Supporting Duane "Grizz" Prince's Recovery

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get--only with what you are expecting to give--which is everything." -Katharine Hepburn

Duane "Grizz" and Jan Prince had that kind of "everything" love, to which most aspire, but not all of us are lucky to find. In the words of their granddaughter, Kirsten "Earlier this year, (my partner) Cody bought me some potted flowers. They started dying almost immediately so I called Gram. I thought she would know what to do because she always had a flower garden when I was little. When I asked her, she said, 'oh honey I wouldn't have the first clue; let me pass the phone to your grandpa.' That's when I realized that just because she loved flowers, he had learned how to tend a garden, just for her. That's the kind of love people search their whole life for..."

For 48 years, Jan and Grizz tended to each other and to their family. They built a house from the ground up, turned it into a home where family, friends, and friends that would become family could retreat from the world for a bit and be renourished by their love and hospitality. They traveled extensively, relishing in the shared sense of adventure that doing so provided. There were trips across country to visit national parks, an epic motorcycle trip from New York to Alaska and back, music festivals in West Virginia, and in retirement they took up "snow birding" in their 5th wheel to sunny Florida and Alabama. In recent years, they made traveling to visit children and grandchildren a top priority.

It was on such a trip to visit children and grandchildren earlier this week that horrible tragedy struck. On Monday, February 5, 2024, they were stopped at a stoplight near Ft. Wayne, IN when they were struck from behind at high speed by a tractor-trailer, thereby crushing their pickup truck. Jan was pronounced dead at the scene, along with their sweet dog Emma. Grizz was rushed in critical condition to nearby Lutheran Hospital in Ft. Wayne with numerous life-threatening blunt force trauma injuries. Through a number of Divine miracles, exceptional medical care at Lutheran Hospital, and Grizz's steely resolve to survive, he has started to turn a corner and his family is encouraged by his progress. Some of his first words, scrawled on a piece of paper while he was unable to talk due to intubation: "I will make it."

While this is a fantastic turn in what has otherwise been a hellish week, the truth of the matter is that Grizz's recovery is going to be a long one and he will require a lot of support along the way. This is where the family--specifically the children--are asking for your financial assistance, in addition to your continued prayers. We are humbly asking for your help in offsetting some of the travel expenses which will be incurred by Ben, Stacia, Krista, and Kirk as they travel back and forth over the coming weeks in support of his long recovery. Thank you for your careful consideration and for doing what you can to help.