Tuesday, October 15, 1985

1985: John Kulikowski's Wedding

Had a good time at the wedding reception for John and Debbie Kulikowski. Had fun dancing with Alexia, Alissa, and Aleah. Usually, I get bored at weddings, but this wedding was fun.

My Mom was real sad. This was the first wedding she went to without my father. When it got to the slow dancing, she just started to cry and got upset. I don’t remember her crying a whole lot when my father died, as she was trying to be as strong as possible. But, I think she needed to cry and get it out of her system. I felt bad for my mom at the wedding. I didn’t want to leave as I was having fun, but I knew I needed to be with her. She had been so good to me.

Friday, October 11, 1985

October 11, 1985: Dad's Ashes

On October 11, 1985, my friends and I were looking at my dad’s ashes in this urn. I think it freaked my mom out. It was weird to see my dad’s bones and such all made into small pieces. It was sad for me to see those ashes.



My mom knew how my dad loved Lake Michigan so we decided to throw his ashes out into Lake Michigan. We went out at night and walked the Pere Marquette Pier in the dark and spread his ashes at the end of the first stretch of the pier. I remember the two of us crying as it was so hard to do that. Who would have ever imagined that my father would take his life.
Before he died, we were thinking about moving to Florida, as he couldn’t find a good job in Muskegon. Plus, his parents were living down there in the winter months.


Sometime around that night, my mother had this vision, which I truly believe to this day. It wasn’t a dream, but it was God and my father letting her know that she was going to be OK and that she was going to find a job that she truly enjoyed. They also told her not to worry about her daughter, Amy, as I would be successful.     To this day, I always believe in that.  I don’t think it was a dream, but truly God and my father talking to us.