Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
Twenty years ago today (July 1 2002) I lost my wife to cancer. At this point I don't know where I would be or what I would be doing if not for her. Today I am doing what I always wanted to do for a living, and am able to do my hobbies and am quite content. I still think about her often and am eternally grateful to her. What my first wife took away Barbara gave back to me.
When I met her she was a middle school librarian, had been through a rather nasty divorce and was part of the singles group at a church we both attended in Tulsa. While I knew her in passing we had never talked until one Monday night in November where we were at some country dance lessons at the church. She was having some difficulty with some of the steps so I asked her to join me over in the far corner and we worked on what she was having trouble with.
As we practiced some dance steps we started talking about things. That year Oklahoma State football was doing quite well. She was an alumni and I was a fan and had attended school there for a couple of years. We decided to make plans to attend the game the next Saturday.
That next Saturday the weather turned out to be bitter cold. We bundled up, drove to Stillwater and made our way to our seats. The game turned out to be a bust as Texas Tech was creaming Okla State. We left the stadium and went to the local Pizza place (The Hideaway) put our names in and took a short walk. On the walk we ran into her older brother for the second time (totally coincidental). Anyway on the drive back to Tulsa, something clicked and we started dating.
We married in June of 2000. Six weeks after the wedding, she had a stroke. It caused a number of mental difficulties that made life a bit more difficult. The following April she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The two years we were married were difficult and a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.
RIP Barbara, You are still missed.
When I met her she was a middle school librarian, had been through a rather nasty divorce and was part of the singles group at a church we both attended in Tulsa. While I knew her in passing we had never talked until one Monday night in November where we were at some country dance lessons at the church. She was having some difficulty with some of the steps so I asked her to join me over in the far corner and we worked on what she was having trouble with.
As we practiced some dance steps we started talking about things. That year Oklahoma State football was doing quite well. She was an alumni and I was a fan and had attended school there for a couple of years. We decided to make plans to attend the game the next Saturday.
That next Saturday the weather turned out to be bitter cold. We bundled up, drove to Stillwater and made our way to our seats. The game turned out to be a bust as Texas Tech was creaming Okla State. We left the stadium and went to the local Pizza place (The Hideaway) put our names in and took a short walk. On the walk we ran into her older brother for the second time (totally coincidental). Anyway on the drive back to Tulsa, something clicked and we started dating.
We married in June of 2000. Six weeks after the wedding, she had a stroke. It caused a number of mental difficulties that made life a bit more difficult. The following April she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The two years we were married were difficult and a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.
RIP Barbara, You are still missed.
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