A Sad Turn of Events

The last few days have been especially difficult. My sister Libby, who lives in Columbia, SC has been married to her husband Jerry Teal since Valentines Day of 2000. From the moment I met Jerry, I realized what a great person he was. He's one of those people that seem genuinely interested in almost anything you have to say. I have lots of life experiences that are fairly unique and he's always have plenty of questions about them and wanted to know more. It's not unusual for people to ask me what I've been doing and then kinda 'fade away' from my answer and lose interest quickly - because I might not be the easiest person to relate to. I've gotten used to that, but it wasn't that way with Jerry. He really was interested enough to ask questions. He really was the kinda person who liked learning new things.

Jerry was also quite the historian and was extremely interesting to listen to when he'd start telling you about the history of areas that we'd meet up in. The fact that Jerry treated my sister like a princess was just icing on the cake.

About a month ago, Jerry and Libby found out that Jerry had a tumor in his brain. It was quite advanced and inoperable. Jan and I went by about 2 weeks ago to visit with Libby and Jerry and to just let him know we were thinking about him. He was scheduled to begin chemotherapy for his tumor on this past monday.

During his treatment, Jerry's body decided to react adversely and he left this earth after midnight with Libby by his side. This is one of those things that you just can't figure out why it happens.

We drove up to Columbia on Thursday morning and stayed at their house. We attended the Funeral Home on Thursday night and the funeral on Friday. It was a very sad occasion, but there was no doubt that Jerry was loved and appreciated in the community. Hundreds of people were on hand to say goodbye to Jerry and express their support for Libby as well as Jerry's mother, brother and kids. There was an endless supply of people with stories to tell of how Jerry had helped them out very selflessly over the years. It was obvious that he was one of those special people who does a lot for the community, but never speaks about it or expects anything in return.

My sister Libby is going to have a tough road ahead of her in regards to her emotions and dealing with the large void in her life. It's a sad, sad thing to think about. You're here and your life is going just fine at any given moment and then it's turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

I could never have personally picked a better person for my sister. I just hope I had let him know this to some degree.

Don't forget to appreciate your loved ones. Also, don't forget to forgive them for not being perfect - or worse. Life's really short.