Sharing Loss Helps Others Cope Letter Of The Week: From June 17

Terry and Barbara Novak shared a sad and inspiring story with readers of The Spokesman-Review on June 10, and the community is lifted to a new level of caring because of it.

In 1984, newly elected to the Spokane City Council, I got to know Steve Novak as he would literally bounce into the offices of his father, City Manager Terry Novak. Steve was bright, full of curiosity and enthusiasm, and so much like his father. No matter how the problems of the day were surfacing, when Steve came through the door, Terry’s eyes lit up and everything got better. We could all feel it.

During these past two years, I’ve thought of Steve many times and my heart has ached for the Novak family. I have pondered how people face one of the saddest and most challenging of life’s experiences, losing a beloved child.

Now, I begin to understand their story and it helps me as well as the many hundreds of others who knew and loved Steve and his family.

The Novaks’ sharing also will inspire and help the many others who have experienced the tragedy of losing a child.

To keep Steve’s memory alive by continuing his dream in Nepal is a healing process and a global gift. Sheri S. Barnard Spokane

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