The doctor began treating her for pain and muscle spasms, until Kathy discovered a lump on her shoulder in March. He then referred her to a surgeon, and the lump, which was a tumor, was removed. Suspecting it was cancerous, the doctor had it tested and his suspicion was confirmed. Kathy not only tested positive for a type of cancer called Adno Carcinoma, but she learned the disease had also spread throughout her body and was life-threatening. The news was a shock to her family and those close to her. The Eagles and the rest of the church began to pray fervently she would either be cured of the cancer or that she would not have to suffer from it for long. On April 22, a short 19 days after receiving her diagnosis, she died and graduated to glory.
Kathy’s life celebration service was held April 24 at the Fayetteville church building. The church was decorated with yellow and purple placemats and flowers and about 100 family members, friends, disciples and her clients attended the service. Many of the attendees wore purple in her honor.
Kathy’s older brother, Richard Hammond, a minister who has served in various churches, James Jones, a minister in the Fayetteville Church, and Eagles ministry sisters Patty Campagna and Carolyn Derusseau each gave moving tributes to her.
Hammond jokingly recounted that Kathy was the type of person who wanted to make sure everything was in its right place. He said that during the two years she was a disciple, she finally overcame guilt and shame that had plagued her most of her life. He added that when he visited her in the hospital, though she drifted intermittently in and out of sleep, she wanted him to tell her about the message he preached during his Easter sermon.
Jones, who oversees the Eagles ministry, referenced the Mark 15 account of the Roman centurion who stood in front of Jesus and saw how he died. Like Jesus, who gave his all and was gracious in death, he said that Kathy was gracious in death, served people till the end, was focused on her daughters’ spirituality, and made sure the people around her were comfortable. He added that how she died left him with the thought that there was no doubt that she was a child of God.
Campagna shared some of her precious memories of Kathy.
“Kathy loved to party,” she said. “She loved to play games and was pretty competitive. She also had a quick wit.”
Aside from being the life of the party, she said Kathy was a mom and grandmother to many of the children in the church. She made cookies that were a work of art, made baklava for a teen who liked it every time she baked a batch, taught a single mother how to cook new dishes for her boys, made Halloween costumes for children in the church, and sewed Cub Scout patches on some children’s uniforms for them.
Campagna added that after she and Derusseau completed the deep convictions study series for new Christians, Kathy went over it again, by herself, so she could fully grasp it.
“And that is my most precious memory of Kathy, how totally convicted she was, how steadfast she became, how determined she was to become a disciple of Christ in every way she could while she was here on this earth. She was completely and without any reservations a follower of Jesus Christ. She was without fear of dying. She had complete and total trust in him.”
Derusseau recounted that before Kathy became a disciple, she prayed about and quit her weekend job at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, because she realized that working weekends and holidays would prevent her from coming to church.“It was beautiful how she did that in complete faith and trust, and he did provide her many houses,” she said. “That was sort of the beginning of her walk with the Lord."
Derusseau said she learned a lot from Kathy, especially about how to forgive people for the things they did to her throughout her life. “She truly forgave everyone for everything,” she said. She added that, though during most of her time as a disciple Kathy felt unworthy of God’s forgiveness and had a hard time grasping the fact that God really loved her, she finally believed it before she died.
“It was such a testimony to all of us to see her humility and her faith,” she said.