In hour of need, friends reach out

On Thursday I was driving home from a meeting at the Ararat Shrine Temple when I received a phone call from Wanda to let me know her mother had passed away. The next few days were a blur as we planned for and held a funeral in Clinton, Missouri.

The loss of a parent or close loved one is always difficult and something that is hard to prepare for. This was the first time that I was close enough to the deceased to have the honor of participating in the planning. I was impressed with the professionalism and calm expertise of the funeral director, David Mills of Vansant-Mills Funeral Home in Clinton.

Wanda’s mother, Wilma Joann Plumlee, was the mother-in-law every son-in-law would want. She loved me and accepted me from the first time we met and supported Wanda and me in our marriage from the beginning. I am thankful for her influence in my life.

She was also an exceptional grandmother to our children. Over the last few days we have had the opportunity to discuss and share stories of her life. It has been a time of coming together and celebrating as well as grieving.
This column is about things that are happening in Blue Springs so one might wonder the connection to our city. While serving on the City Council, I attended training with the National League of Cities on a variety of topics. In one class they talked about the importance of connecting with each other, beyond our immediate families, to improve our quality of life. Our cities help provide those connections through the activities they make available to the entire community. Through these opportunities we meet our neighbors and grow more connected to those in our community. It is in times like these that we learn how connected we are.

At the funeral on Monday, many of the attendees were from Clinton as you would expect. Still, quite a few people from Blue Springs took off from work and came to pay their respects to Wanda’s mother and to be supportive of us. As our two communities became aware of what had happened, calls and e-mails and Facebook postings of prayers and support came to us quickly. Both communities stepped in to prepare meals and make certain the needs of our family were met in this difficult time.

Wanda and I feel blessed and are very grateful for the outpouring of support we have received over last few days. We thank you all for your prayers and expressions of support. We are truly fortunate to live in a community with so many generous and supportive friends and neighbors.