After she finished her accounting degree in 2008 my Susan got a position as an auditor with Rylander, Clay and Opitz (RCO), a local accounting firm in Fort Worth, Texas, where we live. Dennis Opitz, a partner in the firm, is a member at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, and so they occasionally hold company functions there. While there for some occasion, Susan had a burger. She loved it. It was, as far as she was concerned, the best burger she had ever eaten, and she told everyone she knew how great it was.
Susan worked for RCO about a year before she was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly after she began treatment she started having trouble eating. During that time she was talking on the phone with our good friend, Wendy, as she often did. Wendy asked Susan what she would want to eat if she could eat anything. Susan told her about the hamburger, and Wendy had the idea to contact Dennis and try to get Susan invited back to the Colonial for lunch. Susan was embarrassed about imposing, however, and asked Wendy not to call Dennis, so she didn't.
Almost three years later, after Susan passed away, Wendy decided to follow through on her previous plan. Unbeknownst to me, she contacted Dennis and asked him if our family could be invited to eat at the Colonial for Susan's birthday today. Dennis was happy to make the arrangement and, although Wendy had intended to treat our family to lunch, he insisted on picking up the bill.
And so, this morning Billie Faye (Susan's mother), Katie (Susan's twin sister), River, Robyn, Rayn and I stopped by Susan's grave to leave flowers and wish her happy birthday. Then we went to the Cork Room restaurant at the Colonial Country Club and had a wonderful lunch looking out over the beautiful golf course. Several of us had Susan's favorite hamburger, which was delicious.
Thank you, Wendy, for your proactive generosity and love in arranging this great lunch for our family. Thank you, Dennis, for inviting us and for treating us to lunch, and for all the other help you've given us during this difficult time. This lunch was a very special time for Susan's mother, her sister, her children and for me. I will make a point of passing this kindness on to someone else in the future.
Happy Birthday, Susan (and Katie).
