Helen Gwendolyn Morie

Helen Gwendolyn Morie of Tulsa, Oklahoma died March 9, 2016. Helen was faithfully serving the Lord up to the day she fell ill. She suffered a stroke from a brain hemorrhage and within hours entered glory surrounded by family and friends.
She was born at Dresden, Tennessee, on Jan.25, 1932, to the late Dexter and Iva Lou Insco, the oldest of three children.
She graduated with a Nurses Degree from Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis, TN and married Don Morie on Oct. 17, 1952.
Helen accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and became a dedicated follower of Him at the age of 15. She was known throughout her life as a faithful witness to family members, neighbors, fellow church members, co-workers, her many grandchildren, and all who crossed her path. She was used by the Lord to lead many to the Savior. She was a woman of hospitality and over the years entertained literally thousands of people in her home.
She was a faithful wife and assisted her husband as he served in several churches during their years in Tennessee and throughout the Tulsa area. She served in a multitude of capacities in every church she attended. She was a loving daughter-in-law and cared for her mother-in-law for many years when she came to live with them, even after she was confined to bed and unable to care for herself. She was an excellent mother and encouraged her children in their service to the Lord. She was a well-regarded nurse and worked at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and then as a nursing supervisor at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was an outstanding grandmother who retired from nursing so she could invest in her grandchildren's lives. She was a caring neighbor and looked for every opportunity to serve those who lived nearby.
She was involved in multiple Christian organizations in Tulsa, i.e. the Little Lighthouse, Precept Upon Precept Bible Study, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, Hospital Christian Fellowship, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Mend Pregnancy Center, Lay Renewal Ministries, Bible Study Fellowship, Meridian University of Biblical Training, and many others. She quietly gave of her financial resources to all these and a multitude of other ministries and individuals. She participated in overseas mission work in France, England, Germany, Israel, the Philippines, Honduras, and China, as well as many mission projects locally and nationally. She is survived by her three children and their spouses, all in Oklahoma - Scott and Sharon Morie of Broken Arrow, Brant Morie of Inola and Tamika Morie of Broken Arrow, and Bret and Bette (Morie) Snipes of Claremore; a brother Joe Insco of Martin, TN., along with 24 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Funeral services held at Tulsa Bible Church at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 12, 2016.
Graveside services are at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, where she will be interred next to her husband, Don.
Memorial contributions can be made to Mend Pregnancy Resource Center, 6216 S. Lewis Suite 100, Tulsa, OK 74136 or Child Evangelism Fellowship of Northeast Oklahoma 2017 C-D S. 129th E Ave. Tulsa, OK 74108.
Her life verses from Scripture were Philippians 2:13-16 which conclude with these words, "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain."
Posted on behalf of Brant Morie:
Let me introduce myself - I'm Brant, Helen's second born child. Today as we gather together for this time of celebration, I would like to give honor where honor is due. And my mother Helen Morie is due her honor.
My mother was a unique person. She was unique in that she was an outstandingly great person - but not in the way that most people consider greatness. My mother was never a well-known public person. She was not known for any particularly great achievements. She never wrote articles or books, never taught large Bible studies, and although she led Bible study groups, she was not known as a Bible teacher, she didn't display a great intellect, had no outstanding natural abilities, she had no significant achievements that might be considered for public awards, she was not written up in magazines or newspapers for her accomplishments. The flags are not flying at half-mast because of my Mother's passing, because in the eyes of the world, there was nothing extraordinary about her life. In most every way we normally consider greatness - my Mother was just a very ordinary person. But let me say one more time before I go on - my Mother was an outstandingly great person.
Now I would venture to say, that most of you here today that knew my Mother might not have considered her in this light. And if you did see her as just one like most of us - an ordinary Christian person trying to do the right thing, I would not be surprised. But I believe before we are finished today, we might all realize a little more clearly that we had the opportunity to know such a person as this.
I am going to cover quite a bit of information today. I hope you will not be offended and will bear with me. But let me tell you something about my Mother. She enjoyed all the details of people's lives. And often times when we would talk after a funeral or wedding even, she would comment about how little was said or how little we learned about the people involved. My Mother would have loved to attend a funeral where so much is shared by those closest to the person who had died. Now, she wouldn't have liked it being done about her - and that's why today you are probably going to learn things about her you never knew. But in honor of her today, the one today who is due our honor, listen now as I go over her life and share her life testimony with you.
I want to divide her life into sections and I also want to focus on the qualities of her life that made her such an outstanding testimony for Christ.
Let's start at the beginning. Let me summarize my Mother's first fifteen years of life - I can do that in three short words. She was bad! Now I just don't say that lightly - it is very true. As I look around here today, sadly my Mother is only survived by one person here who was a first-hand witness of that time. That would be her brother Joe. But he is seven years younger. So by the time he was even old enough to know what was going on, she had already done many bad things. But he is able to recall clearly some of the terrible things my Mother did to him. But this is how I know what I am telling you is true. Because my Mother often told me about all her escapades. She grew up for the most part of that time in small towns in Tennessee. And most of her relatives lived out their life in that area. So whenever we would go back for a visit, especially in the later years, my Mother would like to drive around and reminisce. And she would tell me story after story of how she lied, stole things from the neighbors, played tricks on people, and generally tried to be in charge of her own life.
Now being the oldest of three children, she was responsible and did fulfill many tasks for her mother. But she had a mean, deceptive, and ornery streak that would have destroyed her life.
But in the next stage of her life, starting at 15, her life dramatically changed. She was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ and received the gift of salvation and that forever changed the course of her life. Several years ago, we worked together on writing her testimony in a little pamphlet that she could give out to others - the title was "How I was Spared from a Tragic Life through the Tragic Death of Another." My Mom knew she was on a course to live a tragic life, but the tragic death of the Lord Jesus Christ changed the course of her life.
How did her life change? She started attending church on a regular basis, often walking by herself to the Church. She made new friends who were Christians. She went to a Young Life Summer camp in Colorado that had a great impact on her. She started to study the Bible and find out about this great God we serve. And she started to realize that God had a plan for her life - and that God was a good, good God that wanted good things for His children.
Then through a series of events she enrolled in nursing school and began training that would impact the rest of her life. It was during that time that she met my father - at a Christian camp - and they married when she graduated from school.
So, pretty normal up to now and the next stage of her life was fairly normal also. Yet she was beginning to learn about what it meant to really live the Christian life. My parents began to have children - 3 in 6 years. My father was in seminary, then started to serve in churches in Tennessee. But something was happening in my Mother's life. She began to realize that she wasn't a very good Christian on the inside - although she was a minister's wife and very involved in church activities. But God brought her to the end of herself - as she would often counsel others - and finding the end of herself - she found a God who was bigger than all her weaknesses. And that is when my Mother began to walk the road of greatness that I am referring to today.
After her three children were enrolled in school, she found herself with a little more time to serve the Lord. These were her great years of service to so many others. The list is long of all the organizations she was involved in. But that is really not what made my Mother so great. What made my mother great was her involvement in people's lives. Let's start with hospitality. My parents were hospitable people. They were forever having families, individuals, and large groups into our home. My Mother was one of the most hospitable people I've ever known. She prepared the meals, planned the activities, sent out the invitations. She would be so welcoming, and she would entertain the guests when they arrived. One of the things that made this so enjoyable to my Mother is she was a curious person. She wanted to know all about everyone she met. When I was young, I would sit in the room and watch her in action. She would start asking questions. She would start with - "Where are you from?" "Tell me about your family." "What particular interests do you have?" And then not too far into the conversation, it would turn to spiritual matters. By then, you knew you were in the presence of someone that really seemed to care about you. So it was only natural to open up about a part of your life that might beforehand have seemed too personal. And this was really one of the qualities that made my Mother so great. She loved people and she loved the Lord. She wanted everyone she met to know what the Lord had done for her. But she didn't need to talk about herself. You might spend the whole evening in her home, told her every last detail of your life and walked out not knowing anymore about her than when you came. But you knew she was someone that cared and could be trusted to probe into your very intimate thoughts and concerns.
Her target was always to get to the point she could ask you about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And really she didn't show partiality. It didn't matter to her if you had never been in church in your life or if you were the pastor of a large church. You got the same care, the same concern, and the same questions. "Has there ever been a time when you committed your life to Christ?" "How has God made a difference in your life?" "Do you have doubts about your salvation?" "Do you know for certain that you will be in heaven when you die?" "What will you say to the Lord when you die, if He asks you, Why should I let you into my Heaven?"
This was all part of my Mother's hospitality in her home. I cannot number the people who have been in my Mother's home over her life - it wasn't just hundreds, it was in the thousands. And it never stopped until the end. You might be a repair man who came to the house, and before you knew it, you were being offered a cookie and something to drink and listening to some story about how God touched someone's life. Just last week, when I stopped by, my Mother knew I was coming. So there were a couple cookies on the table waiting for me. And I asked her a question I already knew the answer to - "Why do you always have these nice, home-made desserts around?" She smiled and said to me, "Well when someone happens to come by for whatever reason, I like to be able to offer them a little something, so they might be more apt to listen while I share about the Lord."
Because the Lord had done so much for my Mother, and she felt so blessed in her life, she wanted others to experience what she had. God had given her a vision for her own life. How he could use her to further His kingdom. And she was busy following all that direction. So it was only natural to her that she wanted the same for others. As a child, I remember my Mother consistently trying to give me a vision for what my life could be for the Lord. For example - my Mother was not gifted musically, but she loved music. I clearly remember an early conversation we had. I was 8 years old. And my Mother asked if I would be interested in taking piano lessons. Well, I hadn't really ever thought about it. I liked playing outside, playing sports, running around in the woods with my friends, all the things young boys my age seemed to do. As a matter of fact, I didn't know one other boy who took piano lessons. But my Mother told me a story that seemed so real to her and it became so real to me. She told me about when she worked at the camp in Colorado for the summer during high school. She described the scene so clearly, that it is as clear to me now as then. It was a group of the young people standing around the piano while one of the young men played - and they just sang and sang and he played and played. And she said at the end of the story, "Wouldn't it be wonderful Brant if you could do that one day?" And you know what, I thought it would. And all of a sudden I was interested in taking piano lessons. Well, my mother seemed to have a vision for almost everybody she knew. And I would watch her talk to people. And she would tell a story, she would make a suggestion, she would recommend an article, she would give a book as a gift, and she would talk about a country that needed missionaries. She was so full of ideas about how everyone could be serving the Lord, and wouldn't it be great she'd say, if every school in the city had a Good News Bible Club, and what if all these young people could catch a vision for being a missionary, and how many people's lives would be touched if we could start a Bible Study on every hospital floor in the city. It went on and on. And it wasn't that she wasn't doing it. She was. But she knew what a blessing it was to her and she wanted others to experience that blessing.
My mother loved to encourage people in their walk with the Lord. And she loved to tell stories. And she was a good story teller. So whenever she was with people, she was looking for ways to encourage them. So she told her stories. She told stories to her neighbors, to the postal carrier, to the person at the checkout, to the people at church, to her beautician, to the people that called on the phone trying to sell her something - they got a story. Whenever we got together as family, if the room got quiet, or even if it didn't get quiet, she told stories. But something interesting about her stories - they were rarely about her. So even though she talked, you didn't hear much about her. I remember at times when I would be with my parents in a group and my father would say to her, "Helen tell that story about yourself." Now usually he was telling her to stop telling another story, but when he knew something really interesting had happened in her life, he knew she wouldn't tell that story.
The reason she didn't - because my mother was a humble person. This is one of the reasons I think she had so many friends. Her friendships were not about her - they were about the people she knew. Humility in someone is a very attractive and admirable quality - and my Mother was a woman of humility. Even as her son, there were things in her life that she had done that I never heard her talk about - because I think she thought they brought attention to herself - and she didn't want to do that. That would not help others see Christ - that would take the attention away from Christ. And remember, that is where she wanted the conversation to go - about Christ.
My Mother also kept up daily correspondence with extended family, friends afar, and missionaries around the world. She would write many letters every year, because she wanted to encourage others in their journey in life. Often times, they never wrote back, but that didn't stop her from writing them. And of course her letters were full of stories and thoughts about the spiritual side of life.
After we children were attending school, my Mother was working part time, taking care of all our needs, involved in church activities, usually teaching a Sunday School class and attending church services at least three times a week. My Mother especially liked going on visitation for the church because then you had the opportunity to get into someone's home and start asking about their spiritual life. And with all these responsibilities going on, my Mother never skipped a beat. She was an amazing woman when it came to the everyday accomplishments of life, but you would never know it, unless you stayed with her all day for several days. Then you thought, "How does this woman keep this up?" My dad and we children just thought it was normal - because she just acted like it was normal.
I have to include another characteristic about my Mother that made her great. As I stated, my Mother was humble, but along with that humility, she had boldness. My Mother could take a stand for Christ in the very first minute you met her. So she never hesitated to take the opportunity to share Christ with whoever, because she had boldness. She could walk past someone in the grocery isle and in 30 seconds be asking them about their relationship with God. She could be in the waiting room at the Doctor's office and it wouldn't be but a few minutes and someone was being engaged in spiritual conversation. If you invited her into your home or to your event, she wouldn't leave without giving you a book, giving her testimony, telling you a story about how someone she knew became a Christian, or asking you directly about your relationship with God. I don't think I have ever met anyone in my life who had the boldness to speak to others about spiritual things like my Mother.
I want to really make a point here that is very important. All during these years of service to the Lord while her children were still at home but in school, my Mother was involved in all these organizations serving. But I want to make something clear - those organizations, those positions of service, those things were not what was important to my Mother. Those positions were jobs that needed to be done. What was important to her were the people. You, each of you sitting here today that knew my Mother. You were what was important to her. That is what made my Mother a great person. Because she saw people as important - and so she spent her life investing in people.
Well after her children left home, a new phase began for my Mother. It started with a whole new ministry. My grandmother, my father's mother, my mother's mother-in-law reached a point she needed personal care. She couldn't live alone. One family member took her in, but there needed to be a change. My Mother asked my father could she come live with us. He agreed if she would take care of her. My Mother agreed. So that began a new opportunity of service. Have I mentioned that my Mother was a serving person? And she was also very flexible. But this was a new challenge to serve. No one knew that my grandmother would eventually lose all her mental capacity and become totally bedridden. But my Mother faithfully cared for her all those years.
I have told my children when we visit my mother's house for a meal. I said, "You watch my Mother." She will be asking questions, telling stories about someone serving the Lord, and the whole time she is watching everyone's plate and glass. And before your glass is empty, she will be up and start pouring you more to drink. Before you are finished with that food, will be serving you more. She was amazing to watch - and she made it all look so easy, that you never felt like you were putting her out and that she was actually serving you. You were just enjoying yourself, so you didn't think about it.
It was also during this time that another new opportunity to serve came into her life. Her children got married and started having children - a lot of children. And my Mother caught a new vision - here was a whole new group of people just waiting to be taught, encouraged, and motivated. A whole new audience for some of the most interesting stories you would want to hear. So my Mother just jumped right in and starting taking her grandchildren one day a week and doing whatever she could to help them, along with helping any other mother who needed encouragement or assistance. And I could say so much about this area of her life, how she poured out her life to make her grandchildren successful. But my time is running out . . .
But I can't close without talking about my Mother's giving spirit. And really I can't give many details here, because my Mother followed the scripture very clearly - when you give, do it in secret. My Mother never talked about this. But I knew it was happening. Sometimes other people would tell me. Sometimes I would just find out. But my Mother was a big financial giver. Sometimes I would hear my Father say, "Helen, we can't just keep giving all this money away." But I don't think it slowed her down much - because my Mother was involved with all these people, and people have needs and my parents were very frugal, didn't have hobbies, didn't spend that much money on themselves, and had the financial blessing of God on their life. So she gave and she gave and she gave. After my Father died I asked if she needed any financial advice. She said no. But I think she thought if I or anyone else saw how much money she was giving away, they would have said, "Hey, you're a widow, you can't be giving all this money to other people."
I want to conclude my thoughts today by talking about the last phase of my Mother's life. I'll call them the final years. My grandmother had passed away, and many of the grandchildren had grown up, and then my father became ill. So she spent the last three years of his life caring for him. And then about 8 years ago he died. And that was a somewhat difficult time, losing my Dad. But a new phase was coming into my Mother's life. The scripture says in I Peter 4:12 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." My Mother was entering into the valley of sorrows - a deep, deep, time of suffering.
What I am about to say, I am going to say very carefully. I feel like this time in my Mother's life is holy ground. I want to take off my shoes and tread very cautiously. Very few people have any idea what my Mother went through during this time of her life. I cannot entirely draw back the veil. I can only speak about this as if in the shadow, in hushed tones. I can say that God never mistreats, misleads, or does anything in our life that is not for our ultimate good, because God is a good God. And God was good to my Mother. But she lived through some very, difficult, challenging, trying times. But let me share the last characteristic that stands out about my Mother. She had joy. I'm talking real joy. I'm talking real happiness. My Mother was one of those people that did not have different moods. She was happy all the time. I think part of it was because my Mother started every day in Bible reading and prayer. She prayed for every one of you here today that knew her. How do I know? Because, she would tell me. I also would see her. I saw her prayer books and cards. I saw all the details she wrote down about everybody's life. And I heard her share how God answered her prayers. My Mother prayed. But let's finish our story. My Mother had served God since her youth. She had committed herself to Him over and over and over. And more than anything, she wanted all those around her to reach that same level of commitment, because she knew the joy it would bring into their life.
But we are living in a different day. It is a different generation. Christianity is different today. My Mother often said, I don't just ask someone if they are Christian, because everyone says they are a Christian. How can I say this graciously - my Mother offended people. My Mother offended many people. But the gospel is offensive. Jesus said, do not be surprised if they are offended by you, they were offended by Me. You are here today to honor my Mother's life. But there were those who did not honor her life. And the pain and the suffering was so deep, so painful, so hurtful, so . . . I cannot say more. I know at times, my Mother was disappointed in me. She wanted so much more for my life. I helped cause some of that deep hurt and pain. For that I am truly sorry.
Peter goes on to say in the next verse, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffering that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
These last months I saw a new joy in my Mother's life. The walk in the valley had ended. And then at 12:30 a.m. this last Wednesday morning, I was awakened by a phone call. It was my mother's neighbor telling me my Mother was in an ambulance and going to the hospital. My Mother hadn't called me, hadn't called my sister, my brother, but had called the ambulance. As I drove to the hospital, I figured it all out. My Mother had thought she was having another little bout with dizziness, a slight headache, some nausea. She had had these before, only to go to the hospital and not really have major problems. So I think she called the ambulance that night and thought she would call us the next morning when everything was okay. She didn't want to wake us up. She didn't want us to drive all the way in to the hospital. But something the neighbor said, made me think a little different. He said my Mother was very coherent, was answering all these questions the paramedics were asking her - "How old are you?" "How tall are you?" "How much do you weigh?"
"What day is it?" etc. But when they put her in the ambulance, she said to him, "Call my son, Call my son."
I was the first to arrive at the Hospital. It was very quiet in the Emergency Center that night at St. Francis Hospital here in Tulsa. This was the hospital where my mother had worked as a Nursing Supervisor after we moved to Tulsa in 1970 until her retirement in 1983.
When I rounded the corner to approach her room I saw some activity in the hallway. Upon entering the room, I realized I was surrounded by about 10-11 hospital personnel. My mother was lying quietly on the bed with a few IV's already in place, resting with her eyes closed. The Physician's Assistant asked me to step out in the hallway with her for a moment. I told her who I was, and she shared with me the following: The ambulance personnel said your mother was very coherent on the ride to the hospital, but was declining somewhat in her symptoms. Upon arrival we immediately took a cat scan and discovered that there was bleeding in her head. Her brain had already suffered significant damage. But she shared with me that my mother was still able to listen and understand. But they needed to place a breathing tube in her and sedate her to stabilize her. She then graciously shared with me that my Mother's health had been compromised greatly and she would probably not survive. She also told me that my Mother was still able to hear and respond through touch so they knew she was understanding the questions being asked her. She said they could give me a moment to speak with her before they proceeded - and then she closed with these words, "It will probably be the last conversation that your Mother will be able to have."
As I stepped into the room, I thought "what can I say to my Mother as the last words she will ever hear on this earth." And then I thought a thousand thoughts in a thousandth of a second. My Mother had trained as a nurse. My Mother had worked much of her adult life as a nurse. My Mother saw her nursing as an opportunity to witness for Christ to those during a time of need. And to witness to those who were trained to meet those needs. We were in a hospital. This was the hospital where my Mother walked the halls for years being a bold testimony for Christ. These last words were not about me. They were really not about my Mother. They were about my Mother's life message - People need the Lord. People need the Lord Jesus Christ. People need to hear that God loves them, that Christ died for them, that they can have new life in Christ, and an eternal home in heaven. This is why my Mother was such a great person. Her whole life was about people and their need for the Lord. My Mother knew I loved her. That was not what she needed to hear from me. I didn't need to express my love for my Mother, she knew I loved her. I didn't need to ask my Mother to squeeze my hand so that I could know she heard me. These words I was about to speak were not for me, they were not for my Mother. There were people in that room that needed God. Everywhere my Mother went, she found the people that needed God. And this was no different. In her last moments of consciousness, her last moments of life, my Mother had found some more people that needed God. But she couldn't tell them. She needed me to voice the words. So on my Mother's behalf in that small room, with all those medical personnel standing quietly around knowing full well that this woman was about to die. I told them what I knew my Mother would tell them if she could still talk. I put my hand on her arm. And I spoke, as my Father would have wanted me, with a loud firm voice. "Mother this is Brant. I'm here with you in the hospital. Mother you are about to die. Mother you are ready. This is what you have been waiting for. Mother, Jesus is waiting for you. Good Bye Mother - I love you."
I stepped back and looked around. No one moved. They all stood quietly still. I sensed the presence of God in that room. The physician's assistant stepped toward me, and I saw her turn her head slightly away. I thought I saw a tear in the corner of her eye. I reached out my arm and she put her arm around mine. She then asked, "Do you need me to call a minister?" And I quietly answered, "no mam, I am a minister." As I stepped out in the hallway while they put my Mother on life support, I knew my Mother had started the journey. My Mother was crossing over the river. And I had been there to see it. I also felt my Mother was passing on to me my heritage. I was to take up where my Mother had left off. I was to become that witness for Christ that she had been.
Later that night I pondered why God allowed my Mother to linger. He could have taken her at home, He could have taken her on the way in the ambulance, He could have taken her before I arrived. But He didn't. Because God was giving my Mother one last chance to be a witness in that Hospital where she had witnessed to so many others years before.
I close with this thought that came to me later that day - I spoke the last words that my Mother heard in this life, but the next words my Mother was going to hear would come from her very familiar friend she had known for almost 70 years and He might be saying "Well done thou good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:23