On the Passing of our dear friend, Corine Hathaway

A Tribute to a Friend, Mentor and Church Mother

Corine Hathaway was the most devoted Christian woman that I had ever met. I first met Corine as she sat up front to be by her husband, Dave, while he preached at Northwood Community Bible Church. I got to see how she supported her husbands ministry and then how she stood by him during his cancer then saw the grief she experienced after his passing.

As Tom mentioned at her Memorial Service, she could have given up then but kept on serving, kept on teaching, kept on being faithful, sometimes wondering where God was in her head but knowing in her heart he was always there.

Corine was faithful in church attendance, even in the deepest of grief and her own illness she would still play the piano. She only missed church once or twice a year and only while she was gone to see her son, daughter or dear friends the Prensners.

Corine was faithful in her ministry responsibilities, she taught piano to many students, helped children and adults learn to sing, helped with CEF and KOF teachings to our local children and taught bible studies numerous times. A group of us went through the book of Revelation and Corine was so thorough that it was over a year later when we were done. She was teaching Linda how to lead a bible study, started Zach and Katlyn in a love for music at a very young age, spent time teaching Vange, Marissa and me how to make home-made bread (tried to teach us-ha). Her home was open to all, they specifically set up their basement so the missionaries that came to town could have a place to stay and later to help Nancy after the tornado.

I got to know many people from the church when Jen invited me over then Corine started having me over and each Sunday was a meal at Corines with hours of fellowship and prayer. Corine also hosted a mens breakfast for years, cooking them a breakfast and allowing them to fellowship in her home while she served.

Corine was a wonderful blessing to many and certainly not to be taken for granted in this age of "casual commitment."

Corine was always a wonderful 'mother' figure to many in the church. She would take the time to talk with me and even Nikki or Katlyn when they looked for advice or prayer. Both Jonathan and Wynnie Lea said that they were thankful for her numerous friends and church family, that these people could all check on Corine, get her to her appointments, read the bible with her, pray ect while she was a widow then going through her illness.

These are some of my memories since I started coming to NCBC and I know there is a whole life long story that I'm missing about Corine and her service. I know it's worth noting that her whole life was placed in God's hands, faithfully following his lead to unknown places and situations, keeping her protected in each situation. It is worth noting that she waited 38 years to purely give herself to her husband, Dave. Finding a man that also wanted to serve the Lord, starting churches and leading choir's and studies.

One of the last memories that I'll hold so dear is her heart for the unsaved, one being my husband. She told me one day that she was reading a book about grief and sorrows and it said not to waste your tears on yourself in self pity but to cry for someone that was lost and in need of Jesus and she shared with me that she cried her tears for Brian. She took the time to pray for him and reach out to us as a family and because of that Brian saw her heart and knowing she was a widow, he helped any time he could and respected her dearly.

Thank you Corine and may you sing to the Lord in great peace and joy for eternity.