Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Death in the Family
How ironic, if that's the right word. I was just getting to write something with pride about how the school board had chosen to name a school after the co-chair of the cityhood campaign and first mayor, Bill Harrison. Then comes word that his wife, Jo, passed away this same week.
This is what I posted on the TNT web site in the thread about Jo's death:
"Jo and Bill were, and will always be, founders of Lakewood as a full community and city. When cityhood was finally approved by the voters, the Lakewood Journal was at the post-election party. Of all the happy photos of that night, our staff chose a photo of Jo and Colleen Henry for the cover of the paper ... you could just tell that Jo was so incredibly happy and proud of the cityhood effort, the community, and certainly by far, her husband Bill.
"My mom had the same condition that Jo did these last years, so I have small glimpse into the agonies the Harrison family has endured. They had to be strong to deal with it, and Bill was a rock. God bless Jo, and everyone in that family.
"How ironic this had to happen the same week that the school board was voting whether to name a school after Bill. Their family will be remembered as long as there is a Lakewood."
Jo had a form of Alzheimer's that is nastier than the usual version. This version comes with all the prolonged agonies of Alzheimers, but also the horrible variation of delusions. I don't know what Jo was seeing ... I did not want to ask Bill ... but my mother saw a lot of horrible things that were not there. She believed, for example, that people were coming through the water pipes at night and breaking her fingers while she slept. And there was more. It's a horrible, horrible illness. Like Bill, my father was determined to keep mom and home, and he did, but at a huge and agonizing cost. Imagine dealing with not only the loss of a mind and person you love, but trying to explain to them things that were not really happening.
It was awful, and it was awful for 10 long years. I wrote a story about just one day of the whole experience about a jillion years ago in a column in the Lakewood Journal.
My best thoughts, prayers and love to Bill ...
Forward this post
This is what I posted on the TNT web site in the thread about Jo's death:
"Jo and Bill were, and will always be, founders of Lakewood as a full community and city. When cityhood was finally approved by the voters, the Lakewood Journal was at the post-election party. Of all the happy photos of that night, our staff chose a photo of Jo and Colleen Henry for the cover of the paper ... you could just tell that Jo was so incredibly happy and proud of the cityhood effort, the community, and certainly by far, her husband Bill.
"My mom had the same condition that Jo did these last years, so I have small glimpse into the agonies the Harrison family has endured. They had to be strong to deal with it, and Bill was a rock. God bless Jo, and everyone in that family.
"How ironic this had to happen the same week that the school board was voting whether to name a school after Bill. Their family will be remembered as long as there is a Lakewood."
Jo had a form of Alzheimer's that is nastier than the usual version. This version comes with all the prolonged agonies of Alzheimers, but also the horrible variation of delusions. I don't know what Jo was seeing ... I did not want to ask Bill ... but my mother saw a lot of horrible things that were not there. She believed, for example, that people were coming through the water pipes at night and breaking her fingers while she slept. And there was more. It's a horrible, horrible illness. Like Bill, my father was determined to keep mom and home, and he did, but at a huge and agonizing cost. Imagine dealing with not only the loss of a mind and person you love, but trying to explain to them things that were not really happening.
It was awful, and it was awful for 10 long years. I wrote a story about just one day of the whole experience about a jillion years ago in a column in the Lakewood Journal.
My best thoughts, prayers and love to Bill ...
