July 2001 Updates on
Mary Beth's
Journey
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It was a great weekend in which old friendships were renewed and multiple laughs were had at our 25th reunion. Although the years and our separate lives have drifted our class apart, when we reunited this weekend it seemed like we were all together just yesterday at our commencement ceremony. Of our class of 40, we sent our friend Greg Smith home earlier this year as our first to pass to the next life. 32 of the remaining 39 of us participated in the weekend's events, representing an attendance of 82%. I believe this showing demonstrates that we truly developed a bond in our formative years that will never be broken even though time and distance keeps us apart.
Everyone who knew about Mary Beth gave me a welcomed hug and shared their thoughts, so the weekend was not without tears. Those tears were of joy, not sorrow because I was so deeply touched with so many sharing their sentiments. To end the weekend, we vowed to keep in touch more frequently and I truly believe we will adhere to this vow. When you read this, I recommend that you pick up the phone or some stationary and contact someone you have not communicated in some time. There is only something to gain in doing so.
God bless you,
In reading a forwarded email today, the story was that of the "fork". A young woman was dying and spoke to her pastor about her special wishes. She wanted a simple ceremony and asked that a fork be placed in her right hand. He thought this was an unusual request and asked her about the significance. She said that she attended several church dinners while growing up and when the plates were cleared, her parents and grandparents always said, "save your fork" because the best was yet to come.
At her funeral, everyone was curious until her pastor explained the significance to them in her symbolization of looking forward to the best. In speaking to our friend Tony Sansone recently we discussed looking forward to the next life. We look forward to someday sharing the dessert that Mary Beth and Peggy are enjoying for eternity. The next time you pick up a fork, think about the analogy in this story and live your life so you too will look forward to using it.
God bless you,
Today
in mass we celebrated the Feast of Thomas the apostle. He was
the apostle who was missing when Jesus rose from the dead and
appeared to them. He did not believe them when they told him,
"We have seen the Lord!" He said that he would never
believe it without probing the nailprints in his hands, without
putting his finger in the nailmarks and his hand into his side.
That is where the phrase Doubting Thomas came from. I think Thomas has been dealt a bad rap by history because many of the disciples who saw Jesus claimed they has seen a ghost. After all, he spoke his feelings with the truth. And, he led the way for all of us who have not seen but believe.
God bless you,
Happy Independence Day!
God bless you,
We are having a great time spending time with family and friends at Innsbrook, MO and part of us spent the day fishing while the others went swimming in one of the many lakes. After picking up Mary Beth's best friend, Elizabeth Gelpi, from the airport on Tuesday we loaded the cars yesterday, grabbed Gerilyn Goeddel and headed west to relax. William was talking with Mary Beth asking for her help in catching fish just before casting his first line into the lake. About two minutes after he made a cast, he caught the first fish of the day. It was such a great moment because he was so excited that Mary Beth helped him. Meanwhile, Sheila and her sister Ellen challenged each other to a swim across the largest lake, just like the old days.
God bless you,
Golfing and swimming in the pool filled the day along with a jaunt to the nearby outlet malls by the girls and their aunts. It is truly a pleasure to spend some relaxing time with loved ones. In our busy daily lives, we often get tied up in our schedules and forget to take a deep breath and really relax. When you enter the gates of Innsbrook, there is a speed limit sign that simply states, "Speed Limit 20 - Relax". As we spend our lives, it is easy to over-schedule ourselves and our children and it is often difficult to say, "No". I think we should heed the message depicted on the sign here and slow down and truly relax.
God bless you,
The sun has set and we are anticipating the second largest fireworks display in the state of Missouri. They have launched several gathering booms to get all of us to gather together for the display. Mary Beth's cousin Molly Norburg, 2nd grader, said that MB is very active bowling in heaven in an effort to cool William's temperament since he was quite upset with the noise. It reminds us of when MB, Barbie and Heidi were his age and had the exact same reaction. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
God bless you,
We regrouped back at home this evening after a wonderful time at Innsbrook with many friends and family members. The fireworks last night were spectacular as always and the fun on the beach, in the lake, in the pool, in the boat, on the courts, and on the links was very memorable. In fact, it was so memorable, we plan to return again in the near future. We trust that each of you had a wonderful healthy holiday week. Time to put some things away. I just saw our bed and being a Kansas native, it reminded me of some of my favorite words as spoken by my old neighbor Dorothy, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home".
God bless you, The past couple of days have been very difficult for William in the category of pets. Yesterday, his pet turtle Snowball (a.k.a. Bozo) died, so we had a short ceremony and buried it. Will made a marker for the grave and he was very mature about the events of the day. Last night Barbie and Gerilyn walked to and from youth group at Pillar. As they were walking home, Barbie felt something on her foot. She reached down to find a small toad and she and Gerilyn spent the new few minutes catching it for Will. He was very excited this morning when he woke up and found out that his sister found another pet for him. He named the new toad Snowflake because he was much smaller than Snowball. When asked if his toad had a nickname, he informed us that he did not have one yet. By 5:00 pm this afternoon, Snowflake had died as well. Will has planned a short ceremony for him for tomorrow when I arrive home from work. He is now the proud owner of a mechanical bird, Chirpychee. As long as the Duracells last a while, another occurrence like the past two days should be averted for some time.
God bless you, Later this month Barbie and Heidi are going to camp at Camp H.I.S. K.I.D.S. for the second year in a row. They will be returning without Mary Beth who also attended last summer with them. HIS KIDS is an acronym for Happiness Is Serving Kids In Distress Situations. The organization focuses on assisting children with cancer and their siblings. It is truly one of the few organizations that continues to help families after they have lost a child to cancer. There are numerous wonderful organizations that are centered on the child afflicted with the disease. HIS KIDS expands this and realizes that the entire family falls victim to this dreadful disease. That is one of the primary reasons we selected them as the first recipient of funds from Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. Attending last year's camp was extremely rewarding for all the girls. Barbie and Heidi spent the week enjoying a lot of activities with siblings of other cancer kids. They had fun but were also able to share their experience with peers who had similar experiences, which was very therapeutic. This year Matt Baumgartner will also be attending this camp. There are 124 children scheduled to participate in this camp, but the organization has funding for about 90 and is in need of financial support. They have received some media exposure through local television and radio and are starting to see some results. Sheila and a HIS KIDS representative were interviewed yesterday by a radio station group. We do not yet have the information on when and where this will air, but will let you know when available. If you have the wherewithal to make a difference, no matter how big or small, any contribution would be welcomed by HIS KIDS, Inc. at PO Box 11226, Clayton, MO 63105 (314) 863-4499.
God bless you, Some of the best news we have heard in a long time was delivered today. The Baumgartner family is together again at home. Rachel was released today from the BMT Unit after entering on June 3. We are certain there is joy in their household after being separated for such a long period of time. Let us all pray for Rachel's continued recovery and success in beating this disease.
God bless you, It was a great sight moments ago when I had the opportunity to read to Will his bedtime stories. When we completed our second book, his eyelids were getting very heavy so we started our bedtime prayers. We always end our prayers with the words, "Good night Mary Beth, we love you.", then we blow a kiss into the sky. About halfway through our prayers, he fell asleep and was completely out. As I finished with our ending, he reached his hand to mouth, kissed it and raised it slightly before it fell onto his pillow, all while he was fast asleep.
God bless you, Friday the 13th and our luck has been good today, despite witnessing a Cardinals defeat this evening. While Barbie was babysitting and Heidi was relaxing at home before the big swim conference tomorrow, Sheila, Will and I took Matt Baumgartner to the ballpark. We saw the Cards fall 4 to 1 to the Detroit Tigers but had a good time. Sitting behind home plate reminded me of the last time I sat there with all three girls at a playoff game last October. It was Mary Beth's last baseball game and the Cards lost to the Mets in the NLCS playoffs. We had a great time that night as it one of MB's first outings since being released from the BMT unit after her stem cell transplant. We know she was there with us tonight because Will was looking for the Cardinal mascot Fredbird all evening, like he does at every game, but could not find him. We had given up hope about the 8th inning when Will spotted a vendor hocking snow cones. He had to have one, so we ran up the aisle and down the concourse to make the purchase. As soon as we turned the corner at the crest of the steps, Fredbird welcomed William with a big hug and pinched his nose and ran off with it and was into the Cardinals offices for the night. Mission accomplished. I believe MB sent the vendor as a decoy to lure her little brother into the path of Fredbird.
God bless you, It was a moment of purple pride today as the Elks Club swim team won the conference swimming championship today. The team color is purple and Barbie and Heidi both placed in several events. Everyone was excited that their team won both the regular season and post season. They get their swimming prowess from their mother who lettered in swimming at the University of Kansas. It is too early to see if they will fall into my college footsteps as I earned Magna Cum Anheuser honors at K-State. Both Sheila and I hope they do not!
God bless you, Today was a fabulous day in St Louis. I had the opportunity of joining friends for a round of golf this afternoon. My score was typical in that it was higher than the temperature on a mid-August day at Death Valley, CA. Despite my score, it was a great time. After hitting bad shots in the past, I would get frustrated and allow the fun to escape the round. Then, Mary Beth took up the sport at age 12 and we played together. After she witnessed my frustration after a bad shot, she analyzed what was wrong with my game. I intently listened and she simply stated, "Dad, you need to learn that the most important thing in golf is that you must accept your result. There is nothing you can do about the past so you should not focus on your last shot, just accept the result. After all, this is called a 'game'." A lot of wisdom for a 12 year old. Since that lesson, I have played with a lot more fun and have expanded this lesson to other aspects of my life. You should try it sometime, I know you will like it.
God bless you, We are reminded daily just how fragile life can be. Today we heard from our dear friends Bret and Christy Wilson in KC that their daughter Erin will be receiving a bone marrow transplant. They found out that she relapsed today, on her next to the last check up before she would have been given the all clear sign. They will begin the process of looking for a bone marrow donor immediately. As details of her blood type become known to me, I will share them. In the interim, please keep Erin and her family in your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone you know to add her to their prayer list. If you would like to send Erin a word of encouragement and let her know you are praying for her, you may send a email to her dad at bwilson13@kc.rr.com. One of the most comforting things Mary Beth experienced was knowing how many people were pulling for her. Let's all let Erin know as well.
God bless you, After celebrating the swim season at the pool last night, Heidi launched off on her first flight alone to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ricken and all her Ricken relatives in and around Garden Plain, Kansas for a few days. She was very excited to go but knew she was going from the frying pan to the oven as far as weather was concerned. At the time she departed, the heat index was 104o here and 108o there according to the Weather Channel website. It got hotter as the day wore on so Barbie and I found a solution. I received a call from fellow St Joe parent Phil Tomber that our snow-cone machine had come in. We hosted the kids (big and little) in the neighborhood for refreshments in the back yard this evening. William was most excited about our new addition. He was having some severe separation anxiety at the airport with Heidi's departure today. In addition, he found his beta fish floating upside down, leaving him with three dead pets in the past week and a half. So the fun of making snow cones for his friends helped him end a frustrating day on a high note, the way we should all end our days.
God bless you, With Barbie babysitting at night and working during the day and Heidi out of town, William has been getting a lot of time with Mom and Dad and he seems to enjoy it. He is convinced that he should again be a proud sponsor of a pet and is requesting everything from a bunny to a chimpanzee. We discussed the city ordinances on several of his suggestions and he has narrowed his scope. Before dinner this evening he cut up carrots into small pieces for the guinea pig he does not own. We have assured him that we will help him select the appropriate pet when we get closer to the end of the summer and vacation season. We thought we were safe with a turtle because they live forever. Wish us luck in picking a pet that has better genes than those that have graced our home recently.
God bless you, Today's reading was about Moses hearing God's voice from the burning bush and holding a conversation with him. As I heard the reading, my thoughts turned to Mary Beth's painting she created while in kindergarten which is framed in our living room. It depicts a little girl with a large bow in her hair standing next to her home with the sun shining brightly overhead. Next to her home there appears to be a fire. When we asked MB about this when she brought the artwork home, she explained that is was not a fire, but a burning bush. You can view this picture if you look closely at the picture of Archbishop Rigali and MB in the pictures section of this site. Mary Beth painted this art one day while in her painting station with no guidance. This is MB's rendition of Moses' burning bush as she saw it at a very young age. She was very in tune with God's word at this young age and could relate to him in a much more effective manner that I can at my age. I continue to learn more each and every day from her.
God bless you, We spent the evening celebrating a homecoming mass at the Sansone's home. Tony and the kids have decided to move back home into their Kirkwood home. It was a beautiful mass celebrating the loving strength of family and friends. They are moving home because they collectively decided this decision is what Peggy would have wanted them to do. We continue to pray that they are all blessed with the strength and courage to continue moving forward with the vigor their dear loving wife/mother displayed. We received an update from our friend Bret Wilson on the results of tests performed on Erin as they plan for her bone marrow transplant. Erin is 11 years old and has acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). She will likely receive three months' of chemotherapy and then begin the bone marrow procedure. One of the challenges facing her is that she will be away from her KC home for period of three to six months. Her dad tells us that she is a pillar of strength and is in great spirits and is more worried about Mom and Dad than herself. She is truly an inspiration. She has received several notes from you all and has really appreciated them. Again, she can be reached at bwilson13@kc.rr.com. Please keep Erin and her family in your prayers.
God bless you,
Today is the 17th anniversary of our wedding. In addition to wishing my wonderful loving bride a happy anniversary, I would also like to express the same greeting to Chris and Patti Haffner. Patti and Sheila are sisters who both married great guys in the same ceremony 17 years ago today (Hey Chris, how about that plug!).
I think the most appropriate words I can share today are not mine, but those of our dear friend Archbishop Rigali he spoke at Mary Beth's funeral mass. Please click here to read Archbishop Rigali's Homily.
God bless you,
We just returned from south St Louis County with William being carried into his bed with chocolate ice cream on his face. First of all, we want to thank all of you for your pet ideas. Sheila and I attempted to sell him on our favorites but Will made the final decision. He is the proud owner of a fancy dwarf hamster selected yesterday while perusing his options in the pet store. We are uncertain of the name he has selected because so far he has stated the pet's name to be Knucklehead, Periwinkle and Red.
The ice cream resident on Will's face is the result of a visit to Ted Drewes after visiting Mary Beth's grave. Will placed fresh cut flowers on her grave as well as his Aunt Joanie's and Aunt Mary Beth's. It was the end of a very emotional evening for all of us. This evening we dropped Barbie and Heidi off at HIS KIDS camp. We all shed a lot of tears as we remembered last year when Mary Beth was with us. We saw so many of their friends and Mary Beth's friends and received a lot of hugs and words of support.
Facing a week at camp without Mary Beth will be very difficult for Barbie and Heidi because it is not the usual camp. There is a lot of sharing of emotions because everyone has had a sibling with cancer who is either being treated, in remission or with God. They are each encouraged to share their feelings and be open and honest. Please pray for the girls this week as they face the reality of being there without their loving sister. If you want to get something in the mail tomorrow, they may get it by Friday. Their address is HIS KIDS Camp, c/o Lions Den Camp, 3603 Lions Den Road, Imperial, MO 63052.
God bless you,
It is hard to believe it was 6 months ago this morning when Mary Beth said good bye to us. It was fitting that Barbie and Heidi spent the day at camp with their cancer sibling friends. Will, Sheila and I were guests of our friend Harry Hamm and his friend Louisa in attending the performance of the Gershwin Review at the Muny Theatre. After a delayed start due to rain, it was a fabulous show with Harry's daughter and incoming St Joe freshman Katie performing wonderfully in her song and dance routines. Prior to the show, we met up with Harry and Louisa at the garden fountain north of the theatre. Harry and Katie dedicated a brick by the fountain outside the Culver Pavilion in Mary Beth's memory. They thought it a fitting tribute to remember her at a place where music and laughter fill the summer nights.
Although Will did not make it too far into the performance this evening before retiring, he loved what he saw. Just as a side note, Will informed us of a new name for his hamster - Rainbow. When the skies cleared just prior to the opening of the show, there was a magnificent rainbow that filled the sky. It was no other I have ever seen. It was perfectly symmetrical and was a complete arch starting in one cloud and continuing in tact to another. Perhaps the rainbow was an inspiration from Mary Beth to Will for his pet's new name, however he shared the name with us before the rainbow appeared.
God bless you,
If you have read a recent issue of Time or Newsweek, you are probably aware of one of the hottest trends in music around the country: Christian Rock. I became aware of a little of this after Will attended Bible School at Pillar this summer. He came home singing (and continues to sing) songs with God as the theme. Some of the lyrics he sings are: "God is a rock, God is a rock . . . God Rocks!"
On Wednesday, August 22 at 7:00 PM our dear friend Sara Clark has arranged a Praise and Worship Night at Our Lady of the Pillar. The event will be held in the parish life center at 401 S. Lindbergh. It will feature the hit praise and worship band Exodus Two Zero and is designed for teens throughout the metro area. All teens are invited and encouraged to bring a friend. This is a back to school concert to get all the teens fired up to join together for some great music and togetherness.
The concert is free, but the group wants to collect donations for a cause. They have chosen Mary Beth's Angels Foundation as the cause. Barbie plans to attend and invites all her fellow St Joe Angels to join her. We hope that this is a well attended event because it will be a lot of fun. Hearing of this reminds us of watching the youth rally when Pope John Paul II was here. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Clark at sclarkolp@aol.com or at 993-2345.
God bless you,
Just two more very quiet nights around here until Barbie and Heidi return from camp. I really can not wait. They add so much spice to our lives that we miss them dearly when they are gone. Will is taking advantage of the time with us and is having a good time with Rainbow. He made a "stadium" of cardboard for the little guy to run around in on the floor of his room.
When we were outside this evening we found a frog and Will played with it for a moment, then let it go. He said the frog need to be with his family and his mommy would miss him if he was not let free. He said he did not want the frog to be like his turtle and toad and he smiled as the frog hopped along.
God bless you,
We received letters from the campers today and from the sounds of it, they are enjoying themselves. The hardest part is sharing time when you share your story and your feelings with the group of how cancer has affected your life. On the back of Barbie's letter there was a note to watch News Channel 5 tonight at 6. We did and there was a story featuring HIS KIDS Camp and the success behind it. We did not see the girls in front of the camera like we did last year but recognized several of their friends, including Molly Rockamann who is working for the summer at the hosting camp and Jennie Steinmann, MB's friend who recently received a stem cell transplant. It appeared as though everyone was having a great time.
Our fourth daughter, Gerilyn Goeddel, returned home from spending a couple of weeks in Key West. She came over this evening to hang out and play with William. One of her weaknesses is mashed potatoes and she just happened to appear at the door just as they were being served. She was playing with Will in his room and they had Rainbow out in his stadium for exercise. It wasn't long before they were calling for help because the little hamster had escaped and was running free in his room. He was caught, the crisis was averted, but there was a lot of humor involved in watching the two of them try to catch the squiggly little fellow.
God bless you,
Barbie and Heidi are looking forward to sleeping in their own beds this evening. Sheila, Will, Gerilyn and I went to camp this afternoon to pick them up and were entertained by the the skits performed by all the campers. They had a great time this week as was witnessed by how long it took them to say goodbye to their friends. When we walked into the house they both collapsed on the couch.
While they were couch potatoes, Sheila, Will and I went to Uncle Jeff and Nate Teckman's home for a very special celebration. Yesterday Nate joined the ranks of the "terrific" two year olds. He had a wonderful time tearing through the packages and diving into his cake and ice cream. We know that his mommy, Aunt Joanie, was smiling down on him from above and enjoying being witness to his happiness as he graced his chocolate smile.
God bless you,
Barbie went to bed after midnight and spent the night in her own bed last night then woke up at 6:00 AM this morning to catch a 7:30 AM flight to Tampa with her friend Erika Ricci. They will be enjoying fun in the sun while they spend the week with Erika's grandparents on Siesta Key. Not much grass growing under our feet these days. Our day was filled with peach picking by Sheila and Will. It was a success because he was a sticky mess upon arrival at home. After spending some time with Nate Teckman this morning, I came home and Heidi joined me on the driving range. She was using Mary Beth's clubs and intends to use them a lot as she takes up another sport. Perhaps I will learn to play better by spending time with her.
Please say a prayer for the Murphy family in Kansas City. We learned that our friend Charlie Murphy lost a wonderful friend last week, his father Bob, at the age of 85.
God bless you,
In our prayers, we sometimes do not receive what we are asking for. This really should not be as big a mystery as is seems for all of us. After all, Jesus provided us with the answer when he gave us the words of the Lord's prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When we were all praying for a miraculous full recovery for Mary Beth, we all wanted her to be healed and live a lengthy earthly life. Obviously, this was not God's will and did not coincide with the plans he had for her. Multitudes of wonderful things have occurred and will continue to occur as a result of Mary Beth's illness and departure, especially through the legacy of her foundation.
When we pray, we often find ourselves asking for help in a certain area of our lives or the lives of others. More often than not, we are asking for an answer instead of providing appreciation for we have been given. This is the human side in us and it is very natural. When you read this, pause to think about all the wonderful blessings you have in your life and simply say a prayer of thanksgiving. We should not reserve such prayers only for a certain Thursday in November but rather we should use them everyday.
God bless you,
Boy, I thought it was quiet around here last week! The last two nights Sheila and Heidi have been out on the town together. Their cultural festivities have been quite diverse in nature. Last night they attended the MTV TRL concert featuring Destiny's Child, Nelly, Eve, 3LW, Jessica Simpson and Dream. Tonight they are attending the musical production of My Fair Lady at the Muny.
While Barbie is having fun in Siesta Key and the other women in our lives are diffusing liberal culture, Will and I are just hanging out together in the 'hood. We had a special treat tonight to beat the heat with some snow cones with our neighbors before retiring to watch the Animal World channel. Yes, he did request every species depicted for his next pet. Thankfully, Rainbow is still doing well so we are set for a while in that category.
God bless you,
We had some special guests tonight join us for dinner, Nate and Uncle Jeff Teckman. Jeff was telling us that the two of them attended the Small World Adoptions annual picnic last week and Nate really enjoyed himself. It was difficult for Jeff because the other families were a complete unit with both mom and dad present.
Jeff is one of the people we admire most and has endured a lot of ups and downs during Aunt Joanie's life and since she has left us. He was there to provide comfort to all of us through both of her double lung transplants and her kidney transplant. He helped Joan every day they were together in her healthcare. He was our counselor during all of Mary Beth's treatments and surgeries. He traversed across the globe with her to add to their family in rescuing Nate from a life of solitude in a Ukrainian orphanage. The list goes on and so does the love he has for Joan and Nate. It is ever present when you see him with his son.
God bless you, Home / Top of page / MB's Obituary / June - 01 / August - 01
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The
following page contains updates regarding Mary Beth's Journey for
July of 2001.
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you wish to contact Mary Beth's family, you may do so through