Category: life history
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In Memoriam J. P. H.
This one’s a bit macabre—caveat lector! March first has known some tragedies. On this day in history, in 1910, the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history swept over the rail depot in Wellington, Washington, killing 96. (So heavy was the slab of ice and snow, that the last of the bodies weren’t retrieved until July of…
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My Beautiful Mother
Just after Mom died, her friend, Diann Macbeth, wrote a remembrance of her based on decades of church service together, which my family has treasured ever since. I now share it in full: Janet, My Friend Occasionally someone enters our life so softly and gently that at first we scarcely notice they are there. Like…
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Mom’s Suicide
On March 1st, 2003 my mother shot herself in the head, ending her life at the age of 46. Today marks twelve years since that day. For much of that time I rarely ever spoke of my mother’s suicide. One small indication of this: the first posts on this blog were less than a year…