Radcliff—Dianne Boulware’s three and a half year battle with cancer ended, but through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, her legacy lives on.

Boulware, a former NAMB missionary, mother and military chaplain’s wife, died in January, but not before she and her husband, James, made arrangements that condolences be made to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering through Mill Creek B

“It hit me one day that people give to different things in lieu of flowers, and I just thought to myself that it would be great for us to give to Lottie Moon,” James said.

Although she was declining and could barely communicate, he suggested that her condolences be given to the Lottie Moon Offering, and she agreed.

aptist Church in Radcliff, the church where James grew up.

To date, more than $4,000 has been donated in her honor, according to Dianne’s sister-in-law, Bonita Boulware.

“Dianne was very much inspired by Lottie Moon when she was younger. That led her to want to go into missions,” James said.

“She had a world mission view for evangelism and outreach. Lottie Moon had a great impact on her and was one reason why she went to the mission field,” he reflected.

“Through our whole marriage, whether we’ve been church planters or in the military, we saw ourselves more or less as missionaries, being called into our community that we’re in,” he added.

Dianne, originally from Tennessee, met James, a Kentucky native, at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. At the time of her death, the two had been married for 27 years.

After seminary, James accepted the call as a church planter in Pennsylvania. While serving as a pastor there, he also worked as a National Guard chaplain. After some time in Germany, he and Dianne felt the call to full-time military chaplaincy.

“She served in every capacity possible. She taught. She played the piano. She just had a heart for missions, specifically women’s ministry,” James said. “When I came onto active duty, she became very active in teaching classes. She also had a great voice, and she loved to sing in churches and for groups.

“It was more of a team effort. We served together,” he added. “She had always wanted to be a tool not only in the family, which she saw her family as her mission field as well, but also in her community.”

Bonita added, “Often, we hear of including charitable donations in our estate planning, but perhaps less often about the simple gesture of asking for memorial gifts to the furtherance of the gospel.”

“I think it would be a great thing if others saw this and caught wind of what can happen in lieu of flowers,” James concluded, “What a great way to give that will continue to reach lives.”

James serves now at the Redstone Arsenal. He is a member of Willow Creek Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala. (WR)