Giving Comfort in the Midst of Tragedy

Dolores Gómez, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in a small town near Barcelona, Spain, was 44 years old when her doctor told her that she had a cerebral tumor. He said that she would not live much more than eight months. Her fellow Christians were generous in their expressions of love. In the final days before her death, her relatives, who are not Witnesses, arrived from various regions of Spain.

The local Witnesses cared for them, providing them with accommodations, meals, transportation, and other necessary support. The unwavering faith and dignity of Dolores right down to the end, along with the hospitality of the local Witnesses, touched the hearts of her family. The following letter expresses their feelings.

“This letter is directed to a group of men and women who preach not only by means of their expressions of love toward their fellow man but also by acts that express their noble feelings from the bottom of their hearts. We have been able to experience this in a unique chapter of our lives, the terminal illness of our sister Loli [Dolores].

“Therefore, all of us (her relatives from distant parts of Spain) united in the pain of such a great loss want to express our most profound feelings of gratitude and affection for all of you who accompanied her in her joys and sorrows, in her triumphs and heartaches, until the final moment of her existence here on earth.

“Also, we want to let you know that we have experienced one of the greatest manifestations of love and solidarity. We return to our homes and to our families and obligations, but we will not be the same, having been marked by the force of love that reigned in our sister Loli and in you, and this strengthens us to continue living day by day.

“We say good-bye with a hearty embrace and a most profound feeling of gratitude. Until we meet again, friends, may Jehovah shower you with happiness.”

Signed by the family and brothers and sisters of Dolores Gómez

[Pictures on page 31]

Some of the local Witnesses