Editor’s note: Al and Gloria Baird have raised an incredible family and touched multitudes around the world as they served as pillars of faith in our movement since the early 1980s. Let’s join in prayer and express our love to them as Gloria goes ahead of us from this life to her eternal life in the presence of God.
“And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” – Philippians 1:20-21
To our fellow prayer warriors, Six years ago Gloria began her fight with the “big C.” For the most part the time has been filled with blessings. She, like others, has looked at it as “the gift of cancer,” and she has pretty well been able to continue her life of serving God and others. But last September there was a noticeable downturn and a steady decline of her physical strength, including a two-week hospital stay in March. Last Monday she had an MRI which showed that the cancer had advanced to her brain. Yesterday, we met with her oncologist; he broke the hard news that she probably has “weeks rather than months” left. So she will now enter hospice at home.
It is incredibly difficult to think about losing my partner of 56 years, the love of my life. While physically weak, she is mentally alert, spiritually strong and hasn’t lost her sense of humor. Because several of you want to see her, our daughter Keri Hiddleson is going to coordinate visits with her. If you are thinking about coming, please text her at (602) 696-9361.
You are invited to keep up with Gloria at her CaringBridge website: caringbridge.org/visit/gloriabaird. Please – no donations. Also, there is a Facebook group called: “Gloria Baird: Honoring a legacy of joy” that you can join to share memories and pictures of your times with Gloria.
Once again, I want to thank each one of you for your prayers; they have made all the difference! Please don’t stop them now. But now I need to ask you to say a few for me as well as I begin to face the prospect of life without Gloria.
Al Baird
