A Love Letter To Lisa

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we asked Patch readers to write a love letter to that special someone and let us deliver it. This is Rich Zinke’s love story about his late wife, Lisa:

“I met Lisa through mutual friends in 2006. We just exchanged pleasantries at first and then in 2008 my dad went into hospice care out of the area. Lisa was a hospice social worker and reached out to help. Initially I ignored her offer, but her kind and supportive manner led me to ask some occasional questions and I appreciated her calm assessment of my situation.

When my dad passed away, we found we had many things in common, among them a wacky sense of humor. I could never understand how she dealt with “death and dying” every day, and she said she could never understand my work in retailing. Neither of us had planned on getting married, but we became one of those made-for–TV Hallmark stories, and in 2010 it happened. Seeing a family crying and embracing Lisa after a visit is when I knew she had a special gift that I wanted to be a part of forever. For more than seven years we shared some truly wonderful times.

Three months ago she had two ruptured brain aneurysms, and after five hours of surgery I made the difficult decision to end life support. She died Nov. 14. She was able to donate many organs through the Gift of Life program, so although she is not here this February 14, knowing she was able to help others is the best possible Valentine’s Day gift for both of us.”

--Rich Zinke

See all Patch love letters here.

For next month's Love In A Small Town feature, we want to know: What place in town will always be a reminder of love for you? Whether it's the park where you had your first kiss or the restaurant where he proposed, email your story to locallove@patch.com for the chance to be featured. Get more details here.