Friends and family members of Lee Stover, a 2008 Whitworth graduate, are mourning his recent and unexpected death. Stover died in late February.
On Wednesday, March 3, a memorial service honoring the life of Stover was held on campus.
Opening the service President Bill Robinson said, “We will be celebrating his life and grieving his loss. Mostly we will be celebrating the power of the resurrection, and the hope we, as followers of Christ have in it.”
During the service friends and mentors of Stover spoke about the impact he had on their lives. They brought laughs and tears from those assembled as they shared their stories of Stover.
“He so easily left a lasting legacy, wherever he went,” said April McGonigal, assistant director of summer conferences and former Duvall RD. Stover served as an RA under April McGonigal from 2007-2008.
April McGonigal shared a phone call she had several months ago with a woman who was part of a search committee considering hiring Stover. She said that though she was able to share several of Stover’s positive qualities with the inquirer, there were some elements of Stover’s character that she was not able to put words too.
“There was more to Lee I felt I needed to express,” April McGonigal said. “I realized then that Lee is like Mr. Clean. He knocks out dirt with one hand and leaves shine with another. He always leaves a sparkling shine, wherever he goes.”
April McGonigal said that she fondly remembers Lee and cherishes memories of the time she had with him.
“We feel cheated. It’s difficult to understand why God seemed to cut his life so devastatingly short,” April McGonigal said. “Yet it is clear his redemptive purpose on earth is complete.”
Senior Rachel Ewing, a childhood friend of Stover’s, also shared her memories of him.
“He loved God just as much when he was little,” Ewing said.
Ewing said she went on mission trips, sang in a choir, attended Bible studies, and played paintball with Lee. She described a game of paintball with Stover in which she was having a hard time protecting herself from the shots of the other players. Stover pulled her over to a log, and shoved her in it, then took her gun, and stood guard over her hiding place with both his gun and hers.
“He wanted to protect; to give of himself; to be a servant to everyone he was around,” Ewing said. “I have never felt safer than with Lee.”
Ewing said Stover was full of love.
“You saw God in him,” Ewing said. “He was a great, great man, he had a great life and I miss him.”
Senior Kevin Weiser recalled memories of times he had spent with Stover.
“His attitude characterized in one word would be hallelujah,” Weiser said. “He was always conscious of God’s love for him and the fallen world around him. He praised God in the good and bad times, dedicating every breath to serving God and others. His life was one big hallelujah.”
Whitworth graduate Amber Kraft, who is currently in Bolivia, sent a letter to be read by senior Amanda Carlson at the service. Kraft, a close friend of Stover’s while at Whitworth, had been exchanging letters with Stover throughout her time in Bolivia.
“While in high school Lee received a calling from the Lord to serve in full-time incarnational ministry,” Kraft wrote. “He confidently lived out God’s vocation for his life. While his life was short, not a moment was wasted.”
In her letter Kraft included a line from one of the last notes she received from Stover.
“Jesus embraced the brokenness, finding joy in the midst of sorrow,” Kraft wrote. “‘God gave me hope,’ Lee said. While the dirty and broken still exist God’s grace covers us.”
Mark McIraith, Whitworth Presbyterian pastor and a friend and mentor to Stover, shared memories of Stover. He told the group about Stover’s senior year in high school, when he was trying to determine where to go to school. McIraith urged Stover to go to Whitworth, because he was moving to Spokane to pastor at Whitworth Presbyterian. He remembers telling Stover that he would be there when Stover arrived for school.
“Lee is now saying to us I’m going to be there when you show up. With Christ we have that hope,” McIraith said. “Heaven grows more and more dear to me in times like these.”
Senior Kat Williamson served with Lee as an RA in Duvall. In an interview after the service, Williamson recalled making cookies, going to Greenbluff as a part of a hall activity and doing Prime Times with Stover.
“Lee had a heart of gold; he really did,” Williamson said. “He loved people and was very intentional with friendships, his residents loved him.”
Williamson added that Stover was bubbly and outgoing.
“It was fun being on Prime Times with him,” Williamson said. “He talked to everyone who came through. He had a really big personality.”
Whitworth alumna Heather Stevens recalled a conversation she shared with Stover.
“On a road trip we discussed our future deaths,” Stevens said. “Lee said, ‘People should cry, because I will miss them, but they should celebrate, because I’m with Jesus!’”
Stevens said Stover had a great love for life, and often expressed his love by dancing.
“He celebrated life through dance, whether in the aisles of Winco, on the patio or in the kitchen,” Stevens said.
Stevens said Stover taught her how to celebrate life.
“He taught us so many things. He is teaching us now to grieve with hope,” Stevens said. “He reminds us and calls us to dance through life, because we are the Lord’s and we are each others.”
Terry McGonigal, dean of spiritual life, encouraged the gathering to question, to weep, to grieve but above all to hope.
“We’re free to ask all the hard questions, to weep, to grieve, yet unbearable grief does not have the final say,” Terry McGonigal said. “We gather here tonight in Jesus’ promise: I am the resurrection and the life. Death no longer has the final word in our lives.”
Terry McGonigal said Stover loved the Lord and others.
“He gave each of us the greatest of human gifts: he loved each and every one of us,” Terry McGonigal said. “Lee had the limitless capacity for human love, because his heart first loved God.”
Contact Haley Atkinson at haley.atkinson@whitworthian.com.
In memoriam: Lee Stover
Published: Monday, March 8, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
 "Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Robinson")
Courtesy of Thomas Robinson
Alumnus Lee Stover wears a red duct tape tie for Fancy Feast in 2006.
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