet spirit in this place.  It’s not only The Lord, but Peri is by his side holding his hand….

7 hours ago

I know many of you are calling and trying to get messages to Peri. I have turned her phone off for the moment. She is not able to get to those now. I’m sitting by her side letting her know how so many of you are still staying in touch with her. She can feel each of you as your thoughts and prayers are wafting through the air.

Hey everybody, this is Gordon.  I am going to give just a quick update to let you know where we are in our wonderful journey with ovarian cancer.  Peri has started to slow quite a bit.  She is in the bed the majority of time now.  She can still get up to go to the restroom and maybe sit in the chair, by the window of our room.  I know that many of you have noticed that her response to texts, phone calls, emails, etc.. has diminished greatly.  Besides being in bed and sleeping more, her mental faculties are slipping as well.  I am wanting you to know this so that you will understand why your calls or messages are not being returned promptly, or at all.  These next several days are going to be very trying for our family.  We are now at that point that I was hoping to not have to go through.  So much for wishful thinking.  The good thing is that she is sleeping more.  That’s good because she is not comfortable when awake.  Thanks for your understanding and patience.  Peri is being her typical self, fighting and trying to still direct what it is that’s going on around her.  She is still looking forward to making her 50th birthday party.  I will be updating on that over the next severel days.  We may have to modify that a little.  I will keep you up to date as soon as I can.  

Please keep praying for my sweet Peri.  Also, please keep praying for our sweet, sweet children.  It’s not fair that they are going through this.  I am so proud of them for how they are handling this shitty situation.  My heart aches for each of them!!

Gordon

As you know, I have created a brief, but ambitious dream list. It starts slowly and modestly, and ends with a big crescendo. Not that this marks the end of a life, but I will surely choose to wind things down.

My last journal recounts the beauty and wonder of my Memphis trip. I still cannot put into words the true gift that this trip bestowed upon our entire family.

We returned from Memphis, high on life and holiday magic, only to quickly prepare for another road trip. Friday, Jan 5th, we left out to Wilsonville, AL.

In the Sweet By and By

There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.

We had a “Calma” / “Mace” mini family reunion that was just short of heaven for me. There are many relatives that I have not seen in such a long time, some new “members” I have not yet met, and definitely those I have not truly talked to, other than to give a quick hug. My cousins Matt and Tina hosted a large get together that brought together family, food, and new memory opportunities that hopefully will spark a new beginning for all of us. There was love, joy, forgiveness, and acceptance in abundance…and my heart is still singing in song.

There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in this Place,

There’s a sweet,
sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Sweet Holy Spirit,
Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us,
filling us with Your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place

Next, on my “list” comes my BIRTHDAY BASH! I turn 50 you know, so this is truly a marker. To commemorate the occasion, I would like to hold a modest get together where folks can drop by, eat and greet, and meet at their leisure. And casual! …you know me. I have attached an evite at the end of this entry and would love it if you could come. Please do respond so we can know who to expect. If unable to make it in person, we wish you well and appreciate your continued love and support. I do love all of you so much.

Lastly, I will say that this cancer is continuing to take a toil on me. With time, I do become weaker and require more rest, recovery, and general assistance. I appreciate your patience and understanding as I may not be able to accommodate as many calls, visits, texts, emails, etc. I am trying to take gentle care of myself with the help of a few others. I REALLY WANT TO SEE EACH DREAM FULFILLED ON MY LIST!!!!! And it will take everything I have to get through each one…one step at a time.

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

As always, hope all of you are well. I hope that you had a beautiful Christmas and continue to have a blessed and happy new year. Much love, Peri FOR THE PARTY EVITE, GO TO EVITE.COM AND FIND PERI’S FABULOUS FIFTY, OR GO TO http://www.evite.com/event/03A6Z72UMG532A6D6EPDPFKS6XRQI4