January 12, 2021
by JW Spilker
About mom according to me:
Terri liked to have fun with whatever she was doing. She had a cute sense of humor and liked to make everything light hearted and fun. She played with us kids a lot, we had water fights, hiked Snow Canyon, went camping, and of course played with the animals. The animals, that is where mom's true love was. She loved those animals so much that we often would kid that she loved them more than us. Dinner had to wait until the horses were fed and watered! We had a bit of a menagerie at our home in Winchester Hills. We had horses, chickens, a goat (would you believe the goat and chickens were allowed in the house?), dogs, a bird, and us kids. Mom loved her horse Sis. Sis was a Morgan horse with a flaxen mane and tail. We always had dogs in the family, she loved her Great Dane Tink, and several others, I can't remember the names of all the Danes. It was always funny to see these giant dogs and such a tiny lady together. I remember a few birds here and there too, Bean the parrot and Dudley the Cockatoo. She hung on to having animals for as long as she could. When she couldn't have them anymore it was very hard on her.
She listened to classic country music, what I called hippie music, and some current groups of her time. The ones I can remember are Willy Neilson, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Kenny Rogers, Donovan, Blues Brothers, The Beatles, and the Bee Gees. Her favorite color was Green. Mom's style was hippie or western wear. She was still a jeans kinda gal though. She loved incense, patchouli scent the best, beaded curtains, and most anything hippie. I don't remember a specific favorite food of hers, but I know she loved M&M's the plain ones. She would have a large family size bag on hand most of the time. She preferred McDonalds over Burger King. She ordered a cheeseburger and fries every time, the #2 meal I think it was. She loved Diet Rite, very hard to find.
Terri was outgoing and yet a bit shy at the same time. She made friends quickly and enjoyed being with them. She almost seemed more comfortable with some buddies than with her immediate family. She hung out with horse groups of all kinds. I remember her endurance riding group of friends, her horse show group of friends, and her wrangler group from Tuachan. She always kept a few people a little closer than the main group.
Mom was involved in several different programs for us kids. She did a Little Women group through 4-H for my sister and a Food for Fun 4-H group for me and my friends. Later she helped me with 4-H horsemanship, and endurance riding. Before those her and dad took me all over for my BMX racing.
Mom was a great cook. My favorite meals were spaghetti, teriyaki chicken, and beef wellington. Most everything she made was good.
Mom helped me to become the person I am today. She taught me that everyone is equal. She taught me that you can't judge a book by it's cover and you don't judge others. She taught me hard work, through helping take care of the animals. She had a tremendous faith in me. I never had a curfew and was trusted to do the right thing. Her faith in me has helped me be a confident, independent individual. She always had my back, even in a few circumstances that looking back she maybe shouldn't have. I am truly grateful for all she did for me.
How we came to this:
Mom showed some of the first signs of Alzheimer's only about 4 years ago. She didn't keep in contact with family very well and was quite difficult to track down. She lead a very nomadic lifestyle for a spell. She moved quite often and changed phone numbers or didn't keep them activated constantly.
She was quite far along in the disease when she was placed in a home in Pasco, Washington after a hospital visit. She had brief moments of coherent speech and could recognize myself, Sarah and Mitch. Her place in Pasco didn't work out due to her excessive care and we had to find a new place for her. She had grown quite fond of her boyfriend Mitch and so we struggled with whether to move her closer to home or keep her there in Washington. After a lot of thought and persuasion by Mitch we decided to move her to a wonderful place in Pullman, Washington. Her new caretakers were the absolute best they knew just how to give her the care she needed. I am truly thankful for them and all they did for mom. Mitch kept his word and spent time with her almost every day until Covid rules made that impossible. Thank you Mitch for doing your best! When she was first placed into the Pullman home she was placed on Hospice due to her not being able to eat on her own. Purity, her care giver, took care of that and soon she was eating on her own. They took her off Hospice and she was healthy, just not very Terri. She could not speak very well and didn't recognize people very well. She even didn't respond to dog therapy!
At the beginning of October she had a serious seizure and had to go to the hospital again. The doctors were very concerned because she wouldn't eat again. Back on Hospice. Mom wouldn't eat while she was at the hospital. In comes Purity to the rescue again, she has some kind of magic, she got mom eating again. I was thinking mom would recover again with Purity there to take care of her. She did get a bit better but not too great.
On Sunday, January third in the morning, she went into a comma like state and passed away. I feel that she is much happier now being free of all that life brought her in the end. I have so many wonderful memories as a kid with her and that is where I will keep her in my heart. I will remember the hiking, camping, 4-H, horse shows, endurance rides, goofing around, and all the support she gave me growing up. Thank you Mom I truly appreciate all you did.
Terri liked to have fun with whatever she was doing. She had a cute sense of humor and liked to make everything light hearted and fun. She played with us kids a lot, we had water fights, hiked Snow Canyon, went camping, and of course played with the animals. The animals, that is where mom's true love was. She loved those animals so much that we often would kid that she loved them more than us. Dinner had to wait until the horses were fed and watered! We had a bit of a menagerie at our home in Winchester Hills. We had horses, chickens, a goat (would you believe the goat and chickens were allowed in the house?), dogs, a bird, and us kids. Mom loved her horse Sis. Sis was a Morgan horse with a flaxen mane and tail. We always had dogs in the family, she loved her Great Dane Tink, and several others, I can't remember the names of all the Danes. It was always funny to see these giant dogs and such a tiny lady together. I remember a few birds here and there too, Bean the parrot and Dudley the Cockatoo. She hung on to having animals for as long as she could. When she couldn't have them anymore it was very hard on her.
She listened to classic country music, what I called hippie music, and some current groups of her time. The ones I can remember are Willy Neilson, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Kenny Rogers, Donovan, Blues Brothers, The Beatles, and the Bee Gees. Her favorite color was Green. Mom's style was hippie or western wear. She was still a jeans kinda gal though. She loved incense, patchouli scent the best, beaded curtains, and most anything hippie. I don't remember a specific favorite food of hers, but I know she loved M&M's the plain ones. She would have a large family size bag on hand most of the time. She preferred McDonalds over Burger King. She ordered a cheeseburger and fries every time, the #2 meal I think it was. She loved Diet Rite, very hard to find.
Terri was outgoing and yet a bit shy at the same time. She made friends quickly and enjoyed being with them. She almost seemed more comfortable with some buddies than with her immediate family. She hung out with horse groups of all kinds. I remember her endurance riding group of friends, her horse show group of friends, and her wrangler group from Tuachan. She always kept a few people a little closer than the main group.
Mom was involved in several different programs for us kids. She did a Little Women group through 4-H for my sister and a Food for Fun 4-H group for me and my friends. Later she helped me with 4-H horsemanship, and endurance riding. Before those her and dad took me all over for my BMX racing.
Mom was a great cook. My favorite meals were spaghetti, teriyaki chicken, and beef wellington. Most everything she made was good.
Mom helped me to become the person I am today. She taught me that everyone is equal. She taught me that you can't judge a book by it's cover and you don't judge others. She taught me hard work, through helping take care of the animals. She had a tremendous faith in me. I never had a curfew and was trusted to do the right thing. Her faith in me has helped me be a confident, independent individual. She always had my back, even in a few circumstances that looking back she maybe shouldn't have. I am truly grateful for all she did for me.
How we came to this:
Mom showed some of the first signs of Alzheimer's only about 4 years ago. She didn't keep in contact with family very well and was quite difficult to track down. She lead a very nomadic lifestyle for a spell. She moved quite often and changed phone numbers or didn't keep them activated constantly.
She was quite far along in the disease when she was placed in a home in Pasco, Washington after a hospital visit. She had brief moments of coherent speech and could recognize myself, Sarah and Mitch. Her place in Pasco didn't work out due to her excessive care and we had to find a new place for her. She had grown quite fond of her boyfriend Mitch and so we struggled with whether to move her closer to home or keep her there in Washington. After a lot of thought and persuasion by Mitch we decided to move her to a wonderful place in Pullman, Washington. Her new caretakers were the absolute best they knew just how to give her the care she needed. I am truly thankful for them and all they did for mom. Mitch kept his word and spent time with her almost every day until Covid rules made that impossible. Thank you Mitch for doing your best! When she was first placed into the Pullman home she was placed on Hospice due to her not being able to eat on her own. Purity, her care giver, took care of that and soon she was eating on her own. They took her off Hospice and she was healthy, just not very Terri. She could not speak very well and didn't recognize people very well. She even didn't respond to dog therapy!
At the beginning of October she had a serious seizure and had to go to the hospital again. The doctors were very concerned because she wouldn't eat again. Back on Hospice. Mom wouldn't eat while she was at the hospital. In comes Purity to the rescue again, she has some kind of magic, she got mom eating again. I was thinking mom would recover again with Purity there to take care of her. She did get a bit better but not too great.
On Sunday, January third in the morning, she went into a comma like state and passed away. I feel that she is much happier now being free of all that life brought her in the end. I have so many wonderful memories as a kid with her and that is where I will keep her in my heart. I will remember the hiking, camping, 4-H, horse shows, endurance rides, goofing around, and all the support she gave me growing up. Thank you Mom I truly appreciate all you did.
