READERS THANKFUL FOR FAMILY, FREEDOM
Residents also think of first responders, veterans on holiday.
Kathy Mumford DAYTON — has endured 23 surgeries in the nearly four decades since she almost died in a car crash.
Physical pain has left the 63-year-old former registered nurse in a wheelchair and unable to do much of what she once did.
Still, the Butler Twp. woman is thankful for what she has.
“There is no better gift than family,” Mumford said, noting how diverse hers is.
Her husband, Sonny, and their three adopted children provide her the support she needs, she said.
“Everybody in my family has just been so wonderful to me, and it is hard to even begin to explain how supportive they’ve been,” Mumford said. “I am in terrible pain every day, and it’s a struggle. But at the end of the day, we sit and pray and are thankful for what we have.”
The Dayton Daily News asked our readers what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.
The responses included the traditional, from food and football to family, but many people expressed underlying themes of love for each other and community, respect for those in the military and first responders, plus hope for the future. Here are some of their stories:
Kathy Mumford
Mumford has been in a wheelchair since 1983, she said.
“I was in an automobile accident in Dayton that left me with severe nerve damage, and I just didn’t think I was going to make it,” Mumford said.
Nearly two dozen surgeries didn’t solve her pain problems, but her family has been there to help.
“It always hasn’t been an easy path,” Mumford said.
Her husband of 44 years, Sonny, a 65-year-old retired plumber, has been by his ailing wife’s side through thick and thin.
“Sonny always tells everybody that we are good together, and never does he make it sound like he’s given up everything to take care of me,” she said. “We are like the best friends ever.”
The couple has three children, Brandon, 38, Sean, 36, Amanda, 34, who are all adopted.
Mumford’s late parents, Joseph and Charlene Camp- bell, were foster parents in Montgomery County.
“I think they had 375 foster children during their lifetime,” she said.
Her husband’s mother Mary is 96 and still going strong,
“Our family is so diversified. We have seven grandkids, and I have seven brothers and sisters; one sister is African-American. My husband had eight siblings in his family,” Kathy Mumford said.
She said the joy of fam- ily is something to be very thankful for during Thanks- giving this year.
Jeanette F. Patton
The Dayton woman feels it is important to remember not only family, but those who work hard on a daily basis in our surrounding communi- ties. “Of course, I am thank- ful for my loved ones, food and shelter; however, some more good things come to mind also like our trash collectors, and the DP&L work- ers, who work hard in times of power outages to restore it, and especially our first responders, who need all the support we can give them,” Patton said.
George and Wendy Parker
The Greene County couple live on the road with their truck driving business and her online magazine “the George and Wendy Show,” which chronicles the couple’s life on the road. They are thankful for the oppor- tunities that living in Amer- ica provides them.
“We’re thankful to live in a country of great abundance. We’re thankful for our family, and the ability to celebrate holidays as we choose,” the Parkers said. “We’re thank- ful for the veterans who have assured our freedom to live, worship and work in our own way, on our own terms. We’re so blessed and fortunate to have such an amazing list of things for which to be thankful.”
Ron Houck
Houck, the founder of the Wharf tobacco superstore in Beavercreek, has entertained people from all walks of life in his store, from pastors to Playboy models. He said he is thankful for the many pleas- ant memories over the years.
“I am grateful and thank- ful for the friends and family that I still have left after living such a long and healthy life,” Houck said. “Most of my friends and family are gone, but I am glad that the ones I have left can come together and enjoy the holiday.”
Nicole Sam
The Bellbrook woman is also thankful for the work of first responders, plus the joy of online shopping during Black Friday so she doesn’t have to “have to battle the Christmas crazies.”
“I’m thankful for fam- ily because it’s the founda- tion,” Sam said. “My children, they bring me such joy, and a home to build memo- ries in, and health. Friends, for giving me some ‘me’ time. Safety and security — we live in a country where our military and first responders sac- rifice so we don’t have to.”
Connect Centerville
Megan LeMaster has guided the launch of the Connect Centerville initia- tive, a program designed to increase engagement between residents and immi- grant families. She is thank- ful for the many families in the program, and they, in turn, expressed their appreciation for it and for many other things this Thanksgiving week.
Shuqin Chen, mother of a first-grade student originally from China, said, “I’m thankful for family members and the tremendous support kids get from Center- ville Schools’ teachers and bilingual tutors.”
Saef Naser Nawabeet, the father of students in Center- ville schools, moved here from Egypt this year. He said, “I’m thankful for God. I have a job and can feed my family and have a happy life.”
Jean Carlo Mella is a Centerville High School senior, originally from the Dominican Republic. He said he’s thank- ful for the freedom and the potential in the United States.
“I’m thankful for oppor- tunities that Centerville has presented me and my family,” he said. “We moved from Santo Domingo to Califor- nia when we came to the States. However, it was not until I came to Ohio when I learned about the concept of the American dream: If you work hard, you will get rewarded.”