Melissa "Missy" Weatherholt was my wife and my world. For over 28 years I took care of her while she kept me safe. She suffered from depression, spending every moment in survival mode, doubting if anyone liked her, not feeling liked by hardly anyone one (one notable exception was my Uncle Bob, she'd go to New York City to see him saying "your Uncle Bob likes me."). She wanted to be alone and yet struggled being alone. She wanted to keep busy and do things, yet struggled to move from the TV. She loved with a compacity I have never known possible and I was so fortune to share her world with her (though it took a lot to break in and keep in).

During the pandemic she felt for some students with which I was working. They were my co-teachers, students we saw online, and students whose disabilities kept them in their home (except for school and then one day, age 26, they wouldn't even have school). So, she suggest a plan to get them out and volunteering. She said a person doesn't need a job (those that knew her are chuckling), but they need something to make life worthwhile, a reason to get up and get out, a purpose. 

Funds raised in Missy's memory will support efforts at Children's Hospital of Michigan to support a quality and meaningful volunteer experience for young people with disabilities. Despite the challenges they face on a daily basis, they each also have special gifts to give to others especially those receiving care at the hospital. She gave me a purpose to live from the moment I met her and now I want to give children that purpose and pass it on. There is no greater purpose than companionship. I spoke to her every day we were married, and I know how much that voice means to feel happiness. 

Steve