Levina Jean Hart
Monday, December 15, 2015


I Corinthians 13:  …And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  This is a verse often used in weddings, so you might be asking, “How does this remotely fit at Levina's funeral service?”  For me, it describes an ordinary woman's extraordinary life's journey and perhaps even her legacy.

I feel privileged to be before you today to speak about my mother in law, Levina.  Susan and I were discussing how most women would take this opportunity to say what a pain in the “you know what” their mother in law is, but the truth is we loved her like our own mother.  I certainly know she loved us like her own daughters.  For me, Levina made me feel like a part of the family right from the first enchilada casserole and my first out of control, very chaotic Hart Family Christmas.

Back to Corinthians….Faith…One needs faith for eternal life.  Through the entire journey after losing Troy, Levina never wavered in her faith or her salvation.  She would dream of the day she could dance on the streets paved with gold and she would not be in pain, her legs would work properly and she and Troy would dance the day away.  I am not sure of any one single person that she came into contact whether it was at a doctor's office, Innovage, Westwind Campus, the Hospital, Hospice, or at University Park that didn't immediately know about her relationship with God.  If she told you she was praying for you, she was praying for you.  As we were going through a few of her personal items, we found the bible she used every week here at Temple.  In the front of the bible it reads:  “My goal is not to know the Bible.  My goal is to know God.”  It is my belief that she knew both, but certainly had a wonderful relationship with God which we became more aware of the closer her passing came to be.  She felt his presence with her and that was very comforting to all of us.

Hope…Webster's Dictionary defines hope as desiring something and expecting that it will happen or be obtained.  Hope is just the ability to believe things will be better. Levina was continually letting everyone know “this too shall pass.” That's hopeful.  For example, most recently as one of her sons continues to battle Melanoma Cancer, she was always very hopeful in a cure for him for the very near future.  She knew upon her death that he is doing great and the cancer treatment is working.  Another example is like this wreath that she made.  Her crafting of floral arrangements was reflective of her ability to take unrelated foliage and connect them to create something beautiful.  She was able to do this with her family as well.  She blended 1 daughter, 4 step children, 2 grungy boys, and 2 grandsons and somehow created unity.  Through all of that, one has to have hope that it will succeed.  Her house, as well as her heart, was a gathering place.  Their house was always a place of hope.  Troy built it, Levina filled it, emotionally and physically.  One beautiful gift that the bible gives us is the hope of heaven.  Levina prayed for the day that she would join Troy.  She knew she was saved and that through her salvation, she too, would enjoy the graces of heaven.  Unfortunately, those of us left on earth will need to sit through Church Service without the use of Levina's “magic purse” that seemed to hold everything short of a kitchen sink.  Kids throughout the decades have benefited from her purse enjoying candy, gum, mints, bandaids, markers and games to entertain them.

But the greatest of these is Love….The gift that sounds the easiest can sometimes be the hardest to do well and most graciously.  However, this is where Levina excelled.  I know I have always said that she would give a stranger anything they needed and not think twice about it; even to her own detriment.  She had a resolute love for her entire family – young to old, and an eternal love of her God, and everlasting love with her church.  Through this love, she was able to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary to her husband Troy.  Through this love, she helped raise 7 children and 2 grandchildren.  These children gave her 18 grandchildren and 26 8/9 great grandchildren.  Parenting, as many of us know, is not easy, nor glamourous, and does not come with a manual. Levina talked a lot about all her kids and was proud of all of them.  I have spent many hours visiting with her or watching her counsel others – especially grandchildren.  Whether it was a banged up knee or a banged up heart, she always had the right words of love. She may not have always been mobile, but always had a loving ear, especially for her grandchildren.  I hope she is listening now because I never told her, but when I grow up, I want to be the kind of grandma she was.

As you may have seen in the some of the pictures before the service, Levina had a whimsical sense of humor.  Even until the night before she passed, she continued to make us.  Whether it was a joke about watermelon, the family hand signal or “rat dogs,” she had us smiling.  So how can I just use three simple words taken out of the entire Bible used at my discretion to help sum up a woman's legacy?  Is it far too simplistic? Perhaps it can be.  Why complicate something ordinary?  Just think about her and imagine her for what she was, for her simplicity, for her beauty, for her honesty, for her faith, hope and love and remember that for us, she was extraordinary!

Our hearts are happy that Levina no longer hurts and is with our dear Lord. May the Lord wrap your his arms around you and give you peace at this time.  Wish I could be with you. Thinking of you at this time. Peggy Ingraham Nightingale

Adrian-Comer Funeral Home

Levina Hart

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Levina J Hart

26 February, 1937 – 8 December, 2014

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