Former sports editor remembers daughter

Over a period of four years I wrote 150 or so Gatordawg articles in the Crestview News Bulletin. This one is the toughest I’ve written. One year ago today, on July 16, 2007 our youngest daughter, Whitney Megan, died from injuries suffered in a traffic accident. She was living her dream, playing college softball and had the world on a string. My family has lost a daughter, sister and friend. All my girls, Heather, Jessica and Holly; my son Alan and my wife Marge wanted to share a little memory about Whitney Megan. We thank all of you who have been kind enough to reach out and help from the bottom of our hearts. God Bless — Greg

As Whitney’s mother I would like to share some of Whitney’s thoughts on God, her family and her attitude on life. These are some quotes from Whitney. I am so blessed she kept a few journals; they are priceless to us and leave us with wonderful memories.
On God: Whitney’s list of things she was fasting for seven years ago:
“I want to have a better relationship with God
1. “I want God to show me things”
2. “I want to become more spiritual”
3. “For God to give me a want and a need to be more like Him.
4. To see God!!!! (Whitney wrote this in June of 2000. Seven years later she is with God)
On Family: On Dec. 29, 1999 Whitney had made a list of resolutions for the coming new year. One of them “was to be kind and sweet to my sisters’ and brother” Whitney loved her family with all her heart. She talked about her grandparents, her aunts, her uncles, her cousins and all her friends in a loving way. Whitney had a page in her journal about both her father and I. It’s too long to add. In one of her journals when she was 9 she wrote that she wanted “to be a singer for Christ or a football player or a gymnast.” Whitney was the baby of our family until she was 6, and we were all blessed with a baby boy, Alan. Whitney was not sure how she felt about the new baby at first, but at the age of 9 she shared her feelings about him, “He’s my favorite brother my only brother”; “My brother is very sweet in the heart”; Deep down I know he loves me”; and “My brother is really a funny person come to think of it.”
On Life: Shortly after Whitney’s death I was feeling very sad and thinking about having a pity party for myself. I decided to go through some of Whitney’s things and while doing so I found one of her college papers. As I began to read it my eyes where filled with tears, but my heart began to change about feeling sorry for myself. Here is what Whitney had written on her paper: “In life, there some things we cannot control. For example, getting sick, losing a friend or family member and so on. However, just because these things happen doesn’t mean we should be miserable, and soak in our own self-pity. If you just make the best of every situation and have a good attitude through it all, you can live a happy productive life.” That encouraged me not to feel sorry for myself but to take Whitney’s advice and words of wisdom, the strength from God and love and support from my family and friends and live a happy and productive life, knowing that one day I will hold my daughter in my arms again at the feet of our Lord and Savior.
It has now been a year since the loss of Whitney. This is in loving memory of her life.

From Heather:
Whitney —
I miss you. I have our memories. I miss the relationship we would have had as we grew older and wiser. “How can you miss something you never had?” I can because you were like me in many ways, and I can envision what might have been. Thank you for our last weekend together — it was cool, you were sweet! The hardest part of all of this is that I cannot change it or make it different — that is a hard pill for me to swallow. I know this is temporary and I look forward to the day we are all together. Until we meet again — I love you. Heather

From Jessica:
“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” — Kahlil Gibran

From Holly:
I cannot believe that has been a whole year since Whitney has left us. It’s amazing how the world does not stop just because yours does. I think of Whitney constantly. Everything reminds me of her and the time that we shared together. For 19 years she was by my side doing almost everything I did. I have so many wonderful memories with her, and I know that no one can ever take that away from me. If one memory sticks out more than another it would have to be the time that I got to spend with her while we lived together and played softball in Andalusia. It was such an awesome experience. Lots of things made it memorable: our funny little apartment, playing darts and cards at Jenny’s, our car rides home to Crestview for the weekend and the conversations we had with our teammates on the bus ride home from games. I could go on and on about the things we did together, but there is just too much to list. Those were some of the last memories I have with my sister, and I am grateful for that time I shared with her. I understand that time will go on and the years will pass by, but the thing that keeps me going is that I will see my best friend again some day…

Whitney’s grandmothers’ both agree that she brought great joy and happiness into their lives and they miss her.