I'm Free

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

The following poem was used at the funeral of Sister Betty Pafford on Friday February 23 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Betty was a gentle Christian lady who was a faithful member of Victory Missionary Baptist Church in Cheyenne.

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free;
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard Him call;
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss;
Ah yes, these things I too, will miss.

Be not burdened with the times of sorrow;
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me;
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Obituary

As reported in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

Betty Colleen Pafford, 70, left this world to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Feb. 16 in Denver, Colo.

Betty accepted the Lord in 1960.

She was born March 30, 1936, in Denver, Mo., and married Harold L. Pafford on Aug. 15, 1954, in Cheyenne.

Betty worked at United Medical Center for 26 years. She belonged to the Grass Roots Democratic Party, the Ladies Class of 1954 Breakfast Club and the Victory Missionary Baptist Church, where she was actively involved and taught Sunday school.

Betty loved to create and stamp special greeting cards. She also enjoyed home baking. She loved her family, as they were always first in her life.

She is survived by her husband, Harold L. Pafford of Cheyenne; her mother, Vivian Stephenson of Cheyenne; her sons and daughters-in-law, Russell and Vickie Pafford of Cheyenne, Randy Pafford of Yoder, Rodney Pafford of Cheyenne, Richard and Lisa Pafford of Cheyenne and Harold James and Tasha Pafford of Lingle; her sister, Shirley Stephenson of Cheyenne; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Betty was preceded in death by her father, Russell V. Stephenson.

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