May 2002 Updates on
Mary Beth's
Journey
Links to other pages: Home / Pictures / Mary Beth's Obituary April - 02 / June - 02
Happy May Day! Saying that reminds me of simpler times when Mary Beth, Barbie and Heidi were little girls running from door to door in our Overland Park, KS neighborhood ringing the doorbells, leaving live flowers by the front doors and running off before being seen. Thinking about these times, I played my own game on this May Day as I delivered fresh flowers today to Mary Beth, her aunts Mary Beth and Joanie, her favorite librarian Sister Rita and our friend Peggy Sansone. Tomorrow is Peggy's one year anniversary, so please say a prayer for her family so they remember the wonderful times they experienced together and find the strength to continue. God bless, While flying into the City of
Brotherly Love this evening I had a lot of time to think because we
were in a holding pattern for over an hour and a half due to
weather. As I thought about Philadelphia's nickname, it
reminded me of today's gospel reading. Jesus was speaking with
his disciples and said, "As the Father loves me, so I also love
you. Remain in my love." We are God's children and
are all brothers and sisters. William Penn, the English Quaker
who founded this city, had a vision for the land that would
eventually become Philadelphia. He had a dream of a place
where men of all different colors and backgrounds would unite in
order to live together in a community peacefully. Let us all
try to make his vision a reality throughout all communities by
remaining in God's love. God bless, The weather today in St Louis is spectacular and for most of us, we spend the day inside either in school or at work. I have a suggestion for all those in the workforce. Take the afternoon off one of these spring days and spend it with your family. Just go to one of the many parks in your community and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us everyday. Take a kite or a Frisbee. Be spontaneous and have some old fashioned fun with your family. God bless, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today was a great day to be outside and we all had the opportunity to absorb the beauty of the day. Sheila, Heidi and Will attended a picnic sponsored by Wings, our pediatric hospice friends at St Louis Children's Hospital. Barbie and I participated in the HIS KIDS golf tournament. HIS KIDS is the organization that sponsors the summer camp for cancer kids and their siblings. Both of these organizations focus on the family as a whole during care and after care, whether the patient survives or meets God. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful individuals in these organizations who have helped us and continue to help us in our daily lives. God bless, We have received inquiries regarding Mary Beth's Angels Foundation since the St Louis Review covered Mary Beth's Memorial Mass in last week and this week's issues. The picture in this week's issue was not the most flattering for all of us but captured the essence of the moment. Bishop Dolan was very uplifting in his remarks and had us laughing a lot, just as MB would like. We would again like to express our gratitude to St Joseph's Academy for honoring Mary Beth and raising awareness for the foundation. God bless, William showed his maturity this evening by suggesting that we let Harry the duck go to live in the park. After dinner the entire family joined Will at Kirkwood Park to bid farewell to Harry who has been a fixture in our lives for the past several weeks. Will decided that Harry was old enough to live with his own kind since he has grown his feathers and is getting very large in stature. William realizes that he saved Harry from someone's cuisine when he purchased him at the farmer's Market and feels very good about releasing him. When he was first released, he started following us until he discovered (with some prompting) the lake. This outing was not without some tears - not shed by me or Will but one of the other members of our family who will remain nameless. God bless, It all started forty eight years ago today for me. While I have not yet attained that age, my parents are celebrating their forty eighth wedding anniversary today. Our parents play such a vital role in our lives and are so involved in shaping us in our values and beliefs. Perhaps you have not spoken to your parents lately about how much you really do appreciate what they mean to you. They may be a phone call away or a prayer away but please consider letting them know how important they have been in their role as your first teachers. Thanks Willie and Dolores, I love you. God bless, I am smiling as I am writing this because I have the opportunity of writing the word "remission" as it applies to our friend Erin Wilson. She was released from the hospital in Houston yesterday and was scheduled to return home to Kansas City today. We are all very happy for Erin and her entire family and realize they have some stressful decisions to make in the coming days as they decide on the next step in treatment for Erin. Let us all say a prayer of thanksgiving for Erin's progress to date and that God continues to bless her with improved health. God bless, There have been countless times since Mary Beth's departure from this life that I have met new acquaintances and the conversation has led to the question of children. I am often asked, "How many children do you have?" I have read in several books on grieving how difficult this question is for parents who have lost a child. Quite frankly, I have never found this question difficult at all. I always answer the question promptly by stating that we have four wonderful kids. The next question is, "What are their ages?" That is when I explain that MB would be 16, Barbie is 15, Heidi virtually 13 and Will 5. Then I explain that three of them can walk but only one can fly. "You see, Mary Beth is our angel who left us a year ago January." I try to make everyone feel very comfortable after asking this very innocent question. Hopefully I have some semblance of success in doing so because MB would want everyone to feel good about talking about her. God bless, Please accept my apology for the two day hiatus in daily updates. We were experiencing difficulty with our phone service at home and the phones were out from Thursday morning to Saturday at mid day. After several calls to Southwestern Bell customer service, our phones again started ringing. SWB called and left a message that they successfully fixed our phones but created a problem with our DSL line. More holding on 800 lines and hopefully we will be back on-line soon. We wish to extend our greetings to all the mothers out there for blessings throughout the year. Happy Belated Mother's Day! God bless, Between the raindrops during the past several days we have experienced two very good weather days, one on Saturday and one yesterday. I believe Mary Beth had something to do with this because on both of those days, the St. Joseph's Academy Angels had events. Saturday was the annual Spirit Day in which the soccer teams beat their counterparts from Jefferson City and the incoming freshmen got a taste of the Angel life. Yesterday was another gorgeous day when the Father's Club at St Joe whacked away at a little white ball all afternoon in their annual golf outing. Whenever we need a little favor, our angel always seems to come through. God bless, Some of Heidi's graded homework is sitting next to the computer as I am typing this. It is a colored sketch of the human brain and a cross section of the spine and she received an "A" on it. When I saw this document I immediately thought of the evening of November 9, 1999 and the conversation Mary Beth had with Dr. Park about her brain tumor. He walked into the room holding an x-ray of her brain and explained that she had a brain tumor on her cerebellum. She responded by saying that explained her lack of coordination because that part controlled gross motor skills. Then she went on to tell Dr. Park that he was holding the x-ray backwards because he was pointing to the right side of her brain and she said her tumor was on the left side because that was where the pain was. He looked at her, then at us and commented on her amazing depth of knowledge. She then asked him, "When are we going to get started?" Her courage was incredible and still inspires us. God bless, It was just thirteen short years ago today when Heidi's big sisters Barbie, age 2+ and Mary Beth, age 3+ came to the hospital to see their new baby sister for the first time. They were so excited to see her and could not wait to hold her. Actually Mary Beth was very gentle and Barbie thought she had a new doll to play with. That was the day Sheila shifted from a man-to-man defense to a zone and we have been in it since then. Happy Birthday Teenage Heidi! We Love You! God bless, In today's Gospel reading according to John, Jesus is speaking to Peter after he has risen and asks him to feed his lambs, tend his sheep and feed his sheep. Peter headed these words and preached the word of God for the rest of his lifetime until he became a martyr. He is known as our first Pope and has had 264 followers in this position. He literally gave his life for Christianity which, when you think about it, is amazing. Let us all learn from his example and also strive to live the words Jesus spoke to end today's Gospel reading, "Follow me." God bless, Mary Beth possessed one of the greatest senses of humor I have ever known in anyone at any age. Today, we had flashes of her keen sense of humor appear in another family member. This morning Will and I were home alone when he requested my presence in the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out an egg and put it in his pants. He squatted down on the kitchen floor, began to cluck, got up and the egg was laying on the floor. As he did this, I could see the light bulb flash above his head. He picked up the egg and placed it in his chicken's cage and informed me that he would do all the talking when Mom and his sisters came home. Barbie was the first to appear and he convinced her that his chicken laid an egg. Mom and Heidi were soon to follow, but Mom did not take the bait. Regardless of her disbelief, he kept repeating his story with conviction. The entire scheme was so reminiscent of a Mary Beth prank it was a wonderful and very funny moment. God bless, As I sat on the plane en-route to Omaha this evening, I thought about how fast time passes in our lives. Another school year is winding down and the kids are moving on to the next level. At the end of this week Will completes his pre-school work and is ready for kindergarten this fall. It seems like only weeks ago his sisters were so excited to announce to their classmates that they just had a little brother. Now he will become one of those classmates. We all have events in which we move on (or experience a loved one) move on to the next level in life. Enjoy every one of the moments and have fun with them. God bless, I know I am in the minority in my belief that driving across my home state of Kansas is beautiful. Most who have done this are heading for the Rockies in a quest to ski, snow board or enjoy a wonderful summer vacation in Colorado. It is my belief that all parts of our great country are beautiful in their own unique way. After all, God created every inch. Comparing the beauty of the Rockies to the plains simply can not be done. Having driven through Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota today for meetings I gained an appreciation for the upper Midwest today. The desert of the Southwest, the shorelines of the coasts, the great lakes, the Mississippi River valley, the gulf, the forests all possess beauty. It may not be easy, but just look for it the next time you drive through the plains because it is there. God bless, In reading today's Gospel, Jesus was quoted as saying, "For whoever is not against us is for us." I thought this was very applicable in the environment in which we live post September 11th. We have heard of the increased warnings on possible terrorist attacks on apartment buildings, and landmarks in recent days. Let us pray that God's love extends to the hearts of all and that these people are "For us and not against us." God bless, We knew that Mary Beth's siblings have been faced with maturing before the natural progression of life and there was an example of this today. William had an in-depth discussion with Sheila about death and dying. He asked if everyone eventually died. After Sheila explained that we all do die and enter heaven, he then asked about how long we live. He wanted to know why Mary Beth died at such a young age and wanted to know if he would also die at a young age or if he would live a long time. Sheila explained that we do not know how long anyone will live and this is only known by God. She further explained that we all pray that we will live a long time. He smiled and went on about his five year old ways, despite showing maturity well beyond his age. God bless, For the past three years running, the Race for the Cure has been the largest road race in St Louis. This year's race will be held the morning of Saturday, June 22nd in downtown St Louis. We plan to be a part of this event with a team this year. Barbie is the team captain and has registered a team with the Race for the Cure website at http://www.stlouisraceforthecure.org/HowToRegister.aspx. The team is listed in the drop down menu of teams as "Mary Beth's Angels" and is team # 604. Please join us in the Non-Competitive 5K run/walk to benefit breast cancer and help find a cure. Registration deadline on-line for a team member if June 4th. We look forward to you joining our team for this wonderful cause. God bless, We had a wonderful time today at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park watching St Teresa's Academy from Kansas City win the state soccer title against Cor Jesu Academy of St Louis. It was wonderful because we spent the afternoon with Erin Wilson and her family as they were in from Kansas City to attend the game. Erin has endured more treatment for her cancer than anyone we know and she is a young lady we greatly admire. She showed her beautiful smile and her quick wit today and she possesses a winning attitude. While her future medical treatment is still being evaluated, we are confident that she will approach it with the strong determination that has brought her through her 12 years of life. Please keep her in your prayers as faces the next step to cure her leukemia. We love you Erin! God bless, Every time we visit Mary Beth's grave, we find ourselves experiencing a broad spectrum of emotions. Today, I felt an overwhelming sense of loss as the tears welled up and fell across my cheeks as we all prayed as a family. I was not alone in shedding tears and was also not alone in not having tissues to dry them! After decorating Mary Beth, Aunt Joanie, and Aunt Mary Beth's graves, we did the same for Sister Rita and Peggy Sansone. The evening was peaceful and beautiful and ended with some of Mary Beth's favorite food - Ted Drewes. God bless, We just received a phone call informing us that Sheila's aunt Pat Gundaker succumbed to a heart attack this evening in her home in Charlotte. Please keep Pat, her husband Guy, her daughters Barbara and Suzanne, their families and her extended family in your prayers. We find blessings in many ways and are thankful that she was able to attain the status of grandmother and she had the opportunity to attend her daughters weddings (the most recent a week ago last Saturday), before entering God's kingdom. In a moment like this we reflect on how precious our time together truly is - cherish it and let your loved ones know how much you love them. God bless, Will has experienced some loss recently, some good and some challenging. Today, he lost his third tooth while eating dinner shortly before I walked in from a day trip to Tampa. As I drove into the driveway, he ran outside to greet me by flashing his smile showing the empty spot. He is awaiting a visit from the tooth fairy and as I read the last bedtime story tonight, he told me this was one of the most the exciting days of his life. On Monday, he lost one of his dwarf hamsters so we had a burial for Harry Sue. He approached it in a very mature fashion and made a grave marker with a rock and coloring markers to remember his little furry friend. God bless, It is now official. Summer vacation started today in our home with Barbie's final day of school. Our wish for all is to enjoy a happy and healthy summer, especially if you are in school. It will not be long until you no longer have the pleasure of having a three month break. Regardless of you age, take some time this summer to enjoy the days of old. Lay on the lawn gazing at the clouds and imagine the shapes of each. At night chase some lightning bugs and look for the Big Dipper. Enjoy each others company this summer and travel safely. God bless, When pouring Will into bed after midnight, I thought about how much he enjoyed tonight's festivities at Six Flags for Children's Hospital Night. This is one of the more enjoyable evenings of the year for our entire family. We spend the evening eating and riding our way through the amusement park with friends and also support one of our favorite places - Children's Hospital. Mary Beth loved this event long before her diagnosis and loved riding the roller coasters above all. She also had the opportunity to attend while she was in treatment and enjoyed it. As I rode with Heidi on "The Boss", I kept MB in mind and tried to convince myself that I was enjoying the ride, just like she used to. God bless, Home / Top of page / MB's Obituary / April - 02 / June - 02
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May of 2002.
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