It is with heartfelt sadness that I share my beloved mother, Debra Gilder, passed away on July 14th from a brief valiant battle with ovarian cancer.

I am grateful that my mother was well enough to celebrate with me as I graduated from Yale Divinity School. The day after the graduation on May 20th, we received the official diagnosis that the masses found in her abdomen were, in fact, stage-three ovarian cancer. Ovarian Cancer is an aggressive cancer that typically shows symptoms in later stages of the disease. The odds were stacked against our mom: battling for access to health care, intensive chemotherapy, and an advanced-stage cancer.

My mother spent much of her last two months in and out of emergency and hospital rooms and confined to her bed due to debilitating pain. And yet, in all her suffering, she continued to encourage others and praise God, maintaining hope for healing. I do not know how she did it, but somehow she drew from the deep wells of faith that had been cultivated over a lifetime of faithful service to God.

I am sad that my mom did not get to live out her dying hope just to live. I take comfort in knowing that my mother is, alas, free from suffering, free from economic toil, free from unjust health care systems. She is free, alas, just to be. She is now among the company of ancestors and saints. Free as can be.

My family and I are still in shock that our dear mother is gone. Due to the quick and unexpected nature of her death, we find ourselves planning for her funeral and cobbling together limited resources. We have genuinely been in a torturous limbo waiting for an insurance determination, delaying the service now to nearly five weeks after her death, and figuring out how to pay for my mother’s celebration of life service.

So, with that, my family and I are turning to our community near and far for financial support for the funeral and burial costs, which total close to $20K for burial services and plot. We have worked to find low-cost options, but funerals in the United States are just expensive. Any amount can help towards this cause.

We are incredibly grateful for the prayers, condolence cards, and comforting words we have received during this time. It truly means a lot.

God bless you and keep you!