“We are pilgrims here on this earth.” Mary Jo Thrasher wrote these words from a deep-rooted faith that arrived in the middle of her life. This faith in Jesus Christ gave her a quiet strength throughout her remaining years. The loving wife, mother, and grandmother went home to be with her Lord and Savior on January 11, 2021 at the age of 77. Mary married her high-school sweetheart, William Leonard Thrasher Jr., on May 30, 1964. For the first 16 years of their marriage, their religious upbringing carried them to the brink of a divorce. In October 1980, God miraculously opened their eyes and brought about their new birth. For the next 35 years of marriage their love for each another grew exponentially, as she willingly spoiled and served him as wife and homemaker. Then during the final five years of her life as she battled dementia, he was able to do the same for her, caring tenderly for his beautiful bride. For many years Mary and William lived in Wheaton, Illinois. As members of College Church in Wheaton for 20 years, Mary loved her time worshipping in the choir. Along with her dedicated work at Christianity Today and later at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Mary was also a talented poet, author and editor. Mary is survived by her husband, William; their daughter and husband Laura and Keith Connor; their son and wife Travis and Sharon Thrasher; and their grandchildren: Stephen and Ethan Connor, and Kylie, Mackenzie and Brianna Thrasher. She is also survived by her brother and wife, Lamar and Sybil Breazeale; her sister, Becky Bagwell; her sister and husband, Sherry and Frank Outlaw; family members Frances and Earl Cooper, who loved her as their daughter; and her many loving nieces and nephews and their children. In her book, Mary wondered what it would be like to lose a spouse. Her beautiful words are not only for William but for all of us: “Someday on life’s horizon, one of us will stand beside an open grave of the other with the unutterable sadness of saying a final good-bye. But each tear that may fall is saturated with the promise of reunion in heaven. Each sigh of grief will be replaced with the unspeakable joy of reigning, side by side, together with Christ forever.”