(Here is the eulogy delivered by Bill Arnold for Christy (written by Ben and Ann) on Wednesday morning at the 11 a.m. worship service at First Methodist Church Lexington.
EULOGY FOR CHRISTY ANN WITHERINGTON
Christy was born in the shadow of Durham Cathedral in northern England on August 14, 1979 and died January 11, 2012 in Durham, North Carolina.
Christy loved her British roots. Her summer term in England studying Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon with Ben’s English Prof from Carolina, Chris Armitage, was a true life highlight. She called and said, with her newly-minted British accent, “Hello Mum and Dad”. Fortunately she was able to twice more visit her homeland and explore its rich heritage. Christy was not just an Anglophile – she was born British.
She loved cathedrals, high-church music and rich liturgy. Her faith was deep but private, nurtured by years at her ‘favorite church’ – Trinity Lutheran in Ashland, Ohio. For Christy, the highlight of Christmas was always the beautiful Christmas Eve service at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington.
Christy loved purple. Christy was our purple girl from a very early age – from sweaters to bicycles to eye shadow to ballroom gowns. In Durham, she tangoed and waltzed in bright shades of glitter purple. Dancing at the Fred Astaire studio provided unique opportunities to swirl in glittery costumes.
Christy loved the beach. So many summer vacations were spent at Cherry Grove where she body surfed, pedaled beach bikes, explored the fishing pier, designed elaborate ice cream sundaes at Jenet’s, and relished her favorite she-crab soup at the Sea Captains Restaurant in Myrtle Beach. Last summer she and Sara visited Barefoot Landing and discovered a candle shop. This Christmas each family member received a glow candle themed for that person. She loved candles!
She did love food and became quite the cook. At her home, Tuesday night was board game night attended by a dozen of her friends and preceded by Sara’s Indian cuisine or Christy’s American creations. And this past Thanksgiving she cooked for a crowd of friends.
Christy loved animals. Amy, the Arabian horse, was her special pal for so many years. In Ashland she rode in 4-H. In Lexington, she and Yuliya once rode Amy all the way to Wilmore – quite the adventure! And she leaves behind her 100+ pound white Pyrenees, Gandalf, and her 100+ pound white Anatolian shepherd, Boo. And we know that Stevie, JoJo and Jolly, her three cats, are missing her touch.
She loved to travel – by plane and boat and train through England and France and Italy. And by motorcycle on board her bright red Dukati or her shiny Suzuki to experience the joy of cruising down a country lane.
Christy loved books. Her first job was at the Ashland Public Library. From children’s books to fantasy novels to illuminated manuscripts, she devoured them all. And she designed two beautiful cherry cabinets, Amish-built, for her special displays — the Folio Society books.
No surprise, she loved to learn. However, it seemed as if she was on the “sampler plan” — taking classes at Transylvania, Asbury, and UK, before finally finishing at Purdue University in 2002. Christy was never a mathematician. So imagine everyone’s surprise when she moved to North Carolina, established residency while working for PPD, and completed an intensive degree at N.C. State in analytics which landed her a job with IBM.
Christy loved her family and friends deeply, and the feeling was mutual. It was a singular providence of the Lord that despite the pain from her recent spate of illnesses, she was able to come home for two weeks at Christmas and be here with her friends and family for some of the best quality time ever. As was her custom, she hand-delivered each present to Ann, Ben, David, her Russian sister, Yuliya, and her beau Sara. The Lord saw the far horizon, and blessed us with one more wonderful Christmas with our Christy girl, or Cici as her brother David named her.
And through it all Christy fought her health battles. “My body is my mortal enemy” she admitted. Christy crises, as they were known, happened with regularity. But her e-mail address says it all – ‘untamed spark.’ She persevered through so many periods of medical mayhem. “I think I’m getting better” was her usual remark. You are all better now, Christy. No more pain. You are now ‘Forever Free’ to be you in the land of the Lord of Healing.
Now we all look forward to many more such good times with her in the Kingdom. We can picture Christy sitting on a cloud solving yet another 1,000 piece puzzle or playing board games with the angels. Her enjoyment of life, despite the times of pain, was profound. Her smile is her feature best remembered.
It was Jesus who said, I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. He was true to that promise. As the saying goes, she lived well, laughed often, and loved much. So we look forward to seeing her again, with a glitter halo, purple wings, and a resurrection body immune to disease, decay and death — suffering, sin and sorrow.
It was C.S. Lewis who said that you can tell the depth of how much someone loved and was loved by the depth of the grief when that person goes on. Christy loved us deeply, and we grieve deeply. But we will continue to remember her sparkling smile, and cherish personal memories we hold close in our hearts.
Blessed are those who die in the Lord, says the Scripture. She has met her Maker. And we believe she is loving every minute of it.
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