Lori Ann Rought was born to James and Charlene Koup Garner on November 20, 1965 at the Memorial Hospital in Towanda Pa. Her home was on a dairy farm in Rushville Pa where her father worked. Lori joined her big brother, Jimmy Jr, who was born Jan 16, 1964, so her and Jimmy were very close in more ways than one. Lori was a very happy and content and easy going, she was sleeping through the entire night at 4 weeks, which neither one of them every did as they were both colicky.. She began crawling at 7 months, and walking at 11 months.. She was such a wee little baby, very small features, but yet chubby and healthy.. That all changed when she was a year old and it was discovered she had a hole in her heart. She was closely monitored every 3 months, and was developing normally, so we kept watching and as soon as the doctors thought she may be ready for open heart surgery, that is what we did. She was 7 years old on June 23, 1973 when she underwent open heart surgery at The Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa. At that time Lori was only one of a handful that had underwent this very serious procedure. From that day and more evermore she would never experience anymore heart problems..
At age 5 she started kindergarden at The Elementary School in Camptown, Pa where me and her father were living. She loved school and was very smart and loved to read. She would carry that through the rest of her school years as an honor roll student and graduated at age 17 from The Shiekllamy High School in Sunbury, Pa. Lori went from 7th grade through 12 in that same school district, both her and her brother Jimmy would graduate together..
She began working partime at the age of 14 where she would be a tour guide for The Joseph Priestly Historic House. She loved her job and eventually that would lead her to her next job as the secretary for The Nothumberland Police Dept. She began partime at age 16 and after graduation she went on to be there for 10 years. She was a very loyal, hontest and dependable employee and loved by all who worked with her.
In May 1988 she married her sweetheart Robert Erlston from Danville. They continued to live on front street in Northumberland, about 2 blocks from her home place.. It was a very rocky marriage, lots of physical abuse from her husband, but eventually he seemed to get his act together and their only son Toby was born Aug 30, 1989. Lori loved being a mommy and continued to work fulltime. She was one of the hardest working young ladies you would ever meet, she never turned down an opportunity to make extra money, no matter how tired she was.. She was firecely independent and worked to make her life just the way she wanted it to be. Eventually her and Bob would divorce and Lori would be a single parent without any financial help from him. Toby would not get to know his father very well as Bob died at the age of 32 years old. There was alot of suffering during this time for Lori, working and trying to raise her son. Her step-father and I did all she would let us do, and we tool care of Toby when I wasn't working, but she never gave up and went on to rent a small house and furnish it very nicely.
Then she met Steve Redd from Paxinos, they dated for awhile and lived in Lori's and Toby's home in Northumberland. Lori would leave her work at the police station to begin working with an organization that helped place children in good foster homes, she loved her work and found it very fulfilling. She would then become a Certified Nursing Assistant and worked in various nursing homes and then for a long time she did in home care for the elderley and handicapped.. She was respected and loved by all her clients as being always so happy and willing to do all she could for them, she always went well beyond her job description, she didn't have to be asked, when she seen a need she fixed it. Often visiting them in the hospital aand taking them food when they came back home, I guess by now you can see why we were all so lucky to have Lori in our lives. She was a doer for everyone, and yes she did neglect her self because to her the others were more needy. Steve and Lori bought a nice house in Selinsgrove and moved there with Toby. On April 2, 1998 they brought their beautiful baby girl into the family. Caitlin Marie Redd. We almost lost Caitlin within a few minutes of her birth she had to be life flighted to The Hershey Medical Hospital and was placed on life suppport with a ECMO machine. She was very very sick for several weeks, the whole family lived in Hershey, Lori and Steve were stressed and very worried. Lori had a C section just that morning and they let her leave to go to be with Caitlin. With lots of prayers and miracles Caitlin survived with no lasting medical issues. Today she is a beautiful petite long dark hair 16 year old, who loves her life. She is a senior and plays field hockey. Her and Lori were extremely close, this is a huge loss for her as for Toby too, he has now lost his father and his mother. I am very close to all of my grandchildren, so I will always be there for them.
Lori loved peanut butter especially on toast, we would be talking on the phone and I would say, what are you eating? Peanut butter!!!
She became a very good cook, she never showed much interest in her teen-age years, but she turned into a great chef.
She collected beautiful carosauls and teddy bears of which she had many. She was an excellent housekeeper, always everything had to be in it's place, (yes just like her mother) She was very much like me, and for that I am very proud. She was her mothers daughter as the saying goes, all in good ways..
She was very active and kept busy with various hobbies, especially her flower and vegetable garden, we liked to make salsa together. One of her favorite foods was spaghetti, I always made it for her for her birthdays or whenever she would tell me she was hungry for it. There wasn't anuthing I wouldn't do for her or vice versa, thats just the kind of love we had for each other.
I will never ever be the same person after loosing her, it just won't ever be the same. We were two peas in a pod, we could finish each other sentences, and many times I would be calling her the same time she would be calling me.
Of course all her family will miss her, she was close to so many of us..
She is simply the kindest and hontest , loving, giving human being she could be.. Not without her demons, no believe it or not, she wasn't perfect, but no matter her demons, she loved and protected her children. She made her life the best she could even with many many family genes that were passed along to her, she had a disease, and not of her own making..
Her health took a turn for the worse 4 years ago when she got bacterial preumonia and almost died. She never recoverd. She just kept getting more and more medical issues, she became homebound, couldn't drive her car, and worst of all never did return to her job.. It all took a toll on her self- esteem, but she refused to feel sorry for herself. Then she got gall stones and they were going to remove her gall bladder. She went to the emergency room in Harrisburg on Thurs, Aug 21, and was going to have the surgery Fri, Aug 22. During the procedure she aspirated, had to be placed on life support, from which she never recovered. It was just the worst kind of nightmare you can imagine. All of her family was there with her, but she never responded, which still haunts me today.. Eventually all her organs shut down, and she coded 9 times and nine times they brought her back. As her family we decided that was more than enough, the doctors told us if she did survive she would forever not be the Lori we knew and loved. We let her go to end her suffering and to be at peace.. Of course her family are all suffering beyond imagination because she is not here, when you love someone enough and you see the suffering they are enduring you have to come to your senses and not your heart.. This is apart of who Lori was, I hope you all can love her just like we did..
She had a contagious laugh and it was loud and it defintely got your attention, you knew it was her without seeing her. Always one to pick on someone in a loving and joking way and she could give and good as she got.. Her step-father and her were like father and daughter and they were always picking on each other. My husband Jimmy Garner who I married in 1975 after divorcing my children's father, raised all 3 of my children as his own.. They were still very young, Tommy 3, Lori 8, and Jimmy Jr, 9, yes both of my husbands were Jim's..
