the story of us

george anderson grief support programs

We have found that telling the story of loved ones passed on has many benefits--it gives the bereaved an outlet to share their grief, and also keeps the memory of loved ones alive in their hearts.

Over the years our readers have told us so many heartfelt stories about their loved ones--the funny times, the sad times, and what they have learned about both life and death.

Reading stories of another person's struggle to find hope and to remember the good helps the community of bereaved to feel connected to each other, and to know that they are not alone in their pain. We hope you find the stories interesting and inspirational.

If you have a story you would like to share, please send it to us at:
Storyofus@georgeanderson.com

please be sure to put "story of us" in the subject.

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Evelyn's story

I cant even tell you what my mom has been through! The hardest life I've ever imagined, as a child, in the war in Germany, seeing all of that, and then the Americans bombing Germany, and her grandmother's house bombed, and her dad in the German army and being able to get them out of there and safely to Austria.

It was hell for a little girl! The war finally ended in 1945, when she was 10, and thing did get better, but not much better. My mom told me, even civilians were put in prison camps, she was in one, too. Many bad things happened. It wasn't the German people who did this, it was who we know, did this--the Nazi regime, and not the people of Germany. Many of the war stories in books aren't all true--most are, but the government at the time did this to its own people.

My mom grew up, meets my dad, an American soldier, and falls in love and gets married. They dreamed of a child--yes, me! My mom had to say goodbye to my dad, however--he had to go back to America. She can't go, the doctors say in Germany, because she has Tuberculosis, so my dad goes back to America and tried to get my mom to America. It can't happen, because of red tape.

It was all bogus because she didn't actually have tuberculosis, but my mom is a German bride with an American husband and that was a big problem after the war. So, my mom stays in Germany, and I was born December 19th. The day before my birth in Germany, my dad was burned at work in NJ, at the plant he worked in. He was there on his day off, hoping to make more overtime to be able to afford a bedroom set for when his wife and baby came. Mom found out on the day I was born that he was hurt badly, and he found that day he had a baby girl. My grandfather said that he was badly burned and in great amounts of pain, but when he found out he had a little baby Evelyn, he smiled.

My dad died two days before President Eisenhower signed a bill which allowed my mom and me to come to America. My mom didn't know he died until she got off the plane in America. The story was in the news about us--I have newspaper articles from all over the world, about this story! It was the biggest story of the time.

From that day, however, my mom has lived a difficult life, full of sorrow. She is 72 yrs old, and we live a poor working life. Although her family was in Germany she stayed in America, for me, to have a better life-- she promised
my dad that. My mom deserves a medal for her life. If I could give my mom one thing, besides all my love, it would be, to give her a little happiness in this life, and her to know her life isn't in vain. She went through war, bombings, and prison camp. Our story made President Eisenhower sign a bill for me and my Mom to be Americans, and we are so proud to be.

True story! ~o~ Evelyn

Our grateful thanks to all our contributors for their heartfelt and courageous stories. If you would like to read previous installments, please click here