Rev. Barb Pekich Memorial
We are all saddend by the loss of Rev. Barbara Pekich. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, friend and pastor. She will be greatly missed by us all.
This web page is a place for you to contribute a prayer, a scripture or a memory of Barb. These contributions will be compiled and given to the family. Please use the comments section below to contribute, or you may email your contribution to kflabarge@crcgr.org.
Funeral visitation will be held on Friday, January 2nd from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at the Metcalf and Jonkoff Funeral Home 4291 Cascade Road SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546.
A memorial service for Barb Pekich will be held at Central Reformed Church (Corner of College and Fulton, Grand Rapids) on Saturday, January 3rd at 1:30 pm with a light reception following. Everyone is invited to attend.
Thank you for your support of the Pekich family and for each other as we grieve together.
Comments»
I became acquainted with Barb when we participated in a theology discussion group through Central Reformed Church. I appreciated Barb’s compassionate heart, spiritual insight, heart of service, and great sense of humor. I am praying for comfort for her dear sister, Helen, her children, and extended family. May God keep you all in His care during this difficult time.
What profound sadness I feel after learning of Barb’s passing. Since visiting her last Friday, I have been thinking of all the memories I have going way back to my freshman year at Alma. Barb was probably THE first person I met at Alma (since she was my Resident Advisor) and it didn’t take long for us to form a great bond of friendship. I remember clearly as if it were yesterday all the great times we shared that year, the pranks we pulled on Barb as freshmen and how she took it all in stride. I have always had such admiration for her…for her humor, her intelligence, her ability to get things done and for her confidence in what she believed. Barb (and Bill) were instrumental in introducing us to Central Reformed Church 10 years after we first met at Alma. There were many years of raising our kids together in the church, working together on committees and supporting each other through those times. Later, there was her influence on Tom and me to volunteer at Heartside teaching Sunday School. While we had drifted apart in recent years, I am thankful for all the wonderful memories of time spent with Barb. She was such a role model for me and I would often think that if I was unable to get something done, Barb would surely be able to do it. Our whole family is deeply saddened and her memory will live on in our hearts. This is a tribute to one great lady!
I have such fond memories of Barb and her kids when Jim and I were in small group with Barb.My son Josh. remembers Bill Jr. so well and I shared this sad news today with him.She endured so much with her sudden single parenting role and was such a testimony to all who were single parents as myself.She did a wonderful job with her kids and what a tremendous model.She was loved by all and tender-hearted and compassionate.Her memory will live on with her kids who she left such a wonderful legacy.She sits with greats like Bud Ridder in Heaven today.My love to Helen and the kids.Bill,Josh sends his condolances.Sincerely with Christ’s love, Beth Rowell,former member of Central.
Our deepest sympathy goes out to all of you as members of Barb’s family. We always admired Barb’s sense of doing what was “right” despite the controversy that could ensue. Her legacy will live on forever and she will be missed.
I Cor. 15:51-52
Sincerely,
Marge and Jim Brink
When I joined Central Reformed Church, I remember Barbara as an inspiring role model and leader. These qualities carried over when I again had the privilege of working with her through Heartside Ministries. I also remember her being a good square dancer. I am truly sorry.
The whole community grieves with the Pekich and Phillips families over the heartbreaking loss of our beloved Barb! I rejoice that she is home now with Jesus and has rejoined her husband, mother, and father. I first met Bill and Barb at Central Reformed Church, where friendship extended into loyal patronage of our car dealerships. I always valued the trust they placed in our business, and loved helping them in such a practical way. When Barb started attending Western Theological Seminary and then working as an intern at Heartside Ministries, I was serving on its Board of Directors. I watched her advocate for the poor and powerless, even laying her own integrity on the line for the cause of justice. Barb reared four great kids, was a devoted sister, and a fun and treasured friend. She lived a life of faithful service to her Creator, persevering despite great personal pain and loss. Praise God that we will see Barb again. . .
Many years ago I was a member at Central Reformed Church. The community of faith that I experienced at that time has never been repeated. Worship and service and fellowship were all rolled into one as we lived out, daily, our “Jesus Is Lord” benediction. People were at the center of our world and into that world came Barb and Bill Peckich. I can remember the day little Edie was born!
In the midst of that joy, our family moved away but I always kept track of what was going on at Central. I was so pleased when Barb decided to go to Seminary and thought, at the time, what a perfect fit. When she moved to Heartside, I found myself nodding and saying, “But, of course.” Barb had natural gifts for ministry. Her mercy skills went off the charts. Barb was the embodiment of the benediction and now, knows fully, the Jesus who is our Lord. My love and blessings to her family and friends.
We, too, were members of Central with Barb and Bill , all of us with growing families. We renewed acquaintance with Barb at Heartside, and the years flew by as she served, led, and expanded its community to family including so many of us through outreach to supporters. I saw words attributed to martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero as I came to my computer ~ they so fit Barb in tribute to her work,ministries, prophetic outlook.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero
(actually written by Bishop Ken Untener)
In thankfulness for Barb’s life; as consolation for her beloved families and friends, we celebrate her entry into that kingdom beyond our earthly vision. May she be welcomed with the warmth and love she always extended to others.
To the entire Pekich family:
You are in my thoughts and prayers as you deal with the loss of Barb. No words are adequate for the pain that you are experiencing, and I know comfort will be long in coming, but we trust our gracious, wonderful, and loving God who says that weeping may last for a night, but joy DOES come in the morning. I pray that God administers the peace that passes all understanding to your hearts and minds as you journey through the days ahead. Know that you are being lifted up!
I had the privilege of spending the day calling people who have been friends of Heartside, not wanting anyone to learn of Barb’s passing through an (albeit beautiful) obituary. What I heard was story upon story of how Barb had touched their lives, about friendships forged in the crucible of their suffering and Barb’s tender and compassionate presence with each as they sat on the mourner’s bench. One said how understanding and kind Barb was when their son died of AIDS, at a time when not many people were either understanding or kind about such a loss. Another said she was keeping “very, very busy” because she had been a very bad addict and Barb had probably saved her life. Those stories continued throughout the day. I have seen the love Barb has earned in the tears of the Neighbors at Heartside as they gathered to console one another and remember how she had become the face of Jesus Christ to them–even as she once said she had seen her Savior’s face in that of a neighbor, newly bloodied by a beating.
To me, Barb was a seminary fellow, a colleague whom I always admired a friend with a delicious sense of humor and one tough cookie when it came to looking out for the underdog. I could not have guessed just how profound an impact her life had made or how broadly and deeply loved she has become. What a well-lived life. What a friend of God and servant of mankind.
My love to her beloved family, whom she has so gifted and commissioned with her values and faith, as to be a living legacy and witness to the love of God that so animated their mom.
Dear Helen, Edie, Bill, Rob, & Jen,
My heart has been with all of you this past week and will continue with prayers and healing energy for you, too, as the weeks go on.
I was so glad that Andy & I were able to see Barb on Christmas Day and give her our love. She was able to converse, eat chocolate, respond to some healing energy and reminisce with us about our shared experiences over the years. Her sense of humor shone through it all!
The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi graces our wall and I believe that Barb lived this prayer out on a daily basis. Here’s to you, Barb!
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Peace & Blessings to you, her beloved family,
Jan Atwood
Dear Edie, Bill, Rob, & Jen, & Helen;
You are in our thoughts and prayers at your time of sadness. It is always too soon to say good-bye. Even though there is releif at the end of great suffering, that does not dim your sorrow. It is going to take time for you to reach out to life again. But have faith that a happier day will come and remember there are many who care about you.
Dear Pekich Family:
Sorry we didn’t get a chance to see you after your Mom’s funeral on
Saturday. We wanted to tell you how much we dearly loved your Mom for her work, her passion, her kindness, her smile, her tender
and caring personality, her laugh, her love of life, her hugs, her
always making sure she gave our three boys a handshake and smile in Church and her optimism towards life. She was such a role model and we will always remember her! Our love to you all…Dave and Karen Custer
I have just read of Barb’s passing on the RCA website – I am stunned. My deepest condolences to you as family. I always admired Barb as a person of strength, integrity, character, and commitment. She exmplified in extraordinary ways what it means to love, serve, and walk humbly with her Lord. She always greeted me warmly and I counted it a privilege to be not only a colleague but also to be considered a friend. She will be deeply missed by more than any of us will ever know.