10/26/2023
Meant to post this earlier. This is the Eulogy that was read by me, with our Brother, Gabriel at my side.
Kessala Ann Boggs/Kramer/Quass, was born March 5, 1972, in Phoenix AZ.
Monday, September 11th, 2023, at the age of 51, she died here in Phoenix surrounded by her family.
She is survived by her husband, Dana Quass, her Mother Sandra Boggs, her sister, Kimberly Rains, her Brother Gabriel Boggs, her brother-in-law, Clifton Rains, and sister-in-law, Lea Boggs.
She is also survived by her previous husband, Jerrod Kramer, and their three Children Caleb, Eilis, and Genevieve Kramer. She also has 5 nieces and nephews, Hailey, Lauren, Atticus, Isa, and Isaiah.
She is now joined in heaven with our dad, Danison Boggs, who went to be with Jesus in 2008, and many other family members who have gone before us.
Growing up we were close in age, only 3 years apart, but we were so different. She looked more like mom’s side of the family, I look more like dad’s…She was a tomboy, who loved stomping through the woods in Pennsylvania and Missouri. She loved climbing trees and catching salamanders in the creek. No thank you, I was a girly girl who liked playing with girly toys. She wore cut off shorts and I wore dresses. She broke her collar bone playing on the jungle gym..I broke mine a few weeks later falling down the stairs. She was a Left Brainer, I am a right brainer. She was creative, and artistic, a free Spirit who spent her birthday money as soon as she got it. I was a logical, rule follower, who saved my money for bigger plans.
She was a night owl! She’d stay up all night letting her creativity flow, drawing pictures, writing stories, making sculptures, which was especially annoying to me as I needed my 8-10 hours of sleep every night. You see, we shared not only a bedroom, but a bed for most of our childhood. I think she was a bit scared of the dark, because I’d wake up many mornings with my arm numb because she’d taken it and placed it under her head when she went to sleep. I don’t know why that brought her comfort, maybe she was worried I’d be abducted in the middle of the night, or she would be.
In high school she was a bit of a rebel. The only time I ever got detention was when she convinced me, my freshman year, to sneak off campus for lunch. Many of you right now are shocked to hear this, a few of you are not.
She married in 1993, and I finally had a bedroom to myself. But it wasn’t long before I moved in with her and Jerrod into their first apartment (in my own room of course). Soon they had babies and eventually, I got married, they moved to Indiana, and our lives headed down different paths.
We grew apart, we had different goals, different aspirations, different opinions. I would say that her greatest accomplishment in life was her children, and how she raised them to follow Jesus. She sacrificed a career to homeschool them, and be home with them.
She would be proud of who they have become and especially how they are handling themselves in her absence. The spiritual maturity they exhibit is a tribute to her.
We all struggle to understand why God chooses to bring some of us home long before “Our time”. When is “our time”? Only God knows. If only we were stamped with an expiration date on the back of our necks, maybe we would make better plans.
We have constant reminders that life is short, yet we still act like we have forever.
The last time I saw her was at my daughter’s wedding, this past July. I’m so grateful she was there that day and that we had our picture taken together. But how I wish that someone would have whispered in my ear,” take an extra moment with your sister today, her time here on Earth is short”. How I would have spent my time a little differently that day.
There’s a saying that goes “only the good die young”, I would have to agree in this case.
Anyone who knew her would agree with me. She was “Good”. She was a better person than I. More patient, more kind, more forgiving, slower to anger, a better listener. I struggle to remember her ever saying a harsh word to, or about anyone. But I don’t struggle to know where she is right now, or who she is with, or even what she is doing.
I take comfort in knowing that the years lost, the years that could have been, the conversations we could have had, will all be made up for, when we spend an eternity together in our new perfect bodies, with the one who created us. I know she is the happiest she’s ever been, the healthiest she’s ever been, and she’s having the time of her life. She is not crying for us, nor does she miss this Earth or the possessions she left behind.
Revelation 21:4 says "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
I conclude with this…how would you spend your time differently tomorrow, if you knew your expiration date was approaching soon? Who would you visit, where would you go, and what would you say to your sister, or brother, or husband or wife, mom or dad? We don’t have dates stamped on the back of our necks, but we do have an expiration date. At least our bodies do. But our souls will live forever. Do you know how, and where, and who with you will spend eternity?
If you are not sure, be sure. There are half a dozen pastors here today. They’d be happy to help you be sure. Life is short, Eternity is Forever. I for one, am looking forward to it.
