Obituary of Cynthia Sue McMahan

On Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 a woman passed away who had such a big heart, they had to turn her sideways and take the gates off the hinges to get her into heaven. Of the things handed down through family, humor has and will shine through ours. Love and joy embody the best of life. Cynthia Sue McMahan's big heart cared for her husband Michael, her sons, Eric, Ben, and Roy, her daughters, Christina and Christina, her granddaughters, Rachel, Alanna, and Jordyn, and her great granddaughter, Abbygail. Plenty of room for her sisters, Peggy, Sharon, and Ginger, and her brothers, Gerald, Dan, and Bruce, as well as members of her church, the people she worked with, God and Jesus, and still had room for perfect strangers. No matter who you were, she had her arms open, offering a hug, a joke, a playful insult, a target for your playful insult, and complete acceptance. Laughter followed her wherever she was. She laughed and joked and could take everything she dished out. If you ever ended up being the butt of her joke, you always laughed along because you felt her love and acceptance. She always said, "God has a great sense of humor. When I was a teenager I prayed to be surrounded by boys, so God gave me three sons"! She raised these sons as a single mother for much of their youth and had to be father as well as mother. She had the strength to keep the household afloat through good times and bad, wearing all of the hats of teacher, protector, psychologist, accountant, mechanic, repairman and best friend. Ask her sons and they will all tell you that she was approachable and didn't judge. She didn't always agree with your choices but she ALWAYS loved you and supported you anyway. She was an AWESOME Mother and her sons have grown into 3 men who are the proud reflections of her. She loved everyone she came in contact with and everyone was invited into the family. She was the first person to go up and introduce herself to you, and often with the unexpected hug that you couldn't help but to melt warmly into, even if you had no idea who this weird short person was. She had the innocent love of a toddler and people couldn't help but to love her back. When she joined Crossroads family, she found a new outlet for her love and joy. There is no greater love than the love of Jesus Christ. She really enjoyed the support of her church family. She cherished her church family, the lessons of the small groups and the euphoria of Sunday service. After losing her mother and her father, this new family accepted her and she felt home. God gave her the gift of an example of how to live the most joyous life, the life of love. She lived by that example and was a great example of Christ's love to others. She was a woman of integrity. She walked every talk she talked. She wasn't perfect but no one minded because she cherished the imperfections in others. She strived for the best of life and she had it, gave it and enjoyed it. She was the Matriarch of her family and was the person everyone went to when they needed an ear, a hand, or advice. She didn't just give the advice, she showed us by example and that was her greatest lesson. She lives on in her example and her family and friends will carry a piece of her always. We love you and are filled with joy that you are in peace with God. Our shining star continues because of Cindy.