Monday, May 22, 2023
I met Dee in 1969/1970. I came to live with Dean and Mildred back in February 1970 while her brother Sam was in Vietnam. Kristin was 2 or 3 and Kaleb and Kara hadn’t been born yet. She was so pretty and so sweet. When her brother and I divorced in 1986, she remained my friend. She attended my “Nurses graduation” in 1990 as well as attending my wedding to Joe 3 days later. Dee was so talented and succeeded in all she put her mind to. But, Dee loved Motherhood more than she loved anything else. Her 3 kids are proof of where her heart was. She and Jim were/are amazing parents. I looked for a photo of her however back in those days the cameras were inferior and I couldn’t find the right photo to post. Dee and her older sister, Aldeana and her 2 younger brothers, Sam and David were close and loyal to each other throughout life. I used to love to hear the stories of when their Dad, Dean was preaching at a nearby town or a not-so-near town with all 4 crammed in the back seat of the car or just the 3 older ones and littlest sib, David would be in the front seat with Dean and Mildred. They would each be leaning on each other sleeping, all going the same direction until one would turn the other way and they’d all be leaning that way. I heard the stories of when Dean would insist that they all get up and sing a hymn together particularly at the visiting churches. I heard from Mildred how hard it was to listen to the kids practicing their piano after she had a hysterectomy. I doubt that any of the kids knew that. I remember the stories how younger adoring brother, Sam and Dee would scare the neighborhood kids away by threatening to shoot them with one of their BB gun’s. Of course they never did but can you imagine that today? These 2 would have been declared “Domestic Terrorists” in todays world and would be on the 6:00 pm news. It was a much simpler life back then and the violence was a small fraction compared to todays world. I remember Sam telling me that one winter it snowed a lot and when the sun came out a day or 2 later, little brother Sam and Dee threw on summer clothes and someone took a picture of them sitting on this snow covered heap with shorts on, eating popsicles. Sam adored his older sister, Dee because she was as interested in getting into mischief as he was. Dee and I sort of lost touch after 1990 but if I would have seen her in the past 30 years, she would have affectionately hugged me and we would have loved getting caught up once again. I learned of her health concerns a few years ago and I am so glad she has been, set free from this corruptable body and has put on the “incorruptible.”One of my favorite Bible verse’s is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and I dedicate it to my Sister, Dee:
“Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day-by-day. For our LIGHT and MOMENTARY troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes NOT on what was SEEN but what is UNSEEN. For what is SEEN is temporal, but what is unseen is eternal.” Amen. Love you Dee and we’ll see each you in the not so distant future.
Gail
