Monday, October 17, 2022

In Honor of the Lifetime of My Mother

At my mother's memorial ceremony yesterday, I provided the below to all attending as a handout honoring the life of my beloved mom. 💜🙏 Molly

Nancy Marilyn Moesta Strong

June 5, 1926 – June 20, 2020

 

She overcame much to embody an

awakening heart and beautiful soul,
radiating the miracle, beauty,
and power of love.”
 

Nancy was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1926.

She grew up in Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit,
and was the only child of Amalia and Marvin
Moesta. Nancy was shy but well-liked by her
classmates, graduating from Grosse Pointe
High School in 1944 – where her twins would
also graduate in 1969. Nancy enjoyed horseback
riding, tennis, swimming in Sylvan Lake and Lake
St. Clair, and helping in the war efforts during
the second World War. She went on to attend
Duke University and the University of Michigan.
 

 

Early in the year of 1949, Nancy met John Ward

Strong on a blind date. Jack, as he was known,
was a very handsome bachelor 11 years her senior
and a chemist who was the lead researcher at
Parke Davis, a pharmaceutical company in Detroit. 
After a whirlwind romance, Jack and Nancy were
married on June 25th, 1949. They honeymooned 
in Burmuda. Just over 1-1/2 years later, on 
March 25th, 1951 Nancy gave birth to twins, 
Molly and Johnny. This was both a joy 
and a great challenge.

Over the following years, Nancy's great passion for

travel led her to plan family trips to Florida, Bermuda,
Washington DC, New York City, Europe, and to the
western and eastern parts of the country. After the
twins grew older, Jack and Nancy continued to travel
to the Caribbean, Europe, and Canada.

The following years of Nancy's life brought many

losses. Jack died suddenly in 1975, and just over
two years later John committed suicide. There were 
three more marriages which followed, each ending 
in divorce or death. In the midst of travel adventures
and various moves to Arizona, back to Michigan,
and then to Florida, there were these great losses.

Then, in 2013, Nancy moved to live near Molly and

her family in the Pacific Northwest. It was this part
of Nancy's life that brought the greatest gifts, grace,
and miracles. There was the loving presence of Molly
and Ron, grandsons Brian and Kevin and Matthew,
and great-grandchildren Oliver, Eleanor, and Ethan
who were born. This was the time when Nancy was
able to “let sorrow be the doorway into an open
heart.” Over the last seven years of Nancy's life,
it was the power of compassion, grace, and love
that made the impossible possible. It was the
power of love that changed everything.

“The more we love, the more real we become.”

– Stephen Levine
 

 
Our true nature
is a beautiful jewel
in a lotus flower
floating on a lake
in the center
of our heart.
 

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