June 2004
When I found out my dad had cancer, I was looking for a way to make sure that my family would always have something of my dad. I lost my brother in 1990 and all we have are pictures. My nieces and nephews don’t know what he sounded like or what his expressions were. I wanted to make sure they had something showing my dad and him telling his stories of his life. A friend told me about a book that she saw at the library about interviewing someone who is dying, so I went on the internet hoping to find this book. I came across a story about Kate Carter and LifeChronicles and how it all started.
I was totally surprised to read that there was someone out there doing this work. I immediately called and Katie was out of the office, but they told me she would call back. I hadn’t even asked my dad if he would be willing to do this, so I was getting ahead of myself. When Kate called back, I immediately knew I had the right person helping me.
Our biggest hurdle was she was in California, and I was in Indiana. Kate asked me to get her some phone numbers to local colleges or high schools in Indianapolis. I sent her some phone numbers and she called. After being turned down a few times, she kept asking and kept working on it for me.
She finally found someone, and we set up a day for them to come out and do the interview. My dad kept telling me that he couldn’t understand who would want to hear his stories, but he agreed to do it. Three young men came to the house and just immediately started to talk to dad while they were setting up their cameras. Dad became more relaxed and comfortable with all three of them; they joked around and talked before starting.
I didn’t think we would get a half-hour’s worth of tape, but to my surprise, after an hour and a half, they ran out of tape. It was amazing to me to see him come full of life when he was telling his stories, even though I had heard most of them hundreds of times before.
I am very thankful that I called Kate and could never be able to tell her how much it means to my family and me. My dad will live forever in this video and in our hearts.
Kevin S
Indianapolis, Indiana
