Tribute to Deloris

1944-2004 on Earth; forever in many hearts

by Jeff Childs

Hi.

My name is Jeff.

I’m a former 11-year heroin and cocaine addict, and I’ve been clean and sober from both 24 years years today.

Deloris… wow, what can I say besides I threatened to kill her 100 times, and begged her to kill me 1000.

The things I screamed at that poor women until my vocal chords literally bled, shook and thrashed so bad I busted up my body cast twice, and all she did was held my hand wiped my tears and never let me give up.

It broke my heart when she told me we’d never meet again, unless she’d failed. We never did. I tried on my 10th anniversary, I said fuck it, and went into the rehab. That’s when I found out she’d died as a result of a drunk driver (who died in the crash as well).

Again, the time has come around, for me to pay my respects to one of the most important people who ever came into my life, by fulfilling a promise I made a very long time ago, about six years previous.

Every Christmas card I’d sent her lay in a box under her memorial picture at the Miller Center, along with hundreds of others who’d hugged her good by. We got our kiss on one cheek, a playful slap on the other, and a smile… wow, never seen another like it. She sent us off to face life again, knowing we’d be able to.

When so many of is had absolutely nothing, for 45 days, God gave us Deloris.

Until the day He took His angel back.

She was only in my life for 45 days, but her impact will last me the rest on my life time, and in the end , she made me swear we’d never meet again.

Because to do so, would mean I had returned to my former ways, returned to my addictions, and ended up back in rehab.

What I refused to admit for many years over shame, and the hurt I caused people, I now do so publicly once a year out of her memory and the 45 days of hell I put both her and myself through laying there in a body cast.

It reminds me of the fact no matter what kind of mistakes we make in life, how far we drop, a person can change if they truly want to.

R.I.P Deloris Wetterburn

1944-2004

*****