PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
JUNE 2015
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does! I say if you don’t love him,
there must be something wrong
with you! But, of course, I am
biased. I know for a fact, however, that many people love my
dad. If they are not telling me
how wonderful he is or how he
helped their pet during a crisis, I
see them giving him hugs, asking
how he is doing, or shaking his
hand when they see him out in
town. He is just a lovable guy
— almost like a real teddy bear.
Something about him just makes
you smile. A big man with a big
heart.
Recently, however, my dad’s
“size” has cha nged. He is different now, and it takes a lot of
getting used to. He is no longer
as large as he once was. His
heart, however, thanks to the
love of one woman, is bigger
than ever, and that is where the
story begins… .
Love can do funny things to
people. It can make a 65-year-old
man feel like a teenager again. It
can lift up a widower’s heart after
the loss of his first love. And
it can force a technically challenged old-timer to learn to text.
Just ask local veterinarian, Gary
Grote. He can tell you about all
of the above. He’ll tell you that
love can do amazing things for
people; it can literally save a life.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, love
saved Gary Grote’s life and, to
this day, it continues to save him
by lifting him up and giving him
something to live for.
Gary and his girlfriend, Cheryl
Gray, of Saginaw, planned a fishing trip in Aransas Pass the weekend before Valentine’s Day. They
had been traveling together quite
often, from Niagara Falls to Los
Angeles, and many places in between. Saturday, Feb. 7, around
7 a.m., would find them boarding
a fishing boat on the Gulf Coast,
another fun weekend trip for the
love birds. Little did they know
they would never cast a line that
day. Less than five minutes after
departure from the dock, the boat
is believed to have hit a sandbar
in the bay. Both Gary and Cheryl
were ejected from the front of the
Kissing in the cafeteria at Baylor
Institute for Rehabilitation, Dallas