‘Being a widow was a new chapter in my life’

“My husband [Jack Spurlock] passed away a few years ago. He had Parkinson’s.

“It started with tremors in his hands. He would go to drink his coffee, and he would shake a little bit. He’d have to hold the cup with two hands. We took him to a neurologist, and he told us to watch it. So we did that for about six months. Then he began to experience weakness to where he couldn’t hold the coffee cup. For about three years, it didn’t progress very badly. Then the last year, it progressed very quickly.

“He had difficulty walking. He would forget things. He would kind of see things that were not there. It was very concerning. The medicine they finally put him on was a real sedative, and it just made him sleep all the time. So he didn’t like taking it. Watching someone you love deteriorate like that is very difficult.

“My husband was a real man’s man, and he was very active. He used to work at Rohm and Haas, and he retired from there. He was a Harris County deputy reserve sheriff for 11 1/2 years. He had several side businesses. Plus, he pastored at a church in Pasadena.

“We were married 20 years. It was the second marriage for both of us. I went to work for Harris County in their transportation department, and I was in Port Arthur when he died. I couldn’t reach him on the phone. My son did a welfare check on him. He was at home. It was sudden. They told me he died of a heart attack, but I’ve never really been sure.

“What I miss most are the times we spent in the Bible, and our travel. Being a widow was a new chapter in my life. There have been lots of firsts without him. It’s tough, but you get through it. I haven’t lost him. I know where he’s at.”

— Diane Spurlock

Diane enjoys women’s ministry. “Having been a single mom for nine years and then remarrying, I’ve experienced a lot of things in life that I can call on to help them. It’s very rewarding.”