Marcy Isbael Lamanes (Nee McNabb)
The phrase ‘Though she be little, she is fierce’, sounds like a cliché. However, in reference to Marcy, it is not. The dictionary implies the word ‘Fierce’ can mean vicious or aggressive. This is not the way I am using the word. Rather, in reference to Marcy, I am using the positive connotations listed as: strong, powerful, impassioned, gutsy, keen, and intense.
Marcy was born after a long line of McNabb siblings, with more to follow afterwards. With her placement in the line, she was fiercely independent from the word go. I loved my visits to her home in small town Bredenbury where we would play for hours in our makeshift out-door kitchen. It was in a small clearing of trees down the street, just on the edge of town. We created gourmet meals with water and mud, and make-believe homes from branches and twigs, where we mothered our babies and shared cups of tea. Though toys were minimal, imagination was never in short supply. Hour upon hour we enjoyed each other’s company. Looking back, I can now see the resilience and fortitude in Marcy that were to become the marks that distinguished her throughout her life. Life was not always easy for Marcy. Yet resilience and strength remained with her always, as did fortitude and character.
As well as experiencing tremendous joy in her life, (most notably the gifts of her daughter and grandchildren, her husband and family and friends), Marcy experienced much adversity. The list holds much heartache. Included in the list are the losses of her parents and husband along with other loved ones, and the threat that cancer held over her head for two decades. Yet through it all, she remained strong and steadfast. The resilience I noted in her as a young child held her fast. Her strength and fortitude did not waiver.
Marcy always has had a keen sense of self and a drive to make the best of life. She was not afforded extensive education, yet her articulate command of language and her confident ways of being would lead you to believe otherwise. She made up for formal education with her curious mind and her openness to learning. She was a lifelong learner before it became ‘cool’ to be so. Her strength carried over into the ways she functioned in the world. She was a hard worker and took care of business as needed. She made do with what she had and gave to others from that reserve. She was generous beyond measure, and in this I think was the secret to her happiness.
Though very sadly cancer hastened her stay upon this earth, joy can be found in celebrating who Marcy is in her essence. A strong and impassioned woman who made life wonderful in spite of circumstance. This essence remains through all of eternity.
While we will miss her tremendously this side of heaven, there is bittersweetness involved. There is sadness for us left behind, but there is joy in knowing that she was ready to meet her maker. Strong faith was a part of her essence. Her belief that God and loved ones were waiting with open arms to welcome her home is a beautiful and comforting thought. May it be so. May she be at peace, and may she be held in love, for all of eternity.
Serenity Funeral Service Leduc 780.980.3688
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of LAMANES Marcy Isabel September 1 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Edmonton, Province: Alberta