My mom, Martha Renee Dingler LaBoda, 72 of Drexel,North Carolina,

Writing this is something I never wanted to have to do. She was my mom, and no matter how old I became, I would always be her son.

alongside my late father, Jerry M. LaBoda, as well as at other places. She built friendships along the way and was loved by the friends and family who remained part of her life.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Olive and Joyce Dingler; her brother, Norman Dingler; her ex-husband Jerry M. LaBoda and her foster sisters, Phyllis Stamey and Maria Pritchard; and her foster mother, Mae William Leger.

She is survived by her son, Dimka Stephens, and his future spouse, Charlotte Rose Lynch; her foster nephew, James Stamey, and his siblings; and her step-grandsons, Jeremiah and Nenemiah Lynch,her adopted daughters, her adopted sons and her adopted grandbabies

There is no obituary long enough to tell the complete story of someone's life. There are memories that belong only to the people who lived them, moments that can't be put into words, and pieces of a person that stay with us long after they are gone.

For me, she wasn't simply Martha Renee Dingler LaBoda.

She was Mom.

Our relationship, like every relationship between a parent and child, had its complicated moments and its beautiful ones. But through everything, she was a part of my story, and I will carry that part of her with me for the rest of my life.

I hope she knew that being her son meant something to me.

I hope she knew she was loved.

And when the time eventually comes for me to say goodbye, I will say it with all the love a son can have for his mother.

Rest peacefully, Mom.

I love you.

Your son, always.