Cecilia was born
April 28th, 1951, in Oakland, California to Rose Marie and Cecil Wyrick. Cecilia grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. As a child, she was very insightful and curious. Compassion being one of her greatest gifts, she showed interest in the nursing field at a very young age. Adopting baby birds that had fallen from their nests or taking in stray animals and nursing them back to health seemed to come natural to her. She and a close cousin had once conducted a mass funeral for about 28 crawdads that had died after they had captured them. She and her cousin performed the services for every crawdad, saying prayers for them and burying each one. It was a sad day indeed. She met and married Leroy Turner on April 13th, 1968 and soon began her education in the nursing field. After several miscarriages, Cecilia was finally blessed with a baby girl she named Cathy Lynn. She was a beautiful child and as wise and curious as her mother! Cecilia later divorced Leroy, raised Cathy as a single parent, and sacrificed most everything she had for the benefit of her daughter. Cecilia took back the Weibling name and never remarried. She pain-stakingly continued her career in nursing, graduating as a Registered Nurse in the year 1975. She continued to work in area hospitals and nursing homes for about 25 years. She delivered many babies and nursed the elderly before they left this life. The joys and sorrows she has seen are many. Cecilia and Cathy never had it easy. But she taught her daughter to stand on her own two feet in this world, and Cathy has grown to become a success in her life and career, and she is a beautiful person inside and out. One of Cecilia's many talents was that of music. Taking violin lessons at an early age, she developed her "ear" and a love of music. She later learned to play guitar and sing, writing many songs of her own and performing in church and with gospel groups quite often. At one time she owned a twelve string guitar. She used to visit her mother's house and she would come through the door with that guitar flung over her back and sit in a tiny kitchen and play and sing with her little sister Denise sitting at her feet. Cecilia later showed Denise three chords and taught her little sister to play guitar. Later the two sisters spent many times playing and singing together just because they could! Cecilia was a very good listener and a wonderful friend and confidant to many people. No matter how hard her life was, she was always there for anyone that needed her. She gave wonderful advice and never seemed to complain about the pressures of juggling motherhood, the lack of money, and a difficult career. She looked at life as a test... "Life is the journey - Not the destination"- trusting that God always had a "Greater Plan" for her and those around her. She has touched so many lives with her compassion, sense of humor and testimony of faith. Cecilia's strong Christian faith has carried her through her many trials and heartache on this earth. Her health has always been a battle for her and by the age of fifty she was having many life-altering problems with different illnesses. But her positive attitude, sense of humor and strong faith has remained for the most part, and she still shows amazing love to the people in her life, even though she has suffered terribly. I feel Cecilia has been a gift God has given to our world. May we never forget how blessed we all are to have known her and shared in her life, love and laughter. ** I will never understand how someone who has given so much to the world around them has to suffer like Cecilia has. I guess I'll have to ask God about that when I get there. I think we're all supposed to learn something from people like my sister. She will forever be the most special person in my life. I've never met another so caring and giving... So patient and kind - and to think I've been so blessed to have her as a friend AND a sister... as Cecilia herself would say..."God is So Good!"** ~ Story submitted by: Denise (Weibling) Phillips February 2005 ~
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