Closer-button

Lisa Sparling Lisa Sparling Memorial

Born: June 01, 1955 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died: January 08, 2015 in Media, Pennsylvania, USA

Lisa Sparling 1955 - 2015


After a valiant 6-½ year battle with lung cancer, Lisa Sparling, age 59, passed away at her home in Media, PA, on Thursday, January 8, 2015, at 8pm.  Throughout her life, and particularly during her ongoing struggles with illness, Lisa was an inspiration to the family and friends who were privileged to know her.

Lisa was the second of four children, born on June 1, 1955, in Detroit, MI. After high school, Lisa attended the Rhode Island School of Design for fine art studies, graduating in 1977.  Feeling a strong desire to help people, she entered Hahnemann School of Nursing.  She had varied tasks during her nursing service, but one of the most difficult was caring for the kids in the pediatric oncology ward.  An apprenticeship opened up in the area in the field of acupuncture; she enrolled and was on her way to the profession she would continue to practice from 1995 to the end of her life.

Lisa met Ben Griffith (who would later become her husband) through mutual friends in Philadelphia.  They were married on August 5, 1995, in Media, PA.  Ben also studied  acupuncture and took a Masters program in acupuncture at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute(Now Maryland University of Integrative Medicine) in Laurel, MD, and after completing the course the couple moved back to the Philadelphia area, and settled in Media, PA.  Together, they built a husband-wife acupuncture practice.

 

On May 11, 1998, the couple gave birth to their first child, Ryder.  A few years later, they began the long process to adopt a child from Russia.  In February 2004 Ben and Lisa travelled to Moscow to bring home their new daughter, Mallory.  The family thrived, and Lisa continued to practice acupuncture and make art, participating in art shows throughout the area.  She loved to explore different mediums in her artwork, using watercolor, acrylic, even markers and crayons!  Her work is remarkable for its animated line and its unique iconography which often references both the cellular and the cosmic in a single piece.  She expanded her craft making beautiful jewelry with unexpected combinations of shapes and colors.

Lisa was also an enthusiastic practitioner of meditation.  The diagnosis of cancer propelled her to devote more attention to her meditation practice.  In 2010, knowing how important community is to practice, she started a meditation group.  Lisa touched and changed lives and was an inspiration to all who attended.

With everything she did – creating art, practicing acupuncture, raising children, teaching yoga, practicing meditation – Lisa lived life to its fullest and with passion.  She gave of herself in a truly generous way and was in turn sustained by the community she helped to create.  Her honesty, about her own struggles and failings as well as her successes, gave all who knew her an appreciation for the richness of life and of being human – good, bad, neutral.  She has touched many lives.

Lisa was preceded in death by her father, David, who also died of lung cancer.  She is survived by her husband, Ben Griffith, and her two children, Ryder, 16, and Mallory, 11.  She is also survived by her siblings, Debi, David, and Laura, and by her mother, Anne Skippar Sparling.

Lisa’s memorial will be held on February 14, 2015, at Springfield Country Club 400 West Sproul Rd. Springfield, PA 19064. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Lisa's family starting at 11:00 am followed by a service at 12 noon.  Donations should be sent to Free to Breathe  http://participate.freetobreathe.org/goto/Lisa in memory of Lisa Sparling

A memorial bench will be planned in Rose Tree Park.

 

TOP OF PAGE
Pre-planning-button
MEMORIAL CREATED BY:
John P. Donohue Funeral Home on January 13, 2015