The Life and Times of Mary Lou (Stage) Huffman

by Marshall Huffman

  Dominique was able to go to my nursery school before they moved and I loved it. She also was our first and wonderful, beautiful grandchild and we adored her. She was such a loving little girl and she made up the name “daddy paw” for her grandpa Claude when she first started talking. They would bring her over to our house every night after supper to see us. Dominique and I would take long walks and I would tell her all kinds of stories. She had Claude wrapped around her little finger.

  Debby and I were still having a great time showing her horse. She also danced at Eleanor Cole dance studio and they had such wonderful shows at the end of the season. When Debby was in her last year of school she wanted to quit dancing and go to work and still have her horse. She worked where all her friends did, at the Ponderosa restaurant. She did what all the other girls did, went to the prom, dated,and went to ball games and of course rode her horse every chance she got. We really enjoyed Debby as she was growing up. She didn’t need anything special from us. She started driving to the barn and looking after her horse and we were going to lots of horse shows, which I loved.

  We belonged to the Elks Club so Claude had a great time golfing. We had lots of good friends. We played lots of cards, had cookouts, and good times with our family and wonderful grandchildren.

  Debby graduated with honors and we had plans for her to go to Ball State. Instead, she met Jerry Honn and they got married. It was a sweet wedding but small as Debby didn’t want anything big. They got married at Pat’s house and Ed & Ann came. Donnie was a lawyer and he did the wedding for her. We all went out to dinner later and everyone was happy as Jerry was so much fun and Claude and all the family loved him. Jerry had four children from a previous marriage and we liked all of his kids.

  Again our life was going smoothly. I still had my great nursery. Marshall and family moved from Muncie to Bloomington. Pat was working at Lilly’s. Debby was working at a doctor’s office and then Debby got pregnant. She had a beautiful baby girl that they named Jennifer. We had such wonderful Christmases and other holidays as a family. All of us were in good health, I thought, and we were just a normal family. We could see Ed and Ann and visit with them and see my dad each summer and we bought land in Arkansas to retire to.

  Debby and Jerry had started to church in Eaton, Indiana where Ed Ross was a great preacher. Jerry & Debby got saved and Claude and I started to go to church with them also.

  We went to see Marshall many times in Bloomington. We spent lots of time with Pat and Glenn. They had a nice home. Debby and Jerry bought a house they were fixing up, so we helped them with that. One night we got a call that their house was on fire and it burned to the ground while we watched it. It was a very sad night for all of us.

  THE BEGINNING OF THE END

  Debby and Jerry invited us to go to Niagara Falls on vacation. It was a wonderful trip and so beautiful. However, Claude began to get very sick while we were there. He couldn’t eat or sleep very well, so after five days we decided to get back to Muncie, so he could see a doctor.

  Claude began to lose a lot of weight and by the time we got an appointment at the doctor’s he was really sick. The report was very bad. Our terrific Dr. Bergwall called and told us to come to the hospital; he had something to tell us. All the blood tests showed that Claude had cancer. After the shock was over, I decided to close my school. I gave all my nursery children to different nurseries so I could be with Claude as the cancer was in all of his lymph nodes. He was to start on cancer treatment. He did great at first so I decided to try something different so I could be with him, too.

  I wrote a program for Ball Hospital with the great help of my dear friend, Mary Whitaker. I could see they needed a Recreation Director for Pediatrics. The head of Pediatrics, Mrs. Brumley was quick to hire me as they had wanted someone for a long time to play with the children on pediatric floor.

  I had a great time fixing a nice play room and getting toys in. One day I was in the room playing with a little guy and he started to call me “play lady”. The name got around fast so I became “The Play Lady” at Ball Hospital. They even did a big story about me in the newspaper.

  Claude began to get sick again, but was going golfing with the guys because he thought he could get well that way. He did a lot to stay busy. He painted the house outside. He still went on golfing trips with his friends, but had to ride a cart, which he hated because he was a macho man and didn’t want to give in to cancer.

  My wonderful boss would let me go home or stay at home as much as I needed to. We were able to go on a long trip to see all of my brothers and their families before Claude got too bad. Frank and his family lived in Louisiana. Gerald and his family lived in Tennessee. Bob and his family also lived in Tennessee. James and his family lived in Alabama. Ed and his family lived in Carmel, Indiana. I know that Claude knew he was going to die so he wanted to say goodbye to all of them because he loved all my family. The kids all came home to see Claude a lot and Debby spent lots of days with him. She would bring Jennifer over to see him almost every day and he really loved it. All of our children came to see their dad a lot.

  As Claude became weaker and sicker, he did not want to go to a nursing home, so Jerry and Debbie moved us over to an apartment on Keller Road and they moved into our house. Jerry remodeled our house on Burton Dr. and made it so nice for me.

  Claude died May 21, 1981. The day he died Ed and family had just got here for Ed Jr‘s. graduation from Ball State. It was also before Kevin’s third birthday.

  I could not have been more blessed in having a wonderful life partner, friend, lover, provider, protector, a man with a good sense of humor and could make me laugh, and father for our children,

  Claude, my love I will miss you more than you will know and will rejoice when we meet again in heaven.

  I stayed in the apartment on Keller Dr. for about two years then Jerry started a new job in Ft. Wayne and Debbie was going to Taylor University so they had to move. I moved back home on Burton Drive.

  My program at Ball Hospital kept me busy that year as it was all new to me to work at a hospital. I really loved it there and got lots of nice letters from many patients and parents. The hospital was great, I made many nurse friends there and three of them are still my best friends.

  AGAIN A NEW LIFE FOR ME

  I had never been alone before so that was really different at first. Then one day I got a great idea to start renting my rooms upstairs out to college kids. That was a great idea and I had some great kids that stayed with me.

  Later I met a lady who talked me into going into Mary Kay. I had a wonderful time doing that. I fixed a room so I could sell from home and give facials. I made great money and was able to do very well in the company.

  One year I was Queen of Sales in my unit, so I won a trip to Mary Kay’s house and a ring with 20 diamonds and I got to travel a lot with the extra money I made. I won a trip to 10 countries and what a great trip it was. I went on my first cruise with a friend from Ball Hospital. I retired from Ball Hospital after 10 years and from the Mary Kay Co.

  Union Chapel Church called and wanted to know if I would work in their nursery. Of course, I said yes! I did that for three years. It was great! It changed my life in so many ways. Now I know God is great to all of us.

  TRAVELLING

  I have been on so many trips it is impossible to cover them all. Some were exciting and great fun, others not so much. Unusual things happened on some of my trips.

  The first time I ever was on an airplane I was with Pat and Debby going to Florida. It was a bad day, snowing awful in Indianapolis. After we took off, Pat suddenly told me something was wrong with the plane because she could feel it. Then we looked out the window and saw the smoke and they announced that we were going to have to make an emergency landing. The plane’s engine was on fire!

  The next big trip I took was with Marshall and his family. We went to Europe. We had a great time skiing in Italy and seeing where Dominique was born; however, there was an awful snow blizzard the d
ay we were going to Switzerland and we were stuck in a hotel for three days because an avalanche cut off the only road in and out of the area. The snow was so deep even the ski lifts couldn’t operate. Since it was such a small city (Cervinia) they began to run out of food by the third day. Fortunately they managed to finally get the road open.

  We drove to Pisa and spent a day then we went to Naples, where Nique was born. Later we drove to Vesuvius to see the famous volcano and Pompeii. While we were on the mountain (it was still smoking after erupting several years before), someone broke into our van and stole everything we had with us. After that we headed back to Rome and got a plane out of there and started home. About halfway into our flight they told us the landing gear had not retracted all the way. They worked on it all the way home and finally got it down but it would not lock in place. We did a lot of praying! We landed safely but it was very tense for everyone on the plane. We were glad to see the USA again.

  I suppose lots of things happen on planes that are never talked about. The plane that Debby, Jerry and I were on, heading to the Bahamas iced up and we had to make a very quick landing in Georgia to have it de-iced. I also took a trip to Arizona with the missionaries from our church and the navigation went out. It was so scary because it was a long time before we knew where we were.

  I was telling my pastor at Union Chapel about all the mishaps on the planes I had been on and he told everyone at church on Sunday all about my airplane trips. He said he knew he would be safe going on a plane with me because he knew I had a great guardian angel with me.

  I made many trips to various places with all my children and their families. I cherish them all.

  WHEN MY GRANDCHILDREN WERE SMALL

  While my grandchildren were little, they would stay all night with me a lot. I would go to bed with them and tell them five favorite stories over and over again. The names of the stories are very simple but I would change them and the kids loved them.

  1. Goldilocks and the Three Bears

  2. The Little Rabbit that wanted Red Wings

  3. Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

  4. The Three Little Pigs

  5. Chicken Little and sometimes The Gingerbread Man

  We had great times on Burton Drive. We would ride bicycles, skate on the driveway, play Hide -n- Seek and play on my nursery playground. One year little Kim fell off her bicycle and broke her arm. Kevin learned to drive my car before he had his license like his Uncle Marshall had. He would go around and around the circle. His dad was mad about it but it was too late! We also had big family reunions with the Stages in Tennessee.

  The year Dominique graduated from High School, Marshall and Judi got a divorce and soon after Pat and Glenn got a divorce. Dominique got to spend the summer traveling in Europe as her graduation gift. When she returned her mother had moved on. She started college at Ball State University and lived with me for a while. She decided she wanted to go to a big ten school and transferred to Indiana University

  Marshall met Susan through a friend. Susan was a widow with two lovely girls, Jennifer and Cynthia. Their father had passed away when they were young. Marshall and Susan got married and we had the reception at my house. Susan worked for the state as a Welfare Director at that time and Marshall was the Chief Operations Officer for a large chain of restaurants in Bloomington. Susan and Marshall moved to Illinois when Marshall's company moved its headquarters there. They eventually started their own restaurant named The Canterbury. Susan became a teacher since he had her Master’s Degree in Education. Later both Susan and Marshall went back to school and Marshall earned his MBA and Susan her Doctorate Degree from the University of Illinois. After a while they sold the restaurant and he became the Department Chair for the Hospitality Management program at Parkland College. Susan was teaching English at Parkland College at night as well as working full time as an eight-grade English teacher. Susan was also a University Supervisor for the U of I. Marshall was a chef and had his own local tv program, "Cooking Around the World with Marshall." They both retired from the education field later and have a wonderful life in Florida now.

  Marshall has written several novels. He finally started e-publishing them on Amazon.

  Susan is amazing with glass work. First she did stained glass and now she makes dichroic and fused glass jewelry and it is beautiful. She has been so talented she has a big business now selling jewelry to various outlets and on the internet.

  When Pat got her divorce, she was working for Lilly’s in Indianapolis. They sold their house and Pat bought a condo in Carmel. Kim had a good job and had her own apartment and Kevin was still in high school. Pat has since bought a beautiful home in Fishers and has retired from Lilly’s after more than 30 years there. She had a knee replacement after she retired.

  Kim is currently living with her along with her children, Owen and Kaylee, and finished Ball State University. She now has a job with the State of Indiana.

  After Debby graduated from high school, she planned to go to college at Ball State, but she met Jerry instead and they were soon married. Jerry had four children and was working in the restaurant business. Then he decided to leave the restaurant business and went into the insurance business and they moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. They had Jenni at that time and later Ashley was born. Debby started college at Taylor and graduated from there with high honors. She was Magna cum laude. She later returned to school to get her Master’s Degree and is a teacher for gifted students.

  At this time I want to tell all my children that they have all been the greatest and most wonderful kids to me. I love you all the same. I could never ask for anything more.

  And to Jerry and Susan, I love you both as though you were my kids. I have to say I have been so blessed to have you both in my family.

  GROWN UP GRANDCHILDREN!

  When Dominique was in high school she was crowned the “Freshman Football Queen”. In her junior year she was crowned “Miss Teen Indianapolis” and won a modeling scholarship and modeled for many stores. After she graduated, she went to Europe for the summer. When she returned, she chose to go to I.U. and there she was crowned “Miss I.U.” one year.

  What a beautiful girl and so sweet to everyone.

  She graduated from I.U. and moved Maine for a time. Her job took her to Madison, Wisconsin and later to California to work with Bank of America.

  She met a wonderful guy named John and they had a beautiful wedding. They live in San Francisco, California; have great jobs. John works for DelMonte and Dominique is Vice President of Acquisitions for Bank of America. They bought a gorgeous home in the hills. Most of all, they have a darling little girl named Gianna. She is beautiful like her mother.

  Dominique, my sweet, caring girl, I love you very much. You are so much more than a granddaughter.

  The next one to graduate was Kim, from high school. She was a darling cheer leader. She sang in the Carmel High singing club. The most exciting thing about the singing club was their programs that I went to. One year for the Christmas program, Kim was chosen to do a “solo” in sign language to honor her mother. She did “Silent Night, Holy Night”. It was very beautiful!

  After she graduated, she chose to go to Marion College, but after a year she decided she would take a break and work a while. She met Kurt and later had a beautiful wedding in Las Vegas. Pat, Kevin, Glenn, Jody, and I went to the wedding. We had a great time. We returned to Indiana but Kim and Kurt stayed on their honeymoon there. They have two precious children, Owen and Kaylee.

  Kim and Kurt are now divorced. Kim went back to college and graduated from Ball State and has a great job as an interpreter for the deaf and is coordinator for the schools around Indiana. I am proud of her; she drove back and forth to Ball State to get her degree.

  She is going with a great guy now, Mark, and they hope to get married soon.

  Kim, I know I can count on you to be there for me. Thank you for helping me so much. I love you Kim.

  Kevin was the next to graduate. He is my num
ber one sweet grandson. He was in sports all through school. He did great in football, he also played basketball and ran track. I got to go to lots of his games. He also always had a job in the summer time cutting grass for neighbors. After Kevin graduated from high school, he worked as an interpreter for a deaf boy in high school. After he graduated, Kevin went to work at Lifetime Fitness. He is still with them. Kevin met Jody there and they had a beautiful wedding and bought a new home which Kevin still has, however, he and Jody are now divorced and he has since moved to Denver, Colorado with Lifetime Fitness Company. He has met a sweet girl named Vanessa and they are both in college together. Kevin is such a loving and caring person. He comes home often to see all of us.

  Kevin, you are a go getter and you will be a millionaire someday! I love you very much!

  The next one to graduate was sweet Jenni. She has been a great swimmer since she was very young. She swam for her school and also her swim club. I went to many, many of her meets and she was a first place swimmer always. She went to the State finals every summer and worked at a pool store. Jenni choose I.U. for her college. I am happy for her. She is so nice to everyone.

  Jenni is still living in Ft. Wayne. She has worked for Chase Bank ever since she graduated from I.U. She has really gone up with the bank big time. Jenni went with Kyle all the time she was in Bloomington, where he also graduated. They had a beautiful outdoor wedding and then we danced the night away at her reception. It was a wonderful time and everyone had so much fun. Now they have a smart, wonderful little daughter named Alexa.