Sunday, February 15, 2009

in celebration of Life - colleague and friend

Live every day as if it your last
Tell those close to you that you love them, and what they mean to you, even if it is every day.
Know that God has a plan for you, even if it isn't clear to you now.
Never take any one for granted.

Some of you know that last week, while a rough work week, was particularly sad for me, and my friends and colleagues in the Missile Defense Agency [MDA], with the unexpected passing of Don Toenjes. When I joined MDA, I was hired to back him up and take the load of him, being almost a one man show. Five months or more into my tenure, Don was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, aka incurable cancer. After a year of strenuous and experimental treatment, trust in the Lord and determination to fight with every breath, he went into remission and had a good 4 1/2 years. But Don also had another time bomb in him, his heart, which gave out 6 Feb and he passed that following Monday. He looked the picture of health as the photo shows, but I suppose God had other plans for him.

I asked some of you to pray for him, now please keep his family in your prayers.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen - Thanks for the tribute to Don....you did a great job speaking at the celebration of Don's life at church on Tuesday. We were all so blessed to have walked beside him before Jesus called him home. As you know, he loved the Lord with all his soul, heart and mind. We can only be happy and rejoice because of his JOY. "Well done, good and faithful servant!" ---- are words he must have been greeted with in heaven. Love, Norma