This is more than a Blood Drive to us.  And, although the reason may not matter to you–we want you to know it–because it matters….A LOT!   This is not just something we are doing for the community—that’s the bonus.  We are doing this to honor a GREAT MAN!

Lewis was not my dad, he was my "step father"—but he raised me since I was 5.  He and our mom married on my 7thbirthday.  On that day he became the father to 8 children—yes 8!  At the ripe old age of 38, still living with his parents on the family farm—never having been married before—he said YES to my mom and her 8 children.

My mother, Alice, died almost 25 years ago from cancer.  Her first husband died at the age of 27, leaving her with 5 children…her second husband (my biological father) was not a kind man and their marriage ended in divorce after having 3 more children…..

THEN, she met Lewis—we affectionately called him Uncle Wolfie.    He SAVED our family.  My mother had my sister, then 5 boys, then 2 more girls—so when I say he saved us…it is literal.  We moved into the big family farm house in Brier Hill (his parents moved into a little trailer next door).  When he and mom married, they had a child together—bringing the grand total to 9 kids!!!!

When our mom died in 1992 – he could have walked away….but he didn’t.  When mom was sick he taught himself calculus.  He was  a serious history buff and always wanted to travel the world.  Dad attended Clarkson University, but was strongly “encouraged” to return to the family farm as he was the only son.  He learned how to cook, and clean and was a mean stain fighter when it came to laundry!

When I say he was the first man I ever loved — I mean it.  He was the first man to treat my mom with respect.  He taught all of us, even though we were not his, the value of your word, hard work and integrity.  He genuinely loved us all, like we were his—and we all felt it.  We were never introduced as his step children–we were…and are his.  We all, all nine of us, still feel the GIANT hole that is left in our lives without him.  (He passed March 4, 2012)  Yes, we miss our mom….but he was my dad, longer than my mom was my mom—if that even makes sense.

When he was sick he felt guilty taking blood.  He felt there was always someone more deserving than him—someone that needed it more than him.  He didn’t want the hospital to “run out” of blood because of him.  Dad was truly the most selfless person I knew.  So, we do this blood drive because we don’t want ANYONE to EVER feel that way.

If we lived to be a 100 years old, there is no way we could ever repay Dad for everything he did for us.  This is just one small way we can give back–to continue to honor this great man.   So, give it if you got it!