Knowing Dawn Weaver

I never knew Dawn Weaver. I am here because I met her husband Scott a short time after he lost her. We were both in a support group offered by Hospice for widows and widowers who had recently lost their spouse. My wife Coleen had lost her battle with breast cancer a few months before and I was anxious to get whatever help I could find in my efforts to heal. Scott's loss was much more recent and sudden than mine, and we were cast as brothers in grief and were both searching for answers to questions we didn't understand.

For the next eight weeks Scott, myself, and four others who had lost their spouse shared our feelings, emotions, stories and memories. None of us stopped hurting or grieving because of our support group but we all felt better because we were a part of it.

Sometime about halfway through our eight weeks together, Scott asked me if I would help him create a website in honor of his late wife, Dawn. I told him I would be happy to help and went to his house a few days later. We set-up this blog page over a year ago and it wasn't until earlier this week that I returned to their house to take some photos to display here. That's when I realized the true love Scott and Dawn shared. Their house is almost a shrine dedicated to her memory. It seems that everywhere I looked, Scott had arranged a memory in Dawn's honor for him and his family. He created an environment where it was impossible not to remember Dawn. I'm certain that she is as proud of his accomplishments as he is of hers.

I never knew Dawn Weaver but in many ways she reminds me of my wife, Coleen. Dawn was the matriarch of her family. She was the one who had all the practical sense and made the difficult decisions. She was the visionary, the planner, the idea person. She had a challenging and successful career of her own working with and helping other people. Dawn was a loving and caring mother and grandmother although her time in that role was cut so short. I often think how my two young granddaughters were cheated by losing their Grandma Coleen at such early ages. The same holds true for Dawn's grandson Benji who will know her only through the stories he hears and the pictures he sees.

I never knew Dawn Weaver but now I know about her. She was a vibrant and inspirational woman and her life ended earlier than it should have. She left behind a loving family that is still wrestling with her loss. That struggle will never end for them. It will get easier but the pain never goes away. A friend once told me about my wife's death, "The wound will heal but the scar is there forever." I don't know where Dawn's family is with their healing but I do know that she still inspires them and that will help a lot. I hope Scott's tribute to Dawn on these pages helps too. Somehow, I think it might.

I never knew Dawn Weaver until I met her husband. I think I know her now.

~RJ