About half an hour before she died last week, according to her minister, Hannah Faith Garman said the word "mama."
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"God in his grace was giving Hannah a glimpse of heaven," added the Rev. Wilbur Rohrer during Hannah's funeral Saturday morning near Lititz.
He and the Rev. John Hess said no one can explain why a 5-year-old girl was taken by a brain tumor just three years after breast cancer claimed her mother, Christine.
The answer is hidden, they told the mourners filling the Middle Creek Church of the Brethren, 351 Middle Creek Road, Ephrata Township.
However, Rohrer said, the child's example will long shine. She touched more hearts in her brief life than most people ever will.
"Hannah didn't pity herself," Rohrer added. In her childlike faith, "Hannah lived one day at a time. She trusted God with her tomorrows."
A series of surgeries and radiation and chemotherapy treatments failed to stop Hannah's cancer. She died Tuesday.
Interment was in the cemetery next to the Middle Creek church.
Mourners wielded umbrellas against persistent rain, and some children clutched balloons that were pink and purple — Hannah's favorite colors.
The girl's brave battle against glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive and incurable brain tumor, started last fall. It became known worldwide last year after word spread by e-mail that Hannah hoped to get a lot of Christmas cards.
Greetings soon poured in from neighbors, strangers, students, teachers, police, firefighters and emergency workers. Supporters from as far away as Australia contacted Hannah, who ultimately received more than 170,000 cards.
And she kept fighting through pain and exhaustion, her father, Darin, said in earlier stories.
Siblings, Brittany, 13, and Jordan, 9, helped care for Hannah, who was taken in by her grandparents, Bob and Shirley Garman, while their father worked.
Miraculously, the child lived through Christmas and celebrated her 5th birthday Jan. 16.
She rode in the Mother's Day Make-a-Wish convoy and managed to splash her toes in the water during a spring trip to the Chesapeake Bay, it was reported; she fulfilled a dream by going to her cousin, Sheri's, wedding May 30.
Her flower girl dress was on display Saturday at the church, along with a handmade shawl sent by a woman from West Virginia, letters from government officials and many other mementos.
The small pink Barbie Jeep the girl loved to ride was parked in a corner of the lobby.
After she became ill, Rohrer said, the formerly active girl "found joy in doing the things she could do," such as coloring and having people read to her.
"Hannah's life may have been short," he added, "but it was certainly full and fruitful."
Her family, of Lititz, and friends attested to that during the service.
A choir of nine children assembled in the front of the church and rang bells and sang to organ accompaniment, a reminder of Hannah's love of children's songs.
Brittany Garman read a poem.
"I love you, Hannah," she said, calling it a "privilege" to have cared for the child. "Please don't forget to give Mommy a kiss for all of us."
Jon Rutter is a staff writer for the Sunday News. His e-mail address is jrutter@lnpnews.com.
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