By this time, Honey was 46 years old and starting over... again. She knew she had done the right thing by going to Tampa because her mother was approaching 81 years of age and her health was beginning to fail. Within a year of her arrival in Tampa, her mother had to quit driving and Honey became the primary care-giver for her mother.
Mom attended several different churches and found a strong spiritual connection with the services and congregation in her attendance of the Manhattan Baptist Church. She sang in the Church Choir where she met many people who remained life-long friends. One lady, Joy, always stayed close with her and mom enjoyed their friendship very much.
Honey missed the companionship and fun of being in Sweet Adelines and her research found there was no Chapter of that organization in Tampa. So Honey put on her "organizational hat", ran an advertisement in the Tampa newspaper, and in the early 70's, she Chartered the very first Sweet Adelines' Chorus in Tampa. She was thrilled at the response and enjoyed many years of singing with that group. The Chorus prospered from the very beginning and continues today, much to the credit of Honey's dedication to her love for music and the art of Barbershop Harmony. The gift of music. What a wonderful tribute to mom's character and hard work.
Honey met and became friends with a sweet lady, Norene, who joined the Sweet Adelines. They remained close throughout her life and relied on each other for friendship and support. Mom treasured Norene's friendship and often spoke about their fun times together.
Honey went to work for a major department store chain in the Inventory Control office and then took a better job in a local bank. She suffered from a lay-off some years later and then went to work for a Payroll Service company. Her mother's health continued to decline and because Honey had to take so much time caring for her mother... she lost that job in 1980. At the age of 54, she found it very difficult to find another job she could take which would allow her to care for her mother... and her mother was her most important concern. Mom worked temporary jobs through a temp agency, just to make enough money to keep her financial obligations met.
Honey helped her mother with all of her day-to-day activities. She took care of her mother's beautiful garden, household chores, activities with the Garden Club, visits to the grocery and hair dresser, and was her mother's closest companion.
Honey joined the Tampa Chapter of Parents Without Partners shortly after her move to Tampa, so she could meet people with similar interests. She dated and had some fun but was never again inclined to marry. She remained single and committed to caring for her mother. She felt strongly that marrying someone would take away from her ability to provide the love and attention she knew her mother needed and deserved.
In 1975, Honey's daughter, Lou Ann, was married to Alan. In 1978, they had a daughter of their own (Kanda). Honey was So proud to finally be a grandmother! She often took care of Kanda and enjoyed letting her play "dress-up" and put on make up. She took a lot of pictures which Kanda always liked. Mom enjoyed being a part of Kanda's life. Honey's son Charley, was married to Kat in 1979 and in 1980, they had their first baby boy (Dustin). When Dustin was almost a year old, Honey, Lou Ann, and Kanda took a trip to Colorado to visit Charley, Kat, and their new son Dustin. Honey was absolutely bursting with pride about her children and grandchildren and she began to realize her legacy would be her family.
In 1981, when her mother was 89... Honey arranged for her mother to have an in-home hearing test, so she could have her fit for a hearing aide. When the test was over... the salesman left with an order to be filled. Within an hour after the transaction, her mother collapsed and was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she died of heart failure as they were wheeling her into the operating room to put in a pacemaker.
Her mother's death was absolutely the hardest thing mom ever had to bear. She had lost the One person in her life who had always stood by her - - with consistent and constant love. Honey held a small memorial service for her mother with her sister Marianne, her brother Robert, and her daughter Lou Ann in attendance. They spread her mother's ashes on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, by the sea-wall at the University of Tampa, at her mother's previous request. Mom was left with a big void in her life and knew she had to find something to fill that gap. Caring for... and giving to others was an important part of her life.
Honey moved into her mother's home several months after she passed away and she formed friendships with many of her neighbors. Mom enjoyed frequent conversations with Toni and Maribel and would take evening walks around the block with other neighbors she met. Honey met and became close friends with a lady named Monnie - who bought and moved into the house directly across the street. Mom and Monnie both had a strong love for the Lord and Monnie inherently shined the light of her positive attitude and caring personality upon everyone who knew her. Honey always enjoyed the times she and Monnie were able to share and they stayed in touch with each other for the rest of mom's life. Mom always felt very honored to have Monnie as her dear friend.
After Honey's mom passed away, she realized she felt "a calling" to reach out to other people in need. Honey began weekly visits to local nursing homes to visit with the elderly. She would go to thrift shops and garage sales to acquire small stuffed animals, take them home and wash them, pack them in boxes, and take them with her - to give to the residents - so they could have "something to love and hold onto" (her own words). The gratification she received when she witnessed smiles on the faces of the residents helped her feel she was doing something worth while. Honey continued to give her attention and love to the elderly any way she could.
Within a few months after her mother's death, Honey was trying to figure out how and where she could go back to work full-time. She found that her age of 56 was an obstacle and she just did not know what she was going to be able to do - to earn a living. Mom told us she was watching television one morning and there was a beautiful lady being interviewed on the show. Mom was so impressed by the lady's comments that her company put God first, family second, and business third. The lady's name was Mary Kay Ashe and her company was Mary Kay Cosmetics. Mom felt such an overwhelming "connection" with Mary Kay that she immediately called the company, found a contact in Tampa, and joined the sales force. About six months later... mom was awarded a new Oldsmobile Ferenza from the company, for her achievement in sales and recruitment.
Throughout her whole life, Mom took a lot of pride in her appearance and had such a love for people, she knew Mary Kay Cosmetics would provide exactly what she was looking for. Mom said her goals were not to make a lot of money... although deep inside, she had hopes of doing just that. More than anything, she wanted to help make a difference in women's lives... by showing them they too could feel good about themselves and look beautiful along the way. Mom was a Mary Kay consultant for close to twenty-five years. She attended annual seminars in Dallas, personally met Mary Kay Ashe, and became very close friends with many women in the organization. The camaraderie mom felt with the other consultants was probably the most rewarding part for her. One special friend Honey had because of Mary Kay Cosmetics was Mary Lou. Mom and Mary Lou had a lot of fun together and they remained very close friends for the duration of mom's life. Mom often spoke about how she admired Mary Lou.
In 1983, Charley and Kat had their second son (Jesse). A few weeks after Jesse was born, their family took a trip to Florida and Honey got to visit with them and meet her new grandson. Honey enjoyed their visit and wished they could live closer so she could watch their two boys grow up. Lou Ann and Alan had their son Kevin in 1985. Honey took care of Kevin a lot when he was growing up. She was especially proud when Kevin expressed an interest in music by joining the school band and when he learned to play the piano. Honey felt very proud of everyone in her family and talked about her grandchildren to everyone who would listen.
Sometime in the mid 80's, Honey went to her doctor and was diagnosed as being a diabetic. She was around 60 years of age at the time. Honey didn't understand the disease and because she had such a "sweet-tooth", it was difficult for her to manage her illness. Her attitude was that she was determined not to let something like that control her, or her lifestyle. She was completely in denial because most of the time, she said she felt fine and had "too many other things" to think about.
Mom continued her work as a Mary Kay consultant but as with any sales position, the economy had a large impact upon mom's successes. In late 1982, Honey found an opportunity to supplement her Mary Kay income by becoming a Certified Home Health Care Provider. Through her visits to the nursing homes, she met a family who was in need of placing their elderly mother somewhere other than in a nursing home. So Honey applied for a home equity loan and built two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a large enclosed patio on the back of her home. She then took in the family's elderly mother to provide her with daily care. Within a few months, she took in two more elderly ladies and she became the primary health care giver for the three ladies... twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at a minimum cost to the families. Honey took care of these elderly ladies until 1997.
Funny thing... in early January 1997, Honey told Lou Ann she wasn't sure about what was going to happen... but she felt that her life was about to change and that God works in mysterious ways. Boy!... she was sure right about that!
In mid January 1997, Honey was eating lunch at a local Village Inn restaurant, when she noticed a man about her age sitting alone, also having lunch. She decided to say hello. His name was Bob Hamill. He was a widower. The two of them sat and talked for quite a while and they became the dearest of friends. They cared for and loved each other very much. Although they did not get married, they were the closest of companions - for over eight years.
The first week of February 1997, a lady-friend asked mom to take-in a tiny dog owned by the lady's father, since her father had recently passed away. The deceased man was a neighbor of Honey's and mom said she would give it a try. The very first night she had the little dog, she stepped out her front door, onto her porch, to take the dog outside. Honey's next door neighbor's Chow dog was in its front yard with his owner. The owner of the Chow had trained his dog to chase and kill squirrels in his back yard. The Chow dog saw mom's little dog and immediately headed her way. He jumped the hedges between the houses... ran up on mom's porch... and grabbed the little dog in its mouth. Because mom had her dog's leash wrapped around her hand, when the Chow chomped down on her dog and took off - the chow pulled mom down her two steps to the ground, where she landed with a hard "thud". The owner of the Chow dog came running, straddled his large dog, and pried the little dog out of the Chow dog's mouth. Somehow... Mom pulled herself up so she could try to help her little dog. She rode with the wife of the Chow dog to an emergency veterinarian clinic - little dog in hand - to try to save the dog's life. Her little dog had suffered major injuries. The veterinarian told mom she would take care of the little dog and let her know if she could save it. Mom went back home and called Lou Ann early the next morning to ask her to bring some ice over because her ankles and feet were swollen and painful. When Lou Ann arrived, she realized the situation was much more serious than just a sprain so Lou Ann called for an ambulance and the hospital determined that Honey had broken both her legs and ankles. She was sent home with both her legs in casts. The veterinarian called and told mom the little dog was going to survive and mom told her about her broken bones. The veterinarian told her she would keep and take care of the little dog. Mom spent the next several months in a wheel chair and rehabilitation to gain back her strength to be able to walk again. When this incident happened, Honey lost her ability to work and any future income she might have. Honey immediately had to contact the families of the three elderly ladies she took care of, to tell them they had to find another place for their mothers to live because she was not able to take care of them in her situation. Fortunately, at the time, Lou Ann was self-employed and was able to devote the time necessary to help Honey recover and to take care of the three elderly ladies until the families could move them to another facility. Unfortunately, all three ladies passed away within a year after they were moved to new places. That saddened mom very much because she had grown so close to each of them.
Just a quick note to remember one of the remarkable ladies mom took care of. Her name was Blanche. She was in her late 90's when she started living with Honey and was 105 years old when she passed away. Up until the very end of her life, Blanche's mental capabilities were very sharp and she had a very quick wit and great sense of humor about her. Mom had a "century-birthday" party at her home for Blanche, when she turned 100, and a reporter came to interview Blanche and wrote a nice article for the Tampa newspaper about Blanche. Mom was thrilled at being able to honor Blanche this way. She always made sure the ladies felt loved and were well taken care of. She spent almost all of her time with the three of them. She took them to their doctor appointments, to the hairdresser each week, out to eat frequently, and for rides in the car on Sunday afternoons - so she could get them all out-and-about for a while.
After mom recovered from the dog incident, Honey went back to work as a home health care provider, except she did not take anyone into her home. She concentrated on working for a local agency which sent her to the homes of people who needed assistance. She stayed busy and enjoyed having a little freedom to travel and go places. She had been tied close to home for a long time, when she was taking care of the elderly ladies.