By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Today, in my first commentary since my wife’s death on June 2, I share part of what I said in Janet’s eulogy at the funeral. She was the mother of eight, the grandmother of 18 and a sweet, loving person.
“First, let me put this day in perspective for all of us. We were blessed to have her with us for the last 12 years after she was diagnosed in 2010 with a life-threatening lung disease.”
“She was told then that her only hope of survival was a lung transplant. Her ferocious will to live and to serve her family and her Lord – plus great medical care and the grace of her Heavenly Father – allowed her to live those extra years to be Grandma to four more grandsons.”
“Some of you have heard me say this but I know for a certainty that Janet not only helped me save my life from bad choices, but she also helped me save my soul by her good Christian example.”
“Without question, she deserves most of the credit for what we achieved as a married couple over the last 51 years.”
“Through the good times and tough times, she was always by my side. I am comforted by the prospect of a joyous reunion with her in the next life.”
“It was in the fall of 2020 when I hatched the idea of writing a love poem to my wife and then broadcasting it on a local radio station as part of a fundraising campaign for the Rotary Club.”
“Janet laughed when I told her but didn’t ask to see what I had written. So, I went ahead with the poem and played it back to her. I never dreamed that silly little poem might someday find a place in her eulogy.”
“She asked me not to quit my day job to become a poet, but she did say it was cute and she liked it. It’s called “But that didn’t scare me” and it goes like this:”
She said she’d been married before… but that didn’t scare me.
She said she wanted a big family…but that didn’t scare me.
She said she wanted a loving husband who would provide a good living…but that didn’t scare me.
She said she wanted a husband who would take her to church each Sunday …but that didn’t scare me.
She said we would be happy eternally if I would run away from home at almost age 29 and marry her…and that part really scared me.
But that’s exactly what I did…nearly 51 years ago.
Janet Kappes, I’ll love you forever.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com