AREQUIPA , Peru— Amy Marie (Kessler) George, 48, Arequipa , Peru, died May 5, 2016, at her home in Arequipa, surrounded by her family after a 12-year battle with brain cancer.

A funeral was held in Arequipa, May 7, followed by cremation.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Community Church, Omaha, May 14, at 11 a.m.

Amy Marie Kessler was born in Glendora, Calif., Feb. 8, 1968. She was the firstborn of Richard and Betty Lou Kessler. She was followed by a sister, Julie, and a brother, Mike. The Kessler family lived in Northern California until 1981. Amy gave her life to Christ at a young age and when she was 10, she made a decision to follow God’s calling to be a missionary when she was older. In 1981, the Kessler family moved to Custer, S.D., where Amy graduated from Custer Berean Christian School as one of a class of only three students. From there, she attended Gordon College, near Boston, Mass., and South Dakota State University, Brookings, graduating from Gordon with a degree in biology with the intention of going to medical school to become a missionary surgeon. She attended medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, where she met her husband, Allen George, in the Christian Medical and Dental Society group, where she was active leading music with her beautiful voice and guitar. They were married May 8, 1993, and she graduated from medical school that afternoon. Just the week before getting married, she had returned from a mission trip to Banzo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon. She completed a residency in family medicine at UNMC. In 2000, she and Allen and their children left Omaha and moved to Peru to serve as medical missionaries with SIM until her death.

Amy loved to read, swim, go for walks, and to hold and take care of babies. She would often volunteer to hold a young couple’s baby for them at events so that they could eat without distractions. She always put her own children before her own desires. Amy’s life could be characterized by a fearless faith in God’s promises and a willingness to live simply despite the ability to live a posh lifestyle.

This was exemplified by her willingness to move her family to Peru and live in remote places without even reliable running water or access to things Americans would take as common necessities.

Amy is survived by her husband, Allen George, originally from Dixon; four children, Sarah, Ben, Mia and Paul; her parents, Dick and Betty Lou Kessler, Custer, S.D; her sister, Julie (Erik) Tullberg, Kaneohe, Hawaii; and her brother, Michael (Michelle), Pullman, Wash.

Memorials may be given in Amy’s name to The Great Commission Fund at Christ Community Church, Omaha.