Ya Nut! by Leo

Today we celebrate the life of Alanna West Hering.

Alanna left us much too soon… I have to admit it has been a struggle for me to understand or to accept. During the last few weeks of Alanna’s earthly life, my prayers had been all over the board… From complete healing of cancer, to being able to travel, to be with her family, to be pain free, to know she is loved by many… Hannah, my daughter, shared with me in an email her grief and struggles in figuring out why… One of her sentences was… “Well, I suppose God needs her more than we do”… Alanna will be ever so missed by her family and friends, but I also know that whatever God’s plan is… however God needs her… Alanna is filling that need!


Being one of God’s disciple was so much of what made up Alanna… as the church secretary at Maynard she always had a wonderful greeting, always a caring word… She was certainly organized which was important in accomplishing the church work, but the real important aspect was that she was doing God’s work. I know that she would take time to visit with people. She would call them to check on their well being. And it would go beyond the hours at work. Several years ago, Donna Boston was going through some health concerns and Alanna would stop by after work and visit her several times a week. I think they played a card game or two….

While I did not personally have the privilege of witnessing Alanna with her job as a tram operator in Albuquerque, I know that she did enjoy that job – Sure, she ran the tram, but she really enjoyed being around people and sharing and witnessing. Another example of her Christ like attitude. Alanna cared deeply about people - especially her family and friends.

I will treasure my memories of Alanna – I will remember our families sharing a house at the beach in Nags Head on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I will remember sharing meals at our houses. I will remember working on projects together at church. And I will remember how she would call me “ya nut”. Usually it was when I would goof up or do something crazy! She would say “what are ya doing… ya nut” I will miss that!

And so we all will miss Alanna… , but we will support each other…. We will remember and celebrate Alanna and be glad that she was part of our lives – and we were part of hers… AND We will treasure the memories and hold them dear…
I love you Alanna – ya nut!!