Loneliness, quiet most difficult for widow

Evelyn Wotipka misses her husband after 65 years of marriage.

“He had been in the service, World War II, and hadn’t been out all that long. I was still in high school with two years left when we met at a dance and started dating. After I finished high school, we were married for a little better than 65 years.

“I always felt that we had this connection.”

“I always felt that we had this connection. I was raised on a farm and worked hard, and he grew up with that same type of background. I think we had a good marriage. Not perfect. None of them are. But it was a good marriage.

“He was sick about two years before he passed away. He went into rehab and we thought he would be coming home, but that didn’t work out. He’s been gone almost 15 months. It’s very hard. Very difficult.

“He wasn’t a house guy. He wasn’t inside much, except in the wintertime when the weather was bad. Otherwise, he was always out here working on something. Even now I find myself wanting to tell him something and think, oh, I’ll wait until he comes back in the house. That’s the biggest challenge, the loneliness and the quiet. The house is awful quiet now.”

— Evelyn Wotipka