Memories of Marty by Ron Withrow his high school friend
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:29 PM
To: K Brittingham
Attachments:
Hi again Kaye,
Marty loved life and he was a joy to be around. We were all devastated over his death. We all suffered. I can only imagine the impact his death had on you and the rest of his family. We only saw the accident scene but, it couldn't have been too long after it happened. The car was quite a ways off of the highway and it had to be moving pretty fast to end up that far from the highway.
Ronnie had another accident after that one, as I recall. His girlfriend, a Cottey girl, died in that one too. He was paralyzed from the shoulders down and he eventually died from his injuries. Ronnie didn’t seem to learn any lessons from Marty’s death but, Jarrel’s personality changed drastically afterward. He was a lot more withdrawn and not as outgoing. I can imagine he felt some responsibility for not attempting to control Ronnie. I know he drank a lot afterward and continued to drink heavily as an adult. I’ve lost track of Jarrel. Do you if he’s still alive?
Life was certainly different back in those days. The news, good or bad, was always delivered such in a matter-of-fact way. There was no help to deal with the grief. You were just expected to deal with it however you could. Things have changed for the better in that regard.
I joined the Navy right after graduation and never went back to Nevada. I eventually went into the computer business in 1980, moved back to KC from the east coast and set up an office in Overland Park. During the 10 years that I worked in KC, I would often drive down 71 through Nevada to visit my sister in Moundville. There hasn’t been a single trip made down, that my eyes aren’t drawn, like a magnet to the spot where Marty died just outside of Rich Hill and all those memories come flooding back. After all of these years, I still think it just shouldn’t have happened to Marty.
I much prefer remembering Marty the way he was before. He always put a smile on everybody that was ever around him. Like the song says “Only the good die young.” Even though we don’t see the justification in it, Heaven is a better place with Marty around.
Marty’s Friend,
Ron
To: K Brittingham
Attachments:
Hi again Kaye,
Marty loved life and he was a joy to be around. We were all devastated over his death. We all suffered. I can only imagine the impact his death had on you and the rest of his family. We only saw the accident scene but, it couldn't have been too long after it happened. The car was quite a ways off of the highway and it had to be moving pretty fast to end up that far from the highway.
Ronnie had another accident after that one, as I recall. His girlfriend, a Cottey girl, died in that one too. He was paralyzed from the shoulders down and he eventually died from his injuries. Ronnie didn’t seem to learn any lessons from Marty’s death but, Jarrel’s personality changed drastically afterward. He was a lot more withdrawn and not as outgoing. I can imagine he felt some responsibility for not attempting to control Ronnie. I know he drank a lot afterward and continued to drink heavily as an adult. I’ve lost track of Jarrel. Do you if he’s still alive?
Life was certainly different back in those days. The news, good or bad, was always delivered such in a matter-of-fact way. There was no help to deal with the grief. You were just expected to deal with it however you could. Things have changed for the better in that regard.
I joined the Navy right after graduation and never went back to Nevada. I eventually went into the computer business in 1980, moved back to KC from the east coast and set up an office in Overland Park. During the 10 years that I worked in KC, I would often drive down 71 through Nevada to visit my sister in Moundville. There hasn’t been a single trip made down, that my eyes aren’t drawn, like a magnet to the spot where Marty died just outside of Rich Hill and all those memories come flooding back. After all of these years, I still think it just shouldn’t have happened to Marty.
I much prefer remembering Marty the way he was before. He always put a smile on everybody that was ever around him. Like the song says “Only the good die young.” Even though we don’t see the justification in it, Heaven is a better place with Marty around.
Marty’s Friend,
Ron
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