Diane Smith: still dealing with deaths of husband, son
Name
Diane Smith
Age
72
How long have you lived in Baytown?
72 years
Most interesting fact about you
I’m an amateur writer; short stories and novelettes; derivative works.
Background
My entire family is from Mississippi. My father settled here after WWII. I attended Lee College and went to work as a clerk-secretary/administrative assistant at the San Jacinto Museum of History; at City Hall for a number of years and finally retired from Enterprise Products in Mont Belvieu. In addition, I held down part-time jobs for many years.
Goals
Setting and reaching goals is sometimes secondary to getting through each day. Maintaining a good work ethic and reaching the highest level possible within the scope of my occupation was sufficient. If I have a goal now, late in life, it’s simply to move to a cooler climate.
Challenges
My husband was the victim of a homicide in 1991. We were having difficulties and separated for a short time. He completed studies to be a radiographer and was embarking on a new career. Just as we were planning to reunite and rebuild our marriage, he was murdered. My children were in elementary school. My daughter and I still await the perpetrator’s execution nearly 30 years later. In the interim I maintained a home for my son and daughter and supported them as best I could — although I lost my son to alcoholism 10 years ago. He had been unable to cope with his father’s death.
Happiest or saddest moment
From the highs of sledding over a Colorado mountaintop to winning a trophy at a rodeo, being tapped to operate a company’s new training facility, to the birth of my children; the happiest moments are indeed numerous. In all my 72 years there has been but one overwhelmingly sad moment, aside from losing parents and brother. I held my son in my arms as he died.
Advice
I hope to inspire other young widowed women to realize that they have it within themselves to meet life’s hardships, to knock them down, step over them and go forward. Change is the only constant in the universe. Prepare to meet it and twist it to your advantage.
Currently reading or watching
My favorite books have always been biographies and historical fiction. Currently I’m reading “The Imitation Game” by Graham Moore. I await the new seasons of “Chicago Fire” and “9-1-1” as well as “Star Trek: Picard” and “Almost Paradise.”
Favorite thing to do in Baytown
Formerly, roller skating and Putt-Putt golf ranked high on my list for Baytown activities. I now enjoy eating out at the plethora of new restaurants in Baytown. I miss the Roseland Park pool where you could swim for a reasonable price. Highlands once had a collection of “swimming holes” but Hurricane Harvey took care of those. They don’t last long.
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