An angel visits family and friends at the death of a loved one.

On Sept. 15, 2010, two days before the death of Betty Detweiler King at the Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., most of Betty and Aaron King’s family were gathered around Betty’s bed. They were together for what they expected would be her last hours on earth. Her children sang Betty’s favorite gospel songs. Paul Swarr and Eugene Souder sang along with the King family.

Betty’s husband, Aaron, was also in failing health; he had said his parting goodbyes to Betty that morning and was not present. Roy Kreider, and his wife, Florence, had spent time praying with Betty earlier that morning.

At about 5:30 p.m., there was a knock on the door. Heidi, one of Betty’s five daughters, opened the door, but no one was there. Shortly afterward came another knock. This time son Michael opened the door, and again no one was there. He went up and down the hall to see if a nurse had knocked and slipped away. But no one was there.

When he returned to the room, Betty suddenly raised her right arm, opened her eyes and gazed up to the far corner of the room. Puzzling over these events, some in the family felt a sense of an angelic visitor at that moment. After that experience, Betty closed her eyes and went into a coma. Less than two days later she took her last breath. She died at 3 a.m. on Sept. 17.

A second appearance happened at the Kreiders’ home in Broadway, Va., early that morning. Something woke Roy 30 minutes before Betty died.

“At 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, I awoke, recalling those final hours of prayer in what we all knew to be Betty’s final hours of life with us,” Roy says. “I felt urged to pray again for the Lord’s peace for Betty and his comfort for Aaron and each of the family. At 3 a.m. a picture came clearly in view: Florence and I were sitting together in conversation with a guest. The guest said [our] words had ministered encouragement and comfort to Betty’s spirit. I asked this guest, ‘How could this be known with such certainty? Are you one of [the hospital’s] medical personnel?’ ”

Roy was startled by her answer.

“I am not a staff person,” she said to Roy. “I am the angel commissioned by God at the time of Betty’s birth to be her lifelong guardian angel. At this moment, Betty is being released from her physical body. Also, now someone very special to you is about to enter the room.”

The visitor was Betty.

“Betty appeared, and I saw a most beautiful and youthful-looking Betty,” Roy says, “radiant with the light of Jesus. Betty sat with Florence, me and the angel, with Betty expressing to us her gratitude for the spiritually enriching friendship—those many faith-strengthening conversations and the many prayers across the years. She continued to speak blessings on us. She asked us to pray for Aaron and the family. Then she said, ‘In an instant I will be standing in the glorious presence of God. And I will be seeing Jesus face to face. But soon we shall be gathered into his glorious presence. What a day of rejoicing that will be!’

“Then at once Betty was gone, and so was the angel. I was fully awake during this whole experience. It was several hours later on that morning that we were told of Betty’s homegoing at 3 a.m., the exact time the Lord gave that awesome visual revelation. Thanks and praise to God.”

Roy says no reason for this visitation was given to him. It represents a mystery sent by God.

“I’m reminded of the song,” Roy says, “ ‘God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.’ ”

Betty’s husband, Aaron Martin King, died Jan. 3 at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, Harrisonburg, Va.

The King family spent almost 20 years in mission service in Cuba and Mexico. After returning to Harrisonburg, Aaron and Betty worked in a Spanish-speaking ministry with Hispanics in the area. For about 30 years they were chaplains in prisons throughout Virginia and surrounding states.

Roy and Florence Kreider spent three decades representing Christ in Israel under the Mennonite Church. After returning to the United States in 1985, they were invited to serve in a counseling ministry with the Cornerstone Fellowship in Broadway, where they now live.

Eugene K. Souder, Grottoes, Va., is a lifelong quartet member with Aaron King, Paul Swarr and Roy Kreider