A Dark Day

At the time we found the house, Suzie’s daughter, Jennifer and her family were living next door to us and Jennifer’s sister, Libby was also very much a part of my family’s life, babysitting and hanging out with them. Libby had married a guy from our church named Mike, who was also a dent tech with Integrity.

Mike was pretty good at sales and had opened up a great account about four hours away, which he made into an overnight. Their first anniversary fell on his overnight so he decided to take Libby with him that week to stay with him at the hotel. She was also pregnant. We found the house on a Thursday and they were going to go out of town Sunday evening.

That Sunday at church, our daughter, Courtney really wanted to tell Libby about the house. Laura was trying to get home so she was of a mind to just have Courtney wait until the next time she saw Libby. She relented and let her go ahead and run across the church lobby to tell her. She’s so glad she did.

That night we were woken in the wee hours of the morning by a phone call. It was Suzie, calling to tell Laura that Libby had been in an accident. She had been thrown from the vehicle and she and the baby had been killed.

We were stunned. I personally hadn’t been very close to Libby. Our interaction had always felt a bit awkward. But she was a sweet young lady who had been very good to my family. When Laura told me what had happened, I started to cry. All I could say was, 

        “Libby’s dead?” in a high-pitched sob.

The next day, I pulled my abandoning-Laura-in-a time-of-crisis trick once again. Laura not only needed any emotional support I could provide but she also wanted me to watch the kids so that she could go be with her friend Suzie in her time of crisis. But it was my out-of-town, overnight day and I didn’t trust that I could make up for taking a day off, not only in terms of income but also in taking care of my accounts. True to Stephen form, I left early, leaving her to figure it all out.

Our good friend came to the rescue. She not only offered to watch our kids but also another family’s who were also very close to Suzie and the family. It was later at the friend’s house that Laura had to tell our kids why they would never see Libby in this life again.

As with any person who is taken young, Libby’s death had a significant impact, particularly on our church. Several years before, we had finally moved out of the school we had been meeting in when we built our own building. Libby’s wedding had been the first in our new church home. Just the Friday before her death, Suzie and Laura had been speculating about who would have the first funeral. Ironically, just a week later, it turned out to be Libby’s as well. Even years later, my family and others in the church still feel the darkness of that day on the anniversary of Libby’s death.


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