A Fitting Legacy: What Southern Oregon Folks Want to Leave

By Sandy Cathcart

With most of the nation looking toward the future with either hope or trepidation, it seemed an appropriate time to ask local folks what they hope to leave as a legacy. With camera and pen in hand I traveled throughout Southern Oregon and discovered a lot of heroes in the making, and not one of them mentioned anything about money or possessions, but they had a lot to say about love. Now that’s good news!

Cal (Warm Springs Tribal member better known as Buttons) and Diana Shadley, Eagle Point:

“We want to leave a legacy of doing the will of God. Jesus left us a legacy through the orders He gave His disciples. Our legacy should reflect His. That’s our focus, to reach out to others with God’s love.”

Ryan Clark, pastor, husband, father, and Pacific Bible College teacher, Grants Pass:

“I want my kids to remember me as a man who sought after God’s heart completely, and not like the kings of the Old Testament who walked with the Lord, yet kept the high places. I don’t want any high places in my life. I don’t want other things to compete for my affection and worship of God.”

Steve Evans of 4E Guide and Supply, White City:

“I would like for my family and friends to know that I’ve always tried to do what the Lord wanted me to, even when it was unpopular. I always loved and cared about my family. As far as the business is concerned, I would like people to know that I was always a truthful and honest person to them.”

Don and Mary Gentry, Klamath Tribal members, Chiloquin:

Mary: “I would like people to know and remember that I loved the Lord and loved people and did things to help others become all that they could be in Christ.” Don: “I want people to remember me as a man who was totally sold out for Jesus.”

John Wiuff, pastor First Church of God, Medford:

“What I long to hear most from those who will remember me is that I was a part of the change in their lives. My prayer is that my life was so lived that those who would have died from depression and suicide lived to know the joy of God's goodness; that people who were about to destroy everything out of anger learned to forgive and come back to a right mind in Christ; that those who were oppressed by dark thoughts found a way to dispel them with the light of Christ's truth. An old slate in my office reads: ‘Don't simply follow in the footsteps of those who have gone on before, seek what they sought.’ So after my funeral is done and the tears are dry, I hope people will move on and seek what I sought, to find one more person to bring into the Kingdom of Christ.”

Jen Lee, Boys & Girls Club Director of Programs Administration, Grants Pass

“I would like to be remembered as a person who led by example, a person who always looked for the best in each situation and each person, a person whom people enjoyed being around and most importantly who loved the Lord, her family and friends more than herself. Each day I set out to make someone else’s day better than he or she thought it was going to be. A friend, a stranger, a child at work, whoever it may be, I hope they can look back on the time we met and be thankful that it happened.”

sandy cathcart, wife, mother, grandmother, author, photographer, artist, Prospect:

“I hope people remember me as a woman of adventurous faith who spilled her life in service for love of The Creator.”

Nate Bailey, Husband, father, Sunday School leader, Eagle Point:

“There are people who have loved me so well, so completely, so beyond humanity, that I had to look beyond the physical world for the source. It was through the realization of this supernatural love that I came to know the Lord. As I walk on this earth, influence people, and live, I pray that I walk in a way that leaves people searching for the source of love that resides in me. I pray, until my last step, that people will recognize my legacy linked with that of Jesus' magnetic love. Jesus never demands anyone's attention. All he had to do was walk into town and people dropped what they were doing to be around Him. Sure, some came to see what miracle he would perform next, but most came because of His Magnetic Love.

Sheri Dinardi, wife, mother, artist, Jacksonville
" I hope my husband and my children will remember me as someone who lived in Christ and allowed His love to flow through me to love them sacrificially. I pray the Spirit of God will move through me and my artwork to touch others hearts to desire God, to love Him with all their hearts, minds and strength and to love others with the same love that He has loved them. I pray that my artwork will cause the viewers to look to God and not to me."

Sandy Cathcart writes from Prospect, Oregon.