Gloria Beachey

I met Gloria in the mid seventies when she and Duane lived in Middlebury, IN for awhile. She was married to my then husband’s cousin. My 3 children were born between 1973 and 1976 and that is how I got to know her intimately. I liked her from the start. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do. My second child was a daughter who we named Karisa. She had Down Syndrome and an AV canal which meant that her heart had an opening between the two sides. In 1974 those kinds of defects were not understood nearly as well as they are today. Her cardiology team at Riley Children’s hospital told us that they believed she was a candidate for surgical correction but wanted to wait till she weighed around 35 pounds because they believed there was a greater chance of survival if they did that. It was an extremely stressful time for us and, almost magically, that is when Gloria and Duane arrived. We became good friends and Gloria became my most trusted confidante besides my husband and my parents. I felt completely safe telling her things I didn’t tell anyone else - how difficult it was to keep a brave front when inside I was torn to pieces and not at all brave or strong. I was depressed, angry and kinda hated the world. Nine months after Karisa’s birth I found I was pregnant with our third child. If it hadn’t been for Gloria I am not certain I would have survived this time in my life with any success. There was a network of people who helped Bob and I weather this time but Gloria had a special skill. In my darkest moments when I felt the most anger, depression and like I was toppling into an abyss, Gloria listened and loved with a total lack of judgment no matter what I said or felt or how I expressed it. She calmed me by her nonjudgmental listening presence. My daughter died when she was 4 following her open heart surgery. Gloria and Duane named their first child with a variation of Karisa’s name. Unfortunately over the years we lost touch due to life taking us in different geographical directions and the busyness of life. Despite that, Gloria was a permanent part of who I am and I cherish that part of me as much as I loved her. Thank you my friend.