Gravesites like this one abound in Bandera County and can be a source of solace for some students who have lost loved ones. - Courtesy Photo Google Images
Staff Writer Sara Keith just lost her father a couple of months ago and in dealing with her grief, she wanted to explore how other students were coping.
Every day there are deaths in this world, and every day families’ hearts get shattered. Dealing with death is a very hard thing for people. Senior Kaylee Reeves had to go through this with her loving grandpa in 2004.
“I wasn’t really close with my grandpa,” Reeves said, “When we got a phone call from the hospital, I had a gut feeling something bad happened. It was so hard seeing my grandpa in the casket, that’s what really hit me.”
Cancer is a common cause of death these days. According to the National Cancer Society, a total of 1,529,560 new cancer cases and 569,490 deaths from cancer were projected to occur in the United States in 2010.
Freshman Ashleigh Thompson lost her dad to lung cancer in 2007. She was eleven years old when he passed away.
“I was very close to my daddy,” Thompson said, “My family and friends helped me get through it, but I still really miss him.”
When Thompson first found out about how he passed away, she couldn’t believe it.
“It was the hardest time of my entire life and I will never forget the sorrow that I felt. It is still hard to think about and probably always will be,” Thompson said.
Even adults have had deaths in their family and still hurt. For example, freshman English I teacher and softball coach Roy Klein’s father died when he was about 35 years old.
“I was absolutely close to my dad,” Klein said, “I had a really difficult time when he died. He had a really rare disease that caused damage to his major organs.”
With the help of friends and family, Klein was able to get through it.
“It was very hard for me,” Klein said, “My colleagues- Mrs. Gard and (former BHS principal) Mrs. Teresa Keel- made the experience much easier because they took the work responsibilities off my plate. They were extremely gracious.”
Senior Kayleigh Thompson lost her great uncle when she was very young.
“My uncle died in a war, in a helicopter crash,” Thompson said, “He ran away from home to go to the war when the family told him not to.”
As we can see, a lot of people have had bad deaths in their family, and each and every day they will always miss them. But they know they are in a better place now and they are happy and not hurting any more.