How beloved are Thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts. My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. For the sparrow hath found a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she will lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” — Psalm 83 (84): 1-4.
Kh. Christina L. (née McGuire) O’Grady, 78, of Meridian, Idaho, has been called by God to her rest from the labors of this present, transient life on April 1, 2025, after a short and intense battle with cancer. Christina was born on March 14, 1947, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She is preceded in death by her parents, Nathan and Shirley McGuire, and is survived by her husband, the very reverend Patrick B. O’Grady, their only son, Christopher J. O’Grady, and both of her siblings, Michael McGuire and Linda Spangler. She leaves behind the O’Grady grandchildren, Poppy, Birch, and Adelaide. She also leaves behind beloved nieces and nephews and a great host of spiritual children and many sweet, enduring and spiritually profound influences on people throughout the West: Oregon, Northern California, Texas, Southern California, Idaho, and many points in between.
Growing up, Christina always possessed a love for beauty, both natural, created beauty as well as the beauty of her friends and loved ones and above all, the uncreated Beauty which is God Himself. Christina loved a party and that party came to fruition when she was “arrested” by God’s love and her entry into a vital Christian community, “the Liberation House,” when she landed in Eugene, Oregon, as a college student taking a travel-break. It was at the Lib House where she quickly found herself serving others and also where she met her future husband, Brian (who would later on become Father Patrick). She prepared the daily large meals and made sure everyone was taken care of. Christina married Brian in 1975 (she passed away exactly 2 months before their 50 th anniversary). Frequent travel and moving became a part of their life journey. The frequency of moves during their life’s career as a married couple was spurred on by their search for the “truth as it is in Jesus” and Christina had a way of making every move adventurous and purposeful. She always felt that a significant part of her calling was to support her husband’s sacred ministry toward the salvation of human beings in the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Christina’s life’s fabric was the unfolding of that Christian ministry to other people.
The adoption of the O’Grady’s son at birth was the fulfillment of her desire to raise a child she could not have of herself. God sent their son Christopher into their life in 1981. While encouraging her husband to continue his education she took it upon herself to do the same. She achieved a Bachelor of Arts with Honors at University of Oregon and a Masters in Education from Lesley University, which initiated her career as a teacher in elementary-level special education to which she gave herself up through retirement in 2014.
Many will remember Kh. Christina for her humor, as it was never without purpose. This comedic component always brought peace and helped those in need to become receptive to her spiritual wisdom—that was the important part! She had the ability, quite native to her and seasoned by divine grace, of injecting some humor and laughter like Novocain so that the “word of salvation” could be applied to a sensitive soul. It was never humor for humor’s sake, it was a guided and purposeful approach. She always had a way of relating to people leading to their improvement spiritually, to open up the interior eyes of the heart. Her husband said that this particular quality was the best medicine he had ever received; it would keep him from taking himself too seriously.
Over the course of 54 years (married for 49) family get-togethers for holidays and any possibility to entertain delighted her. Christina found great joy in preparing meals and loved having people at their dinner table; she always took great care to provide the very best. She found great happiness in preparing meals and finding loving gifts to celebrate all occasions, seasons, sacraments, birthdays, and anniversaries.
Christina‘s rapid physical collapse, succumbing to cancer, and departure from this life is consonant with her whole spiritual purpose: she lived for the Lord God. From the point at which she answered Jesus’ loving and salutary invitation, she hastened and never once looked back. God in his kindness gave her an “express ticket” to go through the passion of suffering, running up to the end of her illness. She was translated from death to life by God’s grace. The sorrow of losing her is acute; but the joy in her spiritual transition trumps the sorrow.
Kh. Christina will receive the benefit of the services and burial according to the Orthodox Church at St Seraphim of Sarov Russian Orthodox Church, 872 N. 29th St, Boise, Idaho. On Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM the Divine Liturgy will take place, followed by Service of Funeral at 10:30 AM. Immediately after the funeral service, her burial will take place around noon at Cloverdale Cemetery, 1100 N. Cloverdale Rd, Boise, Idaho, followed by the mercy meal at the church to celebrate her life. Memory eternal, dear Christina!