One way by which we try to make meaningful the losses in our lives is by paying forward the compassion that consoles us.
Take, for example, Harlan C. Melz, 82, of rural Lakota, Iowa, a small town near the Minnesota border in Kossuth County. Harlan lost his wife of some 60 years, Connie Melz, on March 11, 2022.
Like Harlan, Connie was a hard worker, raising their three boys while helping Harlan on the family farm. When the boys were a little older, Connie went back to school, got a nursing degree and worked at a local retirement home until her own retirement.
There was more to life than work, of course, and when Connie wasn’t reading or playing the piano, she was often found quilting. During her final illness, her beloved quilting friends made and presented her with an enormous quilt, big enough for a king-size bed.
When Harlan — like much of the rest of the world — heard about January’s school shooting in Perry, his heart went out to the victims, particularly 11-year-old Ahmir “Smiley” Jolliff. As a way to honor his own now-lost loved one, Harlan donated Connie’s big quilt to an online auction that was raising money for the Perry victims, including Ahmir.
The winning bidders on Connie’s big quilt were Jolene and Narciso Galvan of Perry, a couple who have had losses of their own to contend with. In fact, they lost almost everything in a house fire on April 20, 2020.
Very narrowly saved from the fire was the life of Narciso’s brother, Anastasio L. “Stacy” Galvan, who was borne to safety through the bravery of five Perry Volunteer Fire Department firefighters: Israel Baltazar, Brian Eiteman, Joel Eiteman, Bobby Harlan and Andy Modlin.
Although he survived the fire, Stacy Galvan passed away March 5, 2021, in West Des Moines, Iowa, a hard loss for his brother and sister-in-law, with whom he lived in Perry since 2012.
“We are overjoyed to win this quilt,” said Jolene Galvan after the auction, “and we thank Mr. Melz from the bottom of our hearts for his generous donation in memory of his wife for Ahmir and the other victims. A lot of things don’t make any sense, but caring people like Mr. Melz help us all to heal.”
