Quite a few years ago, I interviewed Darcy about a program called Kids on the Block for a small, local newspaper. Her last name was the same as mine and I think we quickly compared family homes of our husbands. Mine came from two towns on the banks of the Mississippi River – one in Iowa, Keokuk, and one in Illinois, Carthage. Hers hailed from Danville, Illinois which is just over the Indiana/Illinois state line. So, if there was a link, it wasn’t a close one. She was very nice and personable and worked with kids, and, well, our interests were a little different.

And, after lunch, she went her way and I mine.

Yesterday, all these years later, I looked in the mail slot and found a card addressed to “Mr. Vance” and the address was indeed mine. It was mysterious and with Der Bingle in Dayton and never having mentioned anyone from Albion, Indiana, I had a hunch it was a condolence card. I suppose it could have been birthday or some other occasion, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was something very timely. The hand-printed address on the card also seemed to say, This is special. So, I opened it and yes, it was a condolence card and the name below the sentiment was totally unfamiliar to me.

I had another hunch and thought maybe if I Google Vance and obituary and Kendallville, I will find the person to whom it should have been delivered. And I was right, too right. I had thought perhaps he had been listed in the survivors of a relative from an earlier generation. No, the obituary that came up on the screen was that of his wife – the lady who was 10 years younger than I – the one I had interviewed all those years ago.

I found myself sitting there in a state of taken aback shock. She was a woman who was very involved in her community and had a tremendous relationship with her children and their friends. And I discovered she had been battling cancer for about 18 months. And now the battle was over.

I tried to find her husband’s phone number on the Internet, but the one listed was no longer in service and I had no idea if the address was current. So I am going to try and send a FaceBook message to her daughter and then go by the last address listed. I’ll knock on the door and maybe someone will be there or there will be an indication this is his house.

I guess I won’t be complaining about the weather for awhile.