Hepsheba George

Hephseeba G. Parayil, also known as Hepzi or Sheeba to family and friends, was born on
February 6, 1945 in Kerala, India as the eldest daughter of E.G. Thomas & Rachel Thomas. Her younger brother was the late Thomas Varghese and wife Aleyamma Varghese of Houston, TX and her younger sister is Annamma George and husband George Mathew of Kerala, India. She was raised in a devout and God fearing home.
Her faith and family were the most important to her. She accepted Jesus as her personal saviour at a young age and took water baptism in 1960. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and was very active in her church teaching Sunday school, leading worship and playing drums during her younger years. She studied at the Women's Polytechnic College in Trichur from 1962-1965 where she was awarded a diploma in Electronics in 1965. She was also known for being a top badminton player at college.
She married George K. Parayil on April 21, 1966. They had four children: Vijay Mathew and husband Binu of New Braunfels, TX; the late Saji Parayil; Gracy Isaac and husband Sam of Oklahoma City, OK; and Sujit John and husband Gigi of Troy, MI. Her grandchildren are Kezia and husband Aleksandar Vujanic, Rachel Isaac, Andrew Isaac, Jessica Isaac, Zachary John, Pete Mathew and Abigail John. After moving to Bangalore, she was interviewing for jobs when she was suddenly afflicted with asthma. Due to this, they moved back to Kerala where she fought the disease for thirteen years.
Many people came to pray for her as she was near death and she asked the Lord to extend her life as her children were young. God answered her prayer and in 1981 she moved to the United States with her family where the Lord empowered her to learn driving and she was still driving till August of this year. She began working initially at Bipo before working at Seagate Technology for several years. She loved to take care of her grandchildren as they were growing up. She has also been taking care of her husband, George, for the past fourteen years since he suffered a stroke in 2011.
She was known for her hospitality and selfless service to others. She loved gardening and took care of her extensive plant collection and garden. She valued her family, joyfully cooking for everyone when they got together. She loved to worship with singing and liked to have all her children and grandchildren sing together. She was a prayer warrior and was constantly praying for her family and church communities and any need she heard of for anyone. She fasted at least two days a week. She was full of passion for her beliefs. We will miss her dearly and never forget her advice, "Start your day with prayer and reading the Bible and God will make the day go smoothly."