To write a paragraph about Jody is impossible, because I have known her through many changes in her life, and have come to love her just as she was in all of those changes. Even after we moved from Indianapolis, we heard from her often, and were shocked when we heard that she had died.

I have a collection of poems written by Jody that expressed her inner feelings through various stages of her life. In 1970, she expressed her needs by writing:

I need you
As I need all people
Actually,
I need to be needed.
Love is nothing
Hope is nothing
Only empty words
But that doesn't mean
I don't need you.
Please need me+


Do you see in my words?
The new warmth in myself
I want to laugh
To sing
To sit peacefully
Next to a mountain stream,
No, the peaceful mountain stream
Is within me!

A poem Barb wrote in high school titles simply "Jody" ended with these words:

Two so different,
Yet one knowing the need of the other.

Those words sum up the friendship that Jody and I shared. I did not always understand her world and she did not always understand mine, but she had an unusual ability (even across the miles) to sense when I needed a call or a note from her. I believe God gifts each of us with only a handful of friends who can truly love us unconditionally. Jody was one of those friends to me. About a month ago, I got a card from Jody, which was signed, with the following words: "Oh Barb, I miss you so much. Like an ache in my heart." How like her to provide me with just the words to express how I feel today. "Oh Jody, I miss you so much. Like an ache in my heart." The comfort I receive today is from the Lord who has greeted Jody at the place of "ultimate healing". I look forward to seeing her there.

With an ache in our hearts, Jody, we miss you.

With love your husband George, your family and friends.