George Fowler

I think I would do a disservice to him and my sister, who graciously shared her father with me for 17 years, if I didn’t take a moment to reflect on him and what he meant to my life. On December 10, my sister called me to say her father was being transported to the hospital, and as God would have it, everything so happened at a time that I was already at the hospital. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be there with my sister as she said her good-bye's to her father. ANY other day, there is no way I could've done that, and I'm absolutely sure God allowed this availability to align with my sister's need, and I am so incredibly thankful. Most people don't know my sister and our story of how we became sister's, but we do. And no matter what direction our parents relationship went, she and I have cherished our sister bond and will FOREVER hold tight to it. I am her sister and she is mine. She is a wonderful aunt to my children and we, together, share one another's burdens, secrets, love, and victories.

Our story...

As a quiet, insecure, 9 year old, a family was thrust upon me. It wasn’t easy, there were periods of mad chaos, but then in the middle of it, there was laughter, love, family, and security. George and my mom were married from the time I was 9 until early adulthood. My sister and I are 6 months apart and struggled to relate to each other early on. Neither of us wanted to give up our spot as the baby to "our" parent, we didn't quite know what to do now being in the same school and having very different academic and athletic abilities. It was a struggle...sharing a room, sharing parents, sharing our family...and then we entered high school, college and adulthood and have grown to appreciate and adore our sisterhood and relationship. We have weathered many storms in our family and our parents story, and we have learned to love each other deeply and cherish the story that brought us together.

I will always be grateful for how George, her father and my step-father, impacted my life. He brought me to Aiken (where I met the love of my life), he instilled the importance of church and regular involvement/attendance, he always encouraged me to aim high academically and always offered direction and wisdom. It is not unnoticed to me that this man supported my mother and her three children financially, emotionally and  spiritually for the better part of my life. He didn't have to do that, but he did, and I will always value the part he played in my life, in my story. He willingly gave of himself, just as a father does, to give us opportunity and direction in life. He was the only man who stayed. The only one who loved me and accepted me as his daughter, during my childhood. And he walked me down the aisle  and gave me away to my husband who he has loved as his own son.

When our parents split up and later divorced, Meredith and I were quite confused and lost on how to handle this, even as adults. I am so glad that he allowed me to send pictures of the children and still talk occasionally, even after reconnecting after several years, but now looking back, I certainly wish I had done more. I wish, maybe I was encouraged to do more, even when I couldn't clearly see a direction. But that was certainly my responsibility. It will take time to digest the feeling of regret, but I guess we all do the best we know how. I know he knew we loved him and were grateful to him, because last year we were able to talk some, but again, maybe not enough, there's just a feeling of wishing we had done more.

I will always cherish the sister he gave me and the sacrifices he made along the way to try and make our life a successful one. It wasn't always easy, life was messy and chaotic, but it will forever be a huge part of my story and who I am, and I'm grateful God led us to this place. Thank you, George Fowler, for loving me and helping me become who I am today.