Help a Veteran & His Wife

Sometimes life gets hard. We’ve reached that point and don’t really know what to do. That means it’s probably a good time to stop, swallow our pride, and ask for help. So here we are.

My father is a retired military veteran. He served 25 years in the Navy. My dad started his life of service during the Vietnam War, and served his country long enough to witness the close of the Cold War. After he retired, he went on to study and be ordained a Deacon in the Catholic Church. While studying for ordination, he served as the executive director of the Atascosa County Christian Alliance Ministry. There, he oversaw the collection and distribution of much-needed supplies and food to those in need in the surrounding community. After his ordination, he continued his ministry as a hospice chaplain. It was during this time that his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The last few years of his dear mother’s life brought him home to serve as her caretaker and chaplain. This took him out of hospice work and into full retirement.





My mom spent most of our lives taking care of the home front while my dad was on sea duty, deployed anywhere from 6 to 9 months at a time. Life is hard on a military family. My mom did everything she could to keep us occupied. I remember so many trips to soccer games, baseball practices, choir rehearsals, scout meetings, and all the other things kids manage to get involved in. Most of the time, she was the parent volunteer. She also volunteered with Navy Relief, a military family support organization that comes in real handy when dad or mom are away on a ship in another part of the world. After my dad’s retirement, my mother became very active in our local church and managed to turn a volunteer position into a paid parish job! It was during this time she would wage her battle against the cancer that would eventually take one breast, and then the other. Those were very difficult years. My parents took amazing care of each other. My mom’s post-cancer life has been filled with so many medical challenges. Arthritis and fibromyalgia are just a couple of the medical issues that make it impossible for her to continue working.

And now their retirement house is falling down. As you can see from the pictures, the ceiling in the kitchen has caved in. This probably started when the house shifted during the drought. The same drought managed to kill off a few very large pecan trees that are now in danger of falling on the house. The front and back doors are severely damaged. Both of my parents are elderly now and we need to install handicap ramps. The list goes on and on. Right now, in the immediate present, we need to do all we can to create a safe environment for them to live in.
We have completely run out of money. My parents live on social security and my dad’s military pension. My two brothers are both cops. As we all know, public servants already don’t have a lot of money to spare, and an emergency wipes us out.

My parents have dedicated their entire adult lives to service in one form or another. They’ve provided for and taken care of so many others during their lifetimes. It would mean so much to my brothers and I if we could raise enough money to repair the ceiling, cut the trees, put in a handicap ramp, and make their home safe and secure for their old age.

I’m asking you to help a veteran and a veteran’s wife.

Thank you and God bless you.