Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Obituary

Today we all seem a little lost. My dad was busy making the final arrangements -- writing the obituary (2 versions) and all the rest of us were trying to keep track of a lot of travel plans.

Here is the obituary that appeared in the newspaper.  We decided that the vast majority of people interested in reading the obituary would be finding it online versus reading it in the newspaper -- so we opted for a small printed version.




Here is the complete obituary that was online.

In Memory of
Candy Bingham Hanis
July 8, 1954 - June 29, 2011

Candy Bingham Hanis, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and sister peacefully finished her work in this life on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 following a 10 month battle with ovarian cancer. Candy was born July 8, 1954 at Fort Benning, Georgia to Charles Bartlett Bingham and Betty Joe Phillips. She was their third daughter and they moved to Fresno, California, a few days later where her father practiced oral surgery for many years. Another sister, a brother, two more sisters and an adopted brother came to make a happy and busy home. Candy is survived by her angel sisters Penny Johnston, Tobi Sanders, Terri Lorz, Tami Cooley and Vicki Hinton, her brother Tab Bingham, adopted brother Helmut Bambl their spouses and 30 nieces and nephews. Her father recently celebrated his 90th birthday and Candy was so happy to fly to Utah for the celebration. Her mother passed away in 2001.




Candy grew up with a full range of experiences and activities. She was a cheerleader and homecoming princess in high school and a graceful diver and water skier. Following graduation from Sanger High School she attended Ricks College for one year and then transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where she majored in clothing and textiles. In the fall of 1973 she met Craig Lee Hanis who became in her words, her "best friend" and her "first and only true love". They were engaged the following fall and married for time and eternity in the Oakland, California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on December 28, 1974 while Craig was working on his Masters Degree in Human Genetics.



Marriage expanded her family to include another "mom" and "dad" and three more brothers. She is survived by mom, Ethel Leona Hanis, brothers Michael Martin Hanis, Mark Anthony Hanis, and Kevin Charles Hanis, their spouses and an additional 12 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by dad Hanis and Mark's wife Marci.



On January 7, 1976 their first daughter, Jamie arrived while they were living in a basement apartment in Provo, Utah. November 14, 1977 saw the arrival of Carrie Michelle while living in Renton, Washington. They then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where Craig earned his Ph.D. in human genetics. Shad Bingham arrived June 15, 1980 at the University of Michigan Hospital. Following graduate school, Candy and family moved to Houston, Texas in 1981 where Craig took a faculty position at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he is currently a full professor. In Houston, Candy looked forward to the birth of another son, Jared Craig, but he was stillborn on March 25, 1983. Daughter Amber was born August 8, 1984, and more than 12 years later another son, Tyler Frederick, came to bless their family in unimaginable ways. During this time, Candy became the consummate mother and established a home of fun, safety, beauty, love, contentment, prayer and faith. She loved vacations, silly games on the floor, arts and crafts, and family history work. She always had projects to do and engaged the children and others in them.



Candy is survived by her five children; Jamie, her husband Trent Handy, a CPA, and their children Julianne, Catherine, Madelyn, Adam Trent and Owen James all of New Canaan, Connecticut; Carrie Hanis, a physical therapist in Houston; Shad, an orthodontist in Katy, and his wife Amy Nebeker and their children Hailey Lauren, Zachary Shad, Chloe Eliza and Molly Jane; Amber, her husband Daniel Aird who works in the IT department of ExxonMobil and their children Megan and Brooke with a third daughter to be named Candace soon to arrive; and Tyler who will begin high school in the fall at Lamar. Candy logged countless miles and hours with her children in support of their school and church programs, birthdays, anniversaries and so on. She was always there and always lit up any function she attended. Her posterity is beautiful and stands as a testament to her beauty and skill.



Candy and family were active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all their lives. For the past 27 years, she has been a member of Maplewood 2nd Ward Congregation of the Church and served faithfully in many capacities. She served as Primary president, Young Women's president, Relief Society president, counselor in several presidencies, Sunday School Teacher, Nursery Leader and also in the Houston Texas South Stake Relief Society presidency. She was a faithful Visiting Teacher to a number of choice sisters. She didn't just serve, but she served with diligence, care and concern. She was filled with charity and went about quietly doing a great ministry touching the lives of all she came in contact with.



Candy met every challenge with grace and enthusiasm, including her battle with ovarian cancer. She had an incredible inner strength, pleasant disposition, faith and ability to work that was unparalleled. She made the most difficult look routine, was always kind, and never murmured. She and Craig, who survives her, enjoyed 36 wonderful years of marriage and were true partners. She is sorely missed but their marriage for eternity solidifies their belief that "families can be together forever". They both look forward to a joyous reunion in the eternities.



A visitation will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, Friday, July 1 at Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home, 6700 Ferris St., Bellaire, TX 77401; 713-667-6505. http://www.earthmanbellaire.com/dm20/en_US/locations/74/7468/index.page. Funeral services celebrating Candy's beautiful life will be held at the Maplewood 2nd Ward Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 5531 Beechnut, Houston, Texas on Saturday at 11:00 AM with interment following at Brookside Memorial Park, 13401 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039; (281) 449-6511. Those wishing to make donations may do so to a charity of their choice. Two of Candy's favorite and regular donations were to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Perpetual Education Fund and its Humanitarian Relief Fund.

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