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Highlands Today

Saying Goodbye, And Hello, In 2008

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Robin Barlett proudly holds a picture of her first grandchild, Hannah Adamczyk, who was born three weeks after the death of her father this year. There was a bright side, said Barlett.

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: December 28, 2008

SEBRING - As is the case each and every year, people had to say goodbye to those they loved in 2008 and those they only knew of through mainstream media outlets.

Some of those losses were closely felt by Highlands County residents. Robin Barlett, of Lake Placid, said goodbye to her 80-year-old father on July 8 after he died from a brain aneurysm.

The very next night, Barlett said her husband received a call from his stepmother, informing the two his father was being rushed to the hospital. Five days later, her father-in-law was having surgery for a hernia in the small intestine.

"He's actually doing well, Barlett said of her father-in-law.

Carole Terry, of Sebring, lost her mother in November at the age of 95.

"Her morals and respect for others were amazing," Terry said.

While growing up in very tough times during the 1940s, Terry recalled her mother having to stand in line to get a pound of hamburger. By the time it was her turn, the meat was gone, so she'd get a ham bone and make pea soup for Terry and her four siblings.

"Mom would make our clothes out of others' hand-me-downs, including winter coats from rummage sales," Terry said. "She went without to provide for her children."

Terry said her brother, Chris, made a casket for their mother from the wood from the land she lived on in New England.

"What a way to say goodbye to such a wonderful lady," she said.

They were not related by blood, but Lake Placid resident Pamela Mooney said her late stepfather, Frank, was like, "a real father to me."

Mooney, who referred to Frank as "Pop," said he was a retired fishing guide from the Florida Keys who cast lines with notable figures like President Harry Truman and actor Paul Newman in the 60s and 70s.

"Pop took mom fishing one day back in the 60s and she hooked a permit fish," Mooney said. "She fought it for many hours and finally landed a Women's World Record for that fish."

Pop's ashes will be spread over his favorite fishing hole, Rabbit Key, down in the Keys, according to Mooney.

"He was the best stepdad a kid could ever have," she said.

'I Lost My Best, Close Companion'

Patrick Chmiel, of Spring Lake, lost his companion of 10-and-a-half years on Memorial Day; his great Pyrenees, Hoosier. The dog died of congenial heart failure.

"We were up the last two weeks on many nights until 1 a.m., as I tried soothing him until his wheezing stopped," Chmiel said.

At 1 a.m., on Memorial Day, Chmiel took Hoosier to an emergency vet in Winter Haven when the dog's condition worsened.

Hoosier's pulse was over 250 and Chmiel said he and the doctor decided, "It was time."

"I didn't want to let him go and just held his lifeless body for (so) long," Chmiel said.

New Life In The Face Of Loss

People may have had to grieve in 2008 for those they lost, but there was also the joy of new life.

Three weeks after the death of her father and a medical scare for her father-in-law, Barlett celebrated the birth of her first grandchild, Hannah Adamczyk.

"There was a bright side," she said.

The youngster lives with her parents in Erie, Penn. Barlett, a Lake Placid snowbird, said the family is coming down for a visit in February.

Until then, the power of the Internet, as well as a Web cam, has allowed Barlett to see Hannah on a regular basis in the evenings.

"I get to holler at her through the computer," she said. "It's not the same as holding her."

Losses On A Global Scale

Fans of film lost a number of notable celebrities in 2008. The year started with the shocking death of actor Heath Ledger from an accidental prescription drug overdose.

His future appeared bright judging by the reception to his final completed film, "The Dark Knight." The sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins" opened in July to record-breaking box office. By year's end, it had raked in $530 million from North American theaters, becoming the second highest-grossing film of all time.

Ledger's incarnation of Batman's arch nemesis the Joker received critical raves. Peter Travers, in his review of the film for Rolling Stone, called the late actor's performance, "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant."

"The terrible tragedy of his loss is all that potential," said actor Mel Gibson, Ledger's co-star in 2000's "The Patriot," in an Entertainment Weekly tribute. "I wanted to see what he was going to do next."

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com.

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