82-Year-Old Widow Demonstrates Life After Losing Husband, Chases Dream of Being Author
Brenda Thurmond is one of those elders that the younger generation looks at and says to each other, “I wanna be like her when I grow up!” The 82-year-old became widowed at the age of 80, after 62 years of being married to her husband, Ken.
If a person has had a good marriage, becoming a widow can feel like half of you has been violently ripped away. It can make a person, especially an older person, just want to curl up next to their spouse in the casket and be buried right along with them. But Thurmond overcame all of that through her relationship with the Lord and by resurrecting her dream and joy of becoming an author.
“Losing Ken changed everything,” Thurmond told EIN News. “But it also gave me the courage to finally do the thing I had always dreamed of doing. Writing has always been a joy in my life. I want people – especially those who think their best years are behind them – to know that your dream doesn’t have an expiration date.”
Thurmond has been a Christian for many years and, more specifically, a devoted member of Clarksville Baptist Church in north Georgia. No doubt her relationship with the Lord taught her a little something about grabbing hold of the hem of Jesus’ garment as she has progressed along her journey of healing from grief while chasing her dreams. In fact, chasing a dream God has placed in a person’s heart is often one way He helps a person carry on in life amid excruciating emotional or physical pain.
Thrumond has always been a “lifelong lover of words” with “a special gift for writing,” according to her website. She has written Sunday school lessons and Christmas plays for her church, and since being widowed, has taken the best of these and turned them into a collection intended to bring inspiration to children and hope to adults who need permission to begin again.
The collection includes titles such as "Liora, The Littlest Angel," "The Christmas Cup" and "Ruby Mae’s Christmas Gift."
Thurmond has a daughter, Karen Shayne, who has apparently been influenced by her mother’s love of writing. In an article, Shayne wrote about honoring her mother because of her years of sacrifice for the family and cheering on the dreams of others. Shayne noted on Unconditionally Her that the most important things she has learned from her mom as she progresses in this new chapter in her life are, “…it is never selfish to celebrate the gifts God placed inside your own heart,” and that, “choosing yourself isn’t selfish when you’re answering God’s calling. It’s faithful.”
Beginning in September 2026, Thurmond will be available for radio and podcast interviews, speaking at author events, Christian and community groups, school visits, library programs and book signings. For more information about Thurmond, click here.
To book her for an event, contact Karen Shayne at Unconditionally Her: Karen@unconditionallyher.com.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Jacques Julien
Originally published August 17, 2026.
