Helping Our Sister’s Guardian Angel

Our beloved sister, Sue, passed away on October 18, 2017 after a nearly three-year battle with brain cancer.  The only consolation for the loss that we feel is that we were lucky enough to have held onto her for much longer than any doctor ever predicted.  

The part the doctor’s missed, with regards to Sue's prognosis and life expectancy, was Wayne Dallefeld.  Wayne came into Sue's life nearly 10 years ago, and he made an indelible mark on her life almost immediately.  Like a lot of couples today, Sue met Wayne via an on-line dating site and after several months of cautiously communicating via e-mail and phone, she decided that it was time take a chance on this guy and meet.  Wayne, a truck driver from Peoria, IL, was on one of his routes through northern Illinois when he met Sue for breakfast . . . that breakfast served up a start to a true love story.  At 50, our sister Sue had finally found something that she had never experienced, the love of a man who respected and loved her unconditionally 

 We all knew that Wayne was great for Sue, but it wasn't until Sue's diagnosis in early 2015 that we would come to understand, and appreciate, just how deep his love for Sue was.  Wayne was Sue's partner, lover and soul mate.  Ultimately, however, he was her guardian angel.  

 The degree of care, and his dedication to Sue's health and well-being, has been nothing short of incredible.  The toughest of times show a person’s character and Wayne never hesitated; he took sole responsibility and dedicated the last three years to making Sue's life as happy and as full as humanly possible.  The debt we owe Wayne goes beyond the care and love he gave Sue.  Our gratitude to Wayne is immeasurable because he gave all of us three years to say good-bye to Sue.  There is no doubt that had it not been for Wayne, Sue would have left us long ago.  It is only because of Wayne's love and devotion to Sue that we were truly blessed to have had her in our lives for far longer than we expected.

 During Sue's illness Wayne lost his sight in one eye, putting him out of a job and ending his career as a truck driver.  While this was a devastating blow, the loss of Wayne’s sight may have ultimately been a gift from God as it allowed him to care for Sue twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Now that Wayne's mission has been accomplished and Sue has joined the Angels in heaven, Wayne has an even greater challenge ahead - starting over.  Wayne is a man who will dig deep and summon the strength and courage to persevere, but sometimes we all need a couple of boot straps to pull ourselves up.  Our goal with this GoFundMe campaign is to provide him with the boot straps he needs to help him get started rebuilding his life.

Providing Wayne with a financial starting point for the journey ahead pales in comparison to what he did for Sue, but it's the least we can do to thank him for the gift he gave us - time with our sister.  We're hoping that some of you can help as well - no gift is too small. 

Thank you for keeping Wayne in your prayers as you did Sue during her courageous battle.

With love and everlasting gratitude - 

Kim and Jack