LETHA HEATH SWEETENS THE DAY
"I was raised in Fort Worth on a small farm. We were as poor as church mice but daddy got a job over at the shipyard in Hawaii. Daddy left in the very early hours of December 7, 1941, the night before Pearl Harbor was attacked. As soon as the attack occurred, his ship started zigzagging and the windows were blacked out so no light from the ship could be seen from the outside. The passengers were not allowed to let their families know where they were, so it was a very stressful 4 or 5 days for us back home. We didn't hear from him until he landed in California, but he had quite a story to tell."
Letha remembers, "Daddy brought me back a coconut from Hawaii with artwork on it and I still have it. "Reminisce Magazine" did an article on that coconut and my son Dan had it laminated for me."
Letha moved to Trophy Club in 1995 after living on a farm near Lake Whitney. She worked until she was 70 for DSA Incorporated and made the 70 mile roundtrip to Cleburne everyday for 35 years. Prior to that, she worked 14 years for Southwestern Bell in Fort Worth.
Letha is very proud of her family. She has four children: Dan, Shirley, Kenneth and Kathy, along with five grandsons, two granddaughters and two great-grandsons. "My son Dan had worked with MMOW through his job at American Airlines, helping as a sponsor for the annual golf tournament. He suggested I contact Kelly Bradley, who went to their church, about volunteering. I did and I started delivering meals with Nancy Burns on the Trophy Club/Marshall Creek Route."
"One of my fondest memories is that of delivering meals to Louise Carbonero. Nancy and I always delivered to Louise last so that we could spend some extra time with her and share stories with each other about the past. Since I had more free time, I also started helping out at Sadie's when it was across the street from Babe's. I stayed with Sadie's through the move to the new location. I also helped at the annual golf tournament and got to know Byron and Peggy Nelson through my church. It was really special to see how Byron was treated at the tournament and how much respect people had for him."
"In 2006, I had to quit delivering meals and was not able to get out due to an illness. All of a sudden, I had to receive meals for about two weeks. It made me realize how valuable MMOW is for people who cannot get out." "Now while I don't deliver meals or work at Sadie's anymore, I still try to help out at the office when I can. I help with the newsletters, Christmas cards, Classic Cafe` Dinner mailings, golf tournament mailings and with the security detail for the silent auction at the annual golf tournament. "
"I go to the Roanoke senior center luncheons every Wednesday, which helps me keep in touch with my friends and my MMOW people. I enjoy the senior center luncheons because it allows me to enjoy good conversation with others my age who understand my senior issues. I love the bingo days and enjoy crocheting. I have also started participating in the weekly exercise class that the senior center holds. It is just something I normally would not do and I enjoy it so much."
For Letha's 80th birthday, her family had a big party in her honor. Her MMOW family was very much a part of the festivities. It was great fun to meet so many people who think she is as special as we do. One of the guests was her former boss. He took great delight at bragging on Letha's culinary prowess and claimed that her great cooking was responsible for a pound or two! Not long thereafter, Letha showed us just what he was talking about. At the time, Krispy Kreme was donating hundreds of doughnuts to the senior center every week. Letha decided to make a slight substitution in her bread pudding recipe. Instead of bread, she used Krispy Kremes. The sugar high was indescribable and the bread pudding was incredible.
"MMOW is like a family to me." says Letha. "Brenda, Kelly, Darlene, Shirley, Mary and many others are inspirations to me because of their hard work to help seniors like me."