A eulogy is simply a speech or writing that praises someone highly. We would like to share the other eulogies given at Katie's celebration service. The first is from her dear friend, Thessa. The second is from another close friend, Carly. I loved what they shared about Katie, having known her so well. Additionally, at the bottom is a link to the sermon presented by Andy Tuel at River Ridge Church on the Sunday following Katie's death. It is titled, "What to do on the worst day of your life."
I hope that you may find each of these to be as much a blessing to you as they were to us. Thessa “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” -Proverbs 18:24 This verse is an accurate description of my friendship with Katie. We were sisters and she’ll always be my sister. Katie always said that we just clicked as friends and that is the truth. I was instantly comfortable with her. We could talk about anything, and trust me we did, but we could also do nothing for hours and hours. If I was at home with a clear schedule, I was more than likely at Katie’s house or she was at mine. Whether we were playing gaga ball on the trampoline out back or chilling in her room watching the Ellen Show, we felt complete together. When it snowed we played in it for hours. We would go on hikes in the woods, and sledding in the Kuhl’s and Rick and Dottie’s yards even though we probably weren’t allowed to. If you knew Katie, you’d know that she hated vegetables. Well one day she said, “Healthy people eat salad, and I want to be healthy, so I’m going to eat salad.” So she gradually started eating salad. It lasted for about a week, and then, you called it, she decided that she couldn’t eat anymore than 6 pieces of lettuce and 2 baby carrots. Katie and I agreed about most things, but I never understood how she didn’t absolutely love chocolate. She did, however, love Aldi’s salted caramel ice cream that had chocolate truffles in it, and she made me eat all the chocolate, and she ate all the ice cream. Katie was a servant of Christ. She loved to serve the people she loved, and the people she loved the most were her family. I always referred to her parents as Mr. and Mrs. Cobb but, Katie never wanted me to. She would even say just call them mom and dad, but right now for this moment it’s going to be Chad and Sarah. Katie would want me to speak to each of you and make sure you know what she treasured about each of you. Chad, one of Katie’s favorite things about you was your Saturday morning pancakes. She loved the fun of your flip of the pancake and the challenge of catching it. We would also like to laugh about our dads being so grouchy after their Sunday afternoon naps. Sarah, Katie’s favorite thing about you was when you would take her shopping even though you really don’t like shopping. I always thought Katie had beautiful hands, and had never noticed this before but Katie’s hands reminded me so much of your hands. Aaron, Katie’s favorite thing about you was when you would stand up and play video games because you said you were trying not to be lazy. You’re a great big brother, and I know Katie would agree with that. Ben, Katie’s favorite thing about you was how responsible you have always been. We would always laugh and say you were probably more responsible than all of us combined. Your eyes and smile, Benjo, remind me so much of her eyes. Annie, you and Katie were outnumbered by the crazy boys in your house but you guys sure stuck together. Katie’s favorite thing about you, Annie bananie, was your wittiness and sense of humor. You gave us some serious knee slappers, girl. Daniel, Katie’s favorite thing about you was your absolutely adorable dimples. She always said that you were the cutest kid on the planet, but that she was a little biased. And last but not least sweet Sophie dog. You brought Katie so much joy whether it was your puppies or just being Katie’s little “Fofie”. Each of you feel like my family, and I know that you guys always will be like my family. Katie, if you can hear me, I just want to tell you that I love you so much and I miss you so much now and always will. You will always be my sister, and I thank you for the best 6 years of my life. I will treasure my memories of us always. You served Your Savior so well, and now you can say: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept the faith.” -2 Timothy 4:7 Carly To those of you who don’t know me, I’m Carly Brady. The Cobbs adopted me into their family at the age of 21 when I moved up here as a newly-wed medical student feeling totally unprepared for life. I was sort of at a funny age, in between Katie and Sarah, still a kid trying to figure out how to be an adult. None of us really knew where the mentor/friend lines got drawn or who specifically I was visiting when I would come over. To be honest, they just felt like sisters to me. Unfortunately, I had to leave the nest a few years ago when my husband and I moved for me to complete my training. But I’ve stayed close with the Cobb ladies, especially over the past year. Now I’m a certified Emergency Physician, and I’ve never felt more underqualified than I do standing here before you today. One thing I know for sure though, I tried to write this multiple times and any time I started writing something too sad I could hear Katie’s voice in the background, “Carly, that’s depressing.” Katie was a lot of things to a seemingly infinite number of people. I think that’s incredibly evident here today. We all have a few stories that will remain forever in our minds, or one thing.. one place.. that when you walk past it will always scream “Katie” at you. Of course there is a special group of people who I know will carry these memories around in their hearts for the rest of their lives because Katie will always be their sister and they will always and forever be the Cobb 7. When I asked Aaron, Ben, Annie, and Daniel what makes them think of Katie I got a few different answers. Some you would expect, like volleyball or the color purple. Others were details that I guess you only learn as a sibling, things like “She had a serious love for fuzzy socks and blankets, Huskey’s cake batter ice cream, and the song ‘Popular’ from Wicked”, or “She had a special soft spot for dogs, particularly the ever-faithful Maggie and Sophie.” “She really hates Scooby Doo and chocolate.” My favorite was a short story that involved a young Katie Cobb with a passion for Disney princesses, a Cinderella movie constantly on repeat, and brother who still maintains his innocence. We may never know how that disc ended up scratched. Will we, Aaron? For me it is a silly memory from a few months back when we came up to visit. Annie Cobb convinced us all that we needed to learn double dutch in the back yard. For those of you who don’t know, Annie is very good at convincing. So there we were on the back patio of the Cobb house, Sarah Cobb included, with everyone doing really bad double dutch. Despite the fact that we all knew she did not feel up to it, Katie agreed to jump on in. But here’s the thing, I would have expected nothing less. That girl loved and lived fiercely. Not in the loud, brash sense but in a humble, quiet, and amazingly strong way. Within the last few months she has been seen doing back flips, gone snorkeling in Hawaii, and swam with dolphins. Katie Cobb was a girl who knew how to live. This last year was really hard, and honestly Katie wasn’t one to talk much about it. At first I thought it was because maybe she didn’t understand how sick she was. But eventually I realized that she chose to dwell in the goodness. Of all people, she was aware of the brokenness in this world, but she made a conscious effort to smile. Not as a facade, or a way of pretending that things weren’t happening, but because she wanted to choose to celebrate. And that is what we are here to do today: to celebrate all the goodness that there was in Katie Cobb’s life and especially to remember that smile. When I look back, she really was quite mature. I was 14 when I began to wrestle with the idea of God. Whether He was real ...how I could ever know… and how to believe in something I couldn’t see. Ultimately, it was the night sky that led me to Him and his greatness. The beauty, the complexity, and the vastness of the heavens was really how I began to come to know and eventually love the Lord. Isaiah 40:26 says “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” But I would be lying to you if I said I hadn’t had some long talks with God about how He could let this happen. A few nights ago I was walking out of the hospital looking at the night sky when God taught me something new. The heavens have spoken to me my whole life, but there has always been one thing that is my favorite. I’m from small town WV and we lived on a 100 acre farm. The night sky there is just exquisite. It is so clear you can usually see a couple shooting stars per night. But sometimes, if you are lucky, you see the one. A shooting star so bright that it lights up the entire night sky. As it arcs across the heavens, it leaves a burning track where it has left a change on everything around it. When you close your eyes, even after it is gone, you can replay it over and over in your mind. But one thing is for sure, it never lasts long enough and you always wish that more people could have seen it. A lot of people think shooting stars are for wishes, but whenever I saw one of those I would think, only God could have made something so beautiful, so amazing, and so full of Him and fit it into such a short period of time. Katie was a shooting star. Quiet but fierce. Burning bright and with such beauty and intensity that she left a trail of change behind her. Her smile, like the star, is seared into my mind and forever burnt into my memory. But our time with her was oh so brief, and we are all left here thinking, I wish that could have lasted just a little longer. However, one thing is for certain. When I look at her life I see something so beautiful and so full of Him that I say, only God could have made you Katie Cobb. Only God. Andy http://riverridge.org/tv/sermon/what-to-do-on-the-worst-day-of-your-life/ Blessings, Forever Cobb 7
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The last 2 weeks have been excruciating. We have vacillated between so many emotions, at times barely lifting our heads and, at other times, rejoicing through tears. We have so much still to process, remember, grieve, and celebrate. As we do, we may continue to make posts to the blog for those who need or want to follow along. We anticipate posting some tributes, written by those who knew Katie in a special way. I am amazed at the number of lives touched by Katie, either through her courageous battle over this past year or through her life on a day to day basis. In some small way, it helps to know a little bit of the impact she had on the world around her. We want to express our appreciation for so many of you. We cannot possibly send thank you notes to everyone, as we do not even know the extent to which many of you have blessed us. So many people have brought dinner, paid for groceries, given gifts to my children, cleaned, laundered, donated, encouraged. You have sent flowers, cards, money, hugs, smiles, pictures. You walked, sang, served, spoke, carried, and loved. Katie's service last Sunday was just what we wanted it to be. We wanted it to honor and celebrate her and it did. Thank you for those who were able to be there and stand with us. Below, Chad and I have decided to attach the eulogies that we wrote for Katie's service. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to raise her, love her, and then give her back to Jesus. We were honored to speak for her. Chad: There is a right way to live this earthly life. Jesus said it this way. “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Katie had a lot of light in that little body of hers, and for 14 incredible years, she made this world brighter. Katie lived her life, loved her God, and fought her fight in such a way that people were impacted and pointed toward God, including me. A few weeks ago while we were in Cincinnati, I was able to take her to a Broadway musical, and there’s a line in the musical that embodies Katie’s life that says, “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” I can honestly say that because I knew Katie, I’ve been changed for the better. I know that I’m the parent, but she taught me a lot about how to live life with joy, kindness, and determination. She lived her life with such joy. She was always quick to smile, that smile that could light up a room. And she had an infectious laugh. She and I had the same sense of humor, and there were so many times when we’d start laughing at something silly to the point where we couldn’t breathe. And Sarah would just walk in the room and shake her head at us. She loved life and had a lot of fun. Those that know Katie also know that she was a great friend. She was kind. She chose to think the best of others. She was generous and thoughtful. She was easy to like and easy to love. Katie may have been little, but she made up for it with determination. She was as organized and disciplined as anyone I knew. In every area of her life, she had a plan. Whether it was tackling cross-country or learning volleyball or studying the Bible, she’d just set her mind to it and tackle it one step at a time. She was determined to live her life for Christ and she left this world a better place as a result. She lived and loved well. She ran the race set before her. She’s finished her race and she’s now at home with her Savior. And I can’t wait to see her again! But until then, I encourage us to follow her lead in how we live. Laugh more than you need to. Be more kind than is necessary. Determine to make this world brighter. That’s how Katie lived and that’s the legacy that she leaves behind for us to follow. Sarah: When Katie was first hospitalized this week last year and we were awaiting the diagnosis from pathology, I had an early morning conversation with God that was mostly me crying out in words like, “I love her” and “you can’t take her from me” and “I don’t want her to do this.” And God spoke to me in the most audible voice I have ever heard as he said, “Shhhh. This is not about you. This is her story.” I wish cancer had never been part of Katie’s story, but it was. Later on, as we would be on our way home from a treatment of some sort, I would tell her, “Katie, I don’t know why this is your story. And I don’t know why you have to live it in front of so many people. I am so sorry that you have to do this. All I know is that God will not waste this in your life because He wastes nothing.” The first round of treatments went so smoothly for her. She handled chemo without very many side effects or setbacks. She felt good and was still able to spend a lot of time hanging out with friends and enjoying life. We encouraged her, saying that Hodgkins is such a treatable disease that this would be a tough 6 months or so but then it would be part of her past. When she relapsed in April, just 1 month after a clean scan, she had to face her biggest fear. That her Hodgkins had come back. We spent 3 months in Cincinnati trying to get control of the cancer and some infection and, by the time she was discharged in late June, her doctors and I knew that the chance of getting her cancer into remission was almost negligible, even though we remained hopeful. But her incredible doctors gave Katie 3 good months this summer when she felt great. She spent time with many of you - hanging out, hitting a volleyball, going to Dairy Freeze. She was so happy to have the strength to do a back flip off the diving board just a few weeks ago. She put her toes in the white sand on the gulf coast of Florida and drove a go-kart when we were able to go on vacation in July. She had a super fun 14th birthday party. After missing almost her entire eighth grade year, she was so happy to start high school with her friends. She was excited at the idea of being the volleyball manager and she was so surprised when her class voted her as Freshman homecoming attendant. She loved looking at instagram and she always enjoyed seeing what everyone else was doing, even when it would sometimes make me a feel a little sad or bitter. She was sooo excited about her Make a wish trip to Hawaii. That was something that she had looked forward to for a long time as she underwent so many different treatments. And I will tell you that she really enjoyed Hawaii. Throughout the few days we were there, she would vacillate between feeling well and feeling really crummy, but if you know Katie, she never complained. She just smiled. She had Hawaiian shaved ice for lunch a couple days. She got all dressed up for the Luau. Last Friday, she swam with dolphins at Sea Life Park. And 8 days ago, she laid on Waikiki beach beside Chad, reading a book, looking at sailboats, and wiggling her toes in the sand. You may not know, but I have been grieving for Katie for months now. I knew my time with her was limited. And sometimes I would just get so angry at all of the things that had been robbed from her this past year. Things that were visible to others, like her hair and her presence at school and participation in activities. But also things that were known only to me or those closest to her. On Tuesday, after we returned home from Cincinnati and were in the early stages of mourning, I was alone for a minute and found myself again recounting to God all of the things that had been taken from her. And he stopped me in the middle of my list and said, “But I restored that today. I restored all of that. Today.” And I believe He did. And I am grateful for that. I am so sad for Chad and me, for my kids, and for you. But I am happy for Katie. She has struggled against the brokenness of this world, but now she is fully redeemed. She isn’t an angel looking down or watching over us. She is Katie, just like we know and love her, enjoying Heaven so much that, frankly, I don’t think she even misses us. And in just a blink of her eye, I will be with her. And she will hug me and smile like she always does. And Katie would want me to tell you to be there too. She loved so many of you and would be so excited to introduce you to her Jesus. Forever Cobb 7 There will be a reception with visitation on Saturday evening from 5-8pm at Winfield High School commons area. On Sunday, we will have a service to celebrate Katie's life at 4pm on the Winfield High School football field. Private burial will follow at a separate time.
Raynes Funeral Home and River Ridge Church are handling these events. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18 ESV Katie's "jar of clay" has been wracked with cancer for the better part of the past year, and even more so in the past 6 months. We were hopeful that we could escape the throes of cancer for a few days with our trip to Hawaii, but that wasn't the case. While there, Katie began to have some fevers and respiratory symptoms. So we cut the trip short and made our way back home and back to her medical team in Cincinnati late Sunday evening. Our worst fears were realized when they told us that the cancer has aggressively overtaken her lungs again, and there are no other curative treatment options for us to pursue. The goal now is to keep Katie as comfortable as possible. These are the hardest words I've ever written: We only have days remaining with our sweet and precious Katie. Our hearts are heavy with grief and loss and our minds filled with questions that have no answers. Katie lived a life of selfless joy and loved so well and, from our perspective, it's a life tragically cut short. But the foundation of our faith is the resurrection of Christ and the promise that her earthly life (and ours) is not the end. She has fought so hard and so courageously for this entire time. She has run the race set for her, she has fought the good fight, and she awaits her prize: eternity with her Heavenly Father (1 Thess 4:14). She's going home! Father, thank you for seeing fit to give us the perfect gift of Katie for 14 years! Forever ... The Cobb 7! |
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