February 27, 2025 • 38 mins
Join BeTempered Podcast hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr for an uplifting episode featuring the inspiring story of Becky Morin, a beacon of resilience and community spirit. Growing up as one of nine siblings, Becky experienced the joys and challenges of a bustling household, instilling in her the values of hard work and cooperation. As she navigated adulthood, family, and grief, she built a career dedicated to serving her community through meaningful programs.
Becky’s journey took a challenging turn when she faced significant adversity due to cancer, intensifying her commitment to supporting others through the Livestrong program at the YMCA. Her dedication to fostering a sense of belonging and connection within the community is truly remarkable. As she reflects on her experiences and the culture cultivated at the YMCA, she emphasizes the healing power of communal support.
Now embracing post-retirement life, Becky finds joy in gardening and nurturing her beloved grandchildren, filling each day with purpose and positivity. This episode is a testament to the strength forged from hardship, and Becky’s insights inspire us to embrace life fully and support one another through its ups and downs.
Tune in to hear her incredible story on the BeTempered Podcast with Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr! Let her experiences motivate you to create lasting connections in your own life. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more inspiring stories like Becky’s!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, my name is Allie Schmidt.
This is my dad, dan.
He owns Catron's Glass.
Thanks, allie.
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(00:20):
and services.
Call 962-1636.
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kitchen's best, the clear choice.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Be Tempered Podcast, where we
explore the art of findingbalance in a chaotic world.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Join us as we delve into insightful conversations,
practical tips and inspiringstories to help you navigate
life's ups and downs with graceand resilience.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We're your hosts, Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr.
Let's embark on a journey tolive our best lives.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
This is Be Tempered.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
What's up everybody.
Welcome to the Be Temperedpodcast, episode number 43.
43.
You said that confidently.
I did Every week.
It's like has it been right oris it wrong?
I don't know.
You had one mess up and wewon't let you uh won't let me
live it down.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
So now I'm gonna go 43 ish, somewhere around 43 oh,
that's good.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, today we have an amazing woman here with us
today, miss becky moran.
She has lived an amazing life,she's done some amazing things
things she's been through somechallenges that she'll discuss,
and I am excited that sheaccepted the invitation to come
on the Be Tempered podcast.
So, becky, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, we're excited to have you, excited for you to
share your story.
I know you've got some familyout there that may have pushed
you a little bit to come on here.
So you know, we have maybe asister or two to thank.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Just a few.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we appreciate that .
But, becky, how we start everyepisode is by learning your
story from childhood, growing up.
So if you would start there?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Okay, well, I'm a child of nine um.
My parents is john and eleanorhake.
Um, they were from eaton area.
Um lived a few other places.
Mercer county was where mymother was from and I think
we're we have a connection there.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, for my wife.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, yes, so anyway, um, yeah, I won't go into their
whole story because their storyis pretty amazing, but anyway,
um yeah, so we grew up in eatonin lewisburg area.
My father, he was a contractorand so he bought homes and so we
moved multiple times.
(02:40):
You know, he would sell thehouse and he's like, okay, we
got to move.
So he built another housesimilar to that house, and so we
always had something to go into.
Sometimes we lived in a smallhome with like three bedrooms
with nine children, so theywould turn the porch into a
bedroom and we lived there formaybe three months until they
(03:00):
got the other house built, andthen my mother, she was a
realtor months until they gotthe other house built, and then
my mother, she was a realtor, soshe did real estate now
probably 40, 50 years, so so sonine nine siblings.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Nine children total.
What was it like being in ahouse with nine other kids, so
11 total in the family?
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
It was always busy.
Um, we were, you know we didn'thave many toys.
We, you know, did the chores,the brothers.
They had to do the outsidechores and then we did the
inside chores of laundry dishesand then we had to go help dad
with the home.
You know we would clean thehouses out before they would,
you know, sweep them.
We'd fill nail holes.
(03:43):
You know we would clean thehouses out before they would,
you know, sweep them, we'd fillnail holes.
You know we would do whateverwe could wash the windows, you
know, prep the homes for them tosell.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
So cheap labor yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
That was the first childhood labor, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Oh, that's good.
So so growing up, uh was busy,right?
No, always busy, alwayssomething to do.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
We were in some sports.
I was in swim team diving, butwe had to get up and you know
tend to the garden before wecould go to the swimming pool.
So it was fun, but you know wealways worked together on it.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Did you graduate from Eaton?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I did Okay, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
So you graduate from Eaton High.
I did Okay.
Yes, so you graduate from Eatonhigh school.
I got all your siblings.
What's next for you after highschool?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
I went to Wright state for about two years.
Um, I actually met my husband,um, before I went to school
Wright state, and so we dated alittle bit during school and
then he asked me to marry himand I left college and got
married and we moved toCincinnati for a period of time.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Okay, what was down in Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
His work, okay, he worked for AT&T, the big phone
company.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So you're young, you're married, you're living in Cincinnati
Family.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yes, so about 11 months later we had our first
child, sarah, and then we werestill in Cincinnati, and then we
moved to Kentucky when she wasprobably six months old, and
then we had another child, john,about a year and a half apart.
So we lived there for aboutthree years, four years, and
(05:26):
then we moved back to Eaton.
I was driving home probablytwice, three times a week,
visiting my family.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So he got a transfer to Eaton.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
To move back home, not actually.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Eaton, but he still worked in Cincinnati for a long
time.
Then he went to Dayton and justmoved around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So that family pole brought you back.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So you were nine kids .
Speaker 3 (05:48):
You were tight.
I mean you had very closerelationship with your family If
you're living in Cincinnati andyou're driving home two or
three days a week correct,there's a pole there and a
loving family for sure.
So you moved back home, andhow'd that feel?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
um, it was good.
Um, we had a house that we momfound for us in town.
We rented it from my parentsfor about nine months.
Then we ended up buying it fromthem.
It was an older duplex and werehabbed that, so we were always
in the construction, so we dida lot of rehab well you had
those skills right yeah, right.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, and if we didn't, we would ask dad or my
brother, ken.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
We always had someone to help us.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, that's, that's great.
And and that the Hake familyname, um, you know that was
construction.
I mean, if you had a Hake home,that's a, that's a good home.
So, um, you definitely learnsome some valuable lessons from
from your father and mother forsure.
So you're in Eaton, you'reraising a young family, life's
moving on.
How's things going?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Um, it was going good .
Um, so I was working atjuvenile court, um, with judge
dues, for a period of timeactually about 10, 10 years
worked with him, and thentowards the end of that time,
about eight years in, he waswanting to build a youth
facility.
So I helped him on that, alongwith everyone else in the
(07:15):
courthouse or not courthouse,but in the juvenile court and we
would find different placesthat we thought we could do it
and we would do activities atthe pool, at the fairgrounds,
and then finally the YMCA cameto Bill Dews and met with him
and said that he would like topartner.
So then that took aboutprobably another 18 months where
(07:39):
we were working on fundraisingand designing the building, and
so so I was involved with, youknow, the designing construction
.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That's awesome and then fundraising.
Well, and you know you kind ofsaid that all kind of quick, but
I want people to recognize,especially for those that may
not be from our area, fromPreble County, Ohio, small
community, Correct, Ruralcommunity, Never really had
anything like the YMCA.
No, it was a big, bigopportunity and a big
(08:11):
undertaking for the communityand you did a lot to bring the Y
along with Judge Dews to PrebleCounty, along with Judge Dews
to Preble County Every morningand in fact last week my son,
Ryan, and I are going in in themorning at the Y and he said Dad
(08:32):
, who are you interviewing nextweek for the podcast?
And I said, well, Becky.
Well, who's Becky?
I said when we walk into the Y,guess what?
When you walk in in thevestibule, on the right-hand
side is a plaque of Judge Dews,On the left-hand side is a
plaque of Judge Deuce, On theleft-hand side is a plaque of
Becky.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
So you did a lot.
They surprised me with that.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, but it took that leadership.
We just did a podcast withMaddie Ledgerwood on leadership
and two leaders, Judge Deuce andBecky Morin.
You guys made that happenbecause there was some pushback?
Oh, definitely.
And how did you overcome thatpushback?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Because that's a big deal to bring that facility,
because it's not just the Y,it's so much more.
The fundraising was very hardat first because there was a
philanthropist that came intothe community many years ago and
he actually ran away with allthe money that was raised to
build a facility.
And so people were pushing backand they said, no, they're not
going to donate to a causebecause they don't know who the
(09:38):
philanthropist is.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
How do you overcome that?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, we had many meetings.
We would take them into the.
Well, I think we went to thecountry club a few times.
And you know, different smallplaces where we could meet with
them.
And John Prues, he was thephilanthropist that came in and
he was from Chicago that came inand he was from Chicago and
(10:06):
he's actually done a lot of workin the community since then
with Parker Hanifin and HennyPenny, so he would, you know,
work with those companies andthey, they trusted him and so he
was a great person.
He actually had someconnections to the community so
that that helped.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I didn't realize prior to that that there was a
philanthropist that raised themoney and then left I did not
know that either until until youwere in the middle of it wow,
wow that you know it's quite abit of money back then okay,
talk about a challenge, yes, youknow, to try to convince an
individual or a business or manyindividuals to give um to make
(10:47):
this come to fruition, becauseit was a big need in our
community.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
And, uh, and and you and judge dues leadership was
able to to make that happen.
So talk about the constructionprocess it happens, the
buildings built.
Talk about the grand opening.
That had to be a prettymemorable time.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yes, it was.
It was February 2nd 2002, Ibelieve.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
And we opened it up and there was hundreds of people
and it was on a Sunday, youknow and just filled the
facility.
And so you know we had thestaff.
We had to.
I pretty much had to help hirethe staff because the people
that they brought in JoshSullenberger, he was there at
(11:36):
the beginning and he didn't knowanyone in the community, so
they wanted to have, you know,the leadership of the community
there.
And so I helped hire the people, helped hire the board, and you
know it was a busy time.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Took the bull by the horns.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And so, probably for the first year, I worked every
day for 17, 18 hours.
I go in the morning, make sureeverything was opened right,
stay till closing, and then itwas finally had.
The staff that they knew whatthey were doing felt comfortable
with that, so I was able tostep back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
And that goes back to you being raised with your
family, right, you had to do thework.
You had to help to build thehouses, to clean the houses, to
do whatever it took to do thelaundry for 11 people in a house
.
I know there's seven people inmy house and I feel like that's
all my wife does is laundry, soI can only imagine adding those
additional numbers with laundry.
(12:32):
So you learn those valuablelessons growing up and then you
transition to helping raise thefunds to build this amazing
facility that we have in PrebleCounty, ohio.
That's now been what you saidoh four, so 20 some years later.
Here it is, with some additionsthat have happened to it the
growth with the medical center.
You know it's.
(12:53):
It's a beautiful facility, it'san important facility for our
community and to hear that youspent that much time, 17 hours a
day, for seven days a week, forhowever many years, to help to
get that off the ground and tobe comfortable, that is amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Yeah, thanks.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It was fun.
It's a testament to you.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I always try to make things fun.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Yeah, and you did because I was involved there,
you know, teaching some classes,and I'd see in the mornings and
then if I was there in theevening, I'd see in the evenings
like does this woman ever gohome?
But it made a big impact on me.
So I appreciate your leadershipand appreciate all you did and
and judge dues, uh, you know forbringing that facility to
(13:37):
Preble County.
So at the same time, not onlyare you doing that, but you're
still raising a family, right?
Yeah, life's still going on.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Kids were getting bigger.
They were in junior high, highschool at the time, so they were
able to cook a little bit forthemselves.
And my husband?
He stepped up and did a lot ofcooking or went out and got
dinner somewhere.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
So then, as things are progressing and life's
progressing, there's somechallenges that happen.
Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, so I guess it was about 15 years ago.
My mother she died of cancerand then my brother died of
cancer and then my dad died ofcancer, all within about a
two-year period.
And so I was researching alittle bit on cancer programs
(14:29):
and I come across this programcalled Listrong Listrong at the
YMCA, and I went to thepresident and vice president of
the YMCA, Greater Dayton, and Itold him I says I'm not going to
ask you to do this program, I'mtelling you we're going to do
it.
And I said I'm not taking nofor an answer, it's going to
take time and money.
(14:50):
And so he he agreed, which Iwasn't going to let him.
But anyway, it was about an 18month program that we had to go
to Chicago um about every threemonths, and so Josh Sullenberger
and then Heather Macy andmyself we would go to Chicago
for two or three days at a timeand we had to do the homework
(15:14):
and study and get that going.
And so our first class that wehad to do, we had to interview
cancer survivors, and so we justgot to pick someone, and it was
mainly people that were part ofour YMCA membership.
So I had interviewed a lady.
Her name was Delaine McIntyre,and so she was telling me her
(15:37):
story and you know how she foundout that she had the cancer and
so she had multiple myeloma andshe broke her ribs when she was
making her bed, and so shethought you know, that's not
right.
And so she made the bed manydays and then it just happened.
(15:59):
So they took her in and it tooka while to figure out what it
was.
So anyway, she had gone in andhad infusions and blood fusions
and everything and went througha lot of cancer treatments up at
Ohio State and then, probablyabout two years later, I broke
(16:22):
my rib opening up the car doorfor my grandson at the Y, and I
thought this is not right, andthe first thing that came to my
mind was Delaine McIntyre.
And I'm not a hypochondriac oranything like that.
I just thought this justdoesn't feel right.
So I, you know, went to thedoctor.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I have a brother brother-in-law, that's a doctor,
actually a few of them.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
So I went to Dr Mark and he, you know, did x-rays and
, you know, did some blood work.
Couldn't find anything that youknow would have caused me to
break my rib and then also myshoulder collarbone froze up and
I couldn't move my arm.
I thought, okay, something'sreally going on.
(17:10):
So he put me through multipletests and he just still couldn't
find anything out.
And then I went to my otherbrother-in-law, joe DeCicco, and
he was going to give me a shotin the collarbone to give me
some movement in my arm, and hewas like I'm just going to do
(17:31):
one more x-ray.
And he did the x-ray and he waslike do you have cancer?
And so I had the same type ofcancer that Delane had.
So I had a good connection withher still great friends with
her today.
So I had a good connection withher, still great friends with
her today.
(17:51):
But you know, that time myhusband, doug, he was in Canada
fishing and so I could not tellanyone.
So he was like you know, I'mcalling your sister Julie, his
wife.
So we went out, I spent thenight with them and just cried
(18:13):
and did all the normal thingsthat you do when you find out
you have cancer.
So they got me hooked up withan oncologist over in Dayton, dr
Lavelle, and then he was like Iwant you to go to the best, I'm
going to send you to Ohio State.
So he sent me to Ohio State andI saw Dr Efiber Abera, which
great doctor.
She's no longer with Ohio Statebut she is still practicing.
(18:37):
So then the first time I metwith her, doug and my sister
Julie went up to Ohio State andwe were up to Ohio State and we
were going through all the bloodwork and more tests and she was
going through a study that Icould be in and it was kind of a
(18:58):
you know, you don't know ifyou're going to have the actual
meds or if you're going to havethe placebo, and so I was like,
oh, I was a little nervous aboutthat.
And I said but she was like thestudy is to help people, you
know, find out, you know if themedication works, and so,
luckily, I was on the stem thatwas actual, the actual
(19:22):
medication.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So and I said first thing I said to her I said when
am I going to be over it?
I got things I got to do.
I'm not one to sit around, butit did wear me out.
But I just felt that otherpeople went through things much
worse.
There's so many people thathave gone through some hard
(19:43):
things, so I was just ready toget on and get moving and get
over it.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Now, that's amazing.
Can you talk about when theconversation came up and he told
you you've got cancer?
What's that initial feelinglike?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Oh, I just was numb.
Um, he was my brother-in-law.
He was numb.
He actually was banging hishead against the wall sitting in
the chair.
He did not want to tell me, andso it was just.
You know, we sat in the officefor a little bit and.
I didn't cry until my sistercame.
And so it's just like I, youknow, and I really I couldn't
(20:26):
tell anyone that I had cancer, Icouldn't tell my kids because
my husband was in Canada, wasn'treachable, and he was there for
two weeks.
He had just gone, and so I justkind of hid in my house and
just not talked to anyone.
And then finally I had oneperson that came over and
(20:46):
actually my brother Ken, and hewas like like you're not
answering your phone, you're notwhat's going on.
And so I just burst into tearsand told him and you know, he
stayed, stayed at the house, wewatched tv for probably four or
five hours, just went through awhole um season of a show.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yeah, yeah, and I mean I, I can't imagine the
feeling because you know yousaid you lost your, your mom and
your dad and your brother allin a short period of time with
cancer.
You know you, you use thatexperience to force the why to
bring in the Livestrong programwhere you.
(21:26):
You know you heard the storyfrom Deb Delene, delene sorry
and probably multiple otherstories along that way.
Oh definitely To lead you to thejourney that you never want.
That nobody ever wants to hear,but I don't know how many
people hear every day that theyhave cancer.
And then once you and then yourhusband's away for two weeks on
(21:51):
a fishing trip in Canada andyou've got to kind of hold all
that in, and that's that's achallenging spot.
Did you ever ask why me?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
No, no, I did not.
I just felt, you know, thechances of me getting cancer was
fairly high with.
You know, our family history ofcancer.
My mom's, you know, mom wascolon cancer and many of her
brothers had colon cancer.
So that's kind of what Ifigured I would have it was
(22:24):
colon cancer.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But never did I think that I would have multiple
myeloma, which is a blood cancer.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
So yeah, and you, you get through.
So you go in and you have thistreatment and it works right.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yes, and it's not curable.
They say it's similar todiabetes.
You know it's something thatyou have to treat every single
day.
So I'm still on a chemo pill,take two every day, and I will
for life or until the cancercomes back.
And majority of the time, mostpeople, the cancer has come back
(23:06):
.
The time, most people, thecancer debt has come back and
you know you just got to dealwith it.
And they have many otherprograms out, medication
programs out there that they'relearning to heal people with.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
So so again, all these people out there in this
world who are told they havecancer on a daily basis, trying
trying to navigate what thatlooks like and what the next
steps are.
And here you are, where youknow you're going to be fighting
this battle for the rest ofyour life.
What advice do you give tothose people who may be in a
(23:39):
similar situation where they'retold they have cancer?
What advice do you have to giveto those people you know to try
to get them through the initialshock of understanding the
diagnosis they've been given?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I'd say mainly, just stay positive.
You know, don't think of it asa life sentence.
You know, most people could getthrough cancer now.
There's many treatmentsavailable.
So just do the research eathealthy exercise.
So just do the research eathealthy exercise.
You know, just take care ofyourself and then have fun.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
That's right, that's right, so you get through that.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
What's next in life?
Well, I continued working atthe Y, you know.
I was still there and continuedwith the Live Strong program,
continued with my dailyactivities, and then COVID came,
and so my risk of getting sickis very high, so I was working
(24:40):
from home.
I worked from home for aboutnine months and they finally
told me.
They said you either have tocome back.
They never said or, but theysaid you need to come back.
And I was like my husband hejust retired in March of 2020,
which was planned, and then, youknow, come June, I decided that
(25:04):
I was going to retire.
Wasn't old't, old enough, but Ijust wanted to take care of
myself, take care of my familyand just enjoy life a little bit
more.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, so you retire your husband's retired.
What keeps you busy?
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Gardening and my kids and grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
And I actually have a great-granddaughter she's four
years old.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So she's probably the love of my life, right now yeah
, and.
I don't get to see her as oftenas I used to.
I used to babysit her aboutthree or four days a week.
Now I'm down to once every twoweeks.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
So it's hard, yeah, it's hard, but it's important to
have those relationships withthose grandchildren.
You know, as you were talkingabout your cancer diagnosis, my
dad was diagnosed with prostatecancer in 2012.
And I remember when he told meyou know it was.
It's a shock, right.
(26:02):
Because, you know the C word isnothing anybody ever wants to
hear, but it's so prevalent inin our society today and and
there's so many different formsof cancer and you know some you
have better options to getthrough and others you don't.
And, um, you know people aredying daily of it and it's
trying to figure out why.
(26:23):
You know what causes it and youknow we, we know certain things
cause different things, but alot of times it's it can be a
family history, right, and sothose are.
Those are things people worryabout.
But when in 2012, when dad wasdiagnosed with prostate cancer,
I'll never forget we were at a Yevent.
They were doing the triathlonat Lackengrin at.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Lake.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Lackengrin and uh, and he did it.
He had not went through, he'djust been given the diagnosis
and they were putting a plan ofattack in place of what to do,
uh, with his prostate and allthose things.
And I'll never forget, we gotdone with with that event and
dad sitting there and justsaying I've got cancer inside of
me.
You know, it just seems soweird that here I am, you know,
(27:08):
running and biking and doing allthese things, but there's, you
know, there's this diseaseinside of my body that I have to
get out and I don't know what'sto come right, and I think
that's probably the scariestthing that anybody's given, and
a cancer diagnosis is one.
When you think of cancer, youthink of death, right, which is
everybody's fear, but somehow,some way, you're given that
(27:31):
diagnosis and you make thedetermination that other people
have it worse than me.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, and you know, you see people that don't have
limbs.
You see people that are blind,or you know just so many issues
Massive heart attacks that youknow put them in the grave, or
you know, somewhere in betweennot being able to walk.
You know it's just.
(27:59):
I always feel that you knowI've been blessed and I don't
have it as hard as many people.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
That's an amazing perspective on life.
For sure.
You're an amazing woman.
You're a servant leader.
You've done the amazing thingswith bringing the why and then
continuing it on, and here it'sstill going today, I think, just
as strong as it's ever been.
What's it like for you to stepback and to look at the why and
(28:28):
to see its growth and to seewhat it's done for the community
, knowing that you were part ofthat in the beginning?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think you know the leadership there.
Heather Garcia is now theexecutive director and I think
she's going to be an excellentleader there.
She's very friendly, she's youknow out with the members and
she'll do a great job and Ithink you know the staff that
they have there.
People go there for a reason toget healthy.
(28:57):
Give them something to do, justsee their friends.
You know that's one place thatthey could go in and they could
meet with their friends and havecoffee with them.
The older people and then theyounger kids they go in and play
basketball and then justlearning how to swim, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
And I think that's one thing that makes the Y and
any Y in any community unique tojust a regular gym is, you know
you have that sense ofcommunity.
It's not just you know, a bunchof big guys in there working
out, you know, trying to thatsense of community.
It's not just you know a bunchof big guys in there working out
, you know, trying to push abunch of weight.
You know there's, you know,ranging from, you know, from
youth to, you know, 90 year oldsin there doing whatever, and
(29:39):
some of them just go in and havecoffee just to have that
conversation and have thatfellowship.
I think that's.
That's one thing that makes theY unique and a little different
from other just gyms andcommunities.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I can remember a gentleman coming in there and he
would just walk the track andhe would come in because we'd
say hello to him.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know he said no one ever says hello.
Wherever we go, no one eversays hello.
And you're all friendly.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
And that's what life's all about, right, it's
all about making right.
It's all about making thoseconnections with people.
And uh, cause we talk about itevery week?
I think you know everybody'sgot a story, everybody's got
challenges they face, whetherit's cancer, whether it's the
loss of a limb, uh, you know,whatever it may be, and and just
to to make those connectionsand to talk to people, right,
that's what's important.
I think that's what makes thewhy unique.
(30:29):
So let me ask you whatmotivates you now, at this stage
of your life, with everythingyou've been through, what
motivates you to get out of bedin the morning?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Oh, I have a long list of things that I do on a
daily basis and just you know Igot to check those off.
So my gardening I stay busywith it pretty much year round,
whether it's, you know, planningfor the, what I'm going to
plant, buying more seeds orbulbs or plants or whatever.
(30:56):
My husband always tells me toslow down.
I just keep putting moreplastic tarp on the grass and
throwing off a little grass.
I could add some more flower.
Let's make it bigger and biggerand bigger Less to mow, that's
right.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
You're doing him a favor.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Here we are.
We're in February, right, youknow.
So we're still in the in thewinter months in Ohio and in
Indiana, and but we're gettingready for the spring.
That planting season, right,yes, that planting season, right
, yes, definitely, which I cantell, just like the farming,
that's right, yes, it's coming.
Whether we're ready or we'renot, what?
Speaker 2 (31:37):
do you value most in your relationship with others?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Well, I would say just true friendship,
communication, being atrustworthy person, yeah, so If
you could have a conversationwith one person, living or
deceased, who would it be andwhy?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I'd say right now try not to cry, it would be my
grandson Um.
he was my oldest grandson and hewas killed in a motorcycle
wreck almost two years ago andhe went on a little trip with my
(32:23):
husband and they did agenealogy trip and my grandson
Peyton he did not want to do itand when he came back he said it
was the best trip he's everdone, learning about his family
history and and so he went.
As soon as he got home hejumped on his bike and he was
(32:44):
going to go see his uncle totell him about it and go visit
some of his friends.
And she never came home thatnight.
So that was.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
That's a challenge.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
It's very hard.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
A major, major challenge in your life and your
family's life, especially afterall that you had been through.
You know, but the loss of achild, the loss of a grandson, a
granddaughter, whatever it maybe, you know, I think that's
it's my number one fear in life.
Right, you know you can, youcan handle cancer, you can
(33:20):
handle, uh, differentadversities that come, but when
a when a tragic event happenslike that, it kind of makes the
world stop.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Definitely.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
How do you keep going from that?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
His daughter.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yeah, that's your, my great granddaughter.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, so, like I said , she is my life.
Um, we get together, we have.
I just stop everything that I'mdoing and just do whatever she
wants.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Devote your time to her.
Yeah, that's amazing, becky.
You're an amazing woman.
You have done some amazingthings and you've been through
some very, very difficult timesthat a lot of people won't face,
but you do it with a positiveattitude.
You're an inspiration to many.
(34:09):
I want you to think about anyquotes, any Bible verses, any
closing thoughts you might haveto someone out there who's
listening, who may have lost achild, may have been given a
diagnosis of cancer, may justhave had a rough day and lost
their job.
Do you have any advice forthose people out there?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
lost their job.
Do you have any advice forthose people out there?
Well, I would say, you know,just live life to the fullest.
Um you, you never know what'sgoing to happen.
You know, just don't, don'tregret not doing something.
Just you know and tell, tellthem that you love them.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
You know, that's the main thing, just let them know
that you love them, because younever know when it's going to be
over for all of us.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Just want to make sure that they know it.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Yeah, that's amazing advice.
You're an amazing woman.
You know.
This has went really quickbecause, as most people who are
servant leaders and theirfamilies and in their lives,
they, they, they gloss over allthose things very quickly.
Right, and and I hope thateveryone who listens to this
(35:22):
recognizes that you know, asquickly as you talked about the
cancer and your family and yourgrandson and all those things
that you've been through in life, that you are an amazing woman.
You're an amazing leader.
I am.
I'm thankful that I got to be apart of some of your leadership
(35:42):
at the Y when I was there, uh,you know, working with the move
to lose program and teaching thebike classes and doing all
those those fun things andhelping to try to inspire, uh, a
lot of the women in the move tolose program.
I don't know that I had any men, I think they were all women uh
, at five in the morning.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Um, you know, but with your guidance and your,
your leadership, uh, you'vechanged many lives.
And uh and I hope that yourecognize that and I hope that
you take a step back and look atthat and and uh, you know and
are proud of of what you've doneand what you've been able to
accomplish, uh, for your family,but also for our community,
yeah, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
Yeah, ben, you got anything to add no, I, I go to
the Y all the time, I actuallyand I still have a purple edge
membership, but it's I go to theY because kind of the same
thing, right, and I've been tomultiple different Ys.
I go and play basketball in themornings with there's no Y like
the Preble Y when you talkabout being like greeted and
everything.
Most of those people know yourname.
(36:42):
When you walk in it's not justa hey, how are you doing?
It's you know.
Hey, becky, how are you doingtoday?
How's you know something youmay have said yesterday that
reminds them that they, you know, they listened, they understood
and that's a culture thing thatwe talked about, you know, in
our last episode and you knowyour plaques in there like you
helped build that.
I just can't imagine how proudyou must be every time you walk
(37:03):
back in there and know like Ihelped build this culture.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Anything to add for your sisters?
Speaker 3 (37:12):
um, they're next oh, that's great, becky, appreciate
you taking the time to come overhere and do this.
I I know a lot of people whenthey when they come in here,
they have some anxiety yes, youknow, and and a little bit
apprehensive.
But, um, I appreciate yousharing your story because
there's no doubt there's someoneout there, like I said, dealing
(37:34):
with something that will beimpacted by your message, and so
we appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
All right.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
You did amazing, thank you.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
All right, everybody, please like and share and
subscribe and do all thosethings.
I know everybody in theirfamily has someone who's dealt
with cancer, or a friend, if notin your family.
So be sure to share Becky'smessage and go out and be
tempered.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Hi, my name is Allie Schmidt.
This is my dad, dan.
He owns Catron's Glass.
Thanks, allie.
Things like doors and windowsgo into making a house, but when
it's your home, you expect morelike the great service and
selection you'll get fromCatron's Glass.
Final replacement windows fromCatron's come with a lifetime
warranty, including accidentalglass breakage replacement.
Also ask for custom showerdoors and many other products
(38:22):
and services.
Call 962-1636.
Locally owned, with localemployees for nearly 30 years,
catron's Glass the clear choice.
Hi, my name is Allie Schmidt.
This is my dad, dan.
He owns Catron's Glass.
Thanks, allie.
Things like doors and windowsgo into making a house, but when
it's your home, you expect morelike the great service and
selection you'll get fromCatron's Glass.
Final replacement windows fromCatron's come with a lifetime
warranty, including accidentalglass breakage replacement.
Also ask for custom showerdoors and many other products
(00:20):
and services.
Call 962-1636.
Locally owned, with localemployees for nearly 30 years,
kitchen's best, the clear choice.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Be Tempered Podcast, where we
explore the art of findingbalance in a chaotic world.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Join us as we delve into insightful conversations,
practical tips and inspiringstories to help you navigate
life's ups and downs with graceand resilience.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We're your hosts, Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr.
Let's embark on a journey tolive our best lives.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
This is Be Tempered.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
What's up everybody.
Welcome to the Be Temperedpodcast, episode number 43.
43.
You said that confidently.
I did Every week.
It's like has it been right oris it wrong?
I don't know.
You had one mess up and wewon't let you uh won't let me
live it down.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
So now I'm gonna go 43 ish, somewhere around 43 oh,
that's good.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, today we have an amazing woman here with us
today, miss becky moran.
She has lived an amazing life,she's done some amazing things
things she's been through somechallenges that she'll discuss,
and I am excited that sheaccepted the invitation to come
on the Be Tempered podcast.
So, becky, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, we're excited to have you, excited for you to
share your story.
I know you've got some familyout there that may have pushed
you a little bit to come on here.
So you know, we have maybe asister or two to thank.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Just a few.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we appreciate that .
But, becky, how we start everyepisode is by learning your
story from childhood, growing up.
So if you would start there?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Okay, well, I'm a child of nine um.
My parents is john and eleanorhake.
Um, they were from eaton area.
Um lived a few other places.
Mercer county was where mymother was from and I think
we're we have a connection there.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, for my wife.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, yes, so anyway, um, yeah, I won't go into their
whole story because their storyis pretty amazing, but anyway,
um yeah, so we grew up in eatonin lewisburg area.
My father, he was a contractorand so he bought homes and so we
moved multiple times.
(02:40):
You know, he would sell thehouse and he's like, okay, we
got to move.
So he built another housesimilar to that house, and so we
always had something to go into.
Sometimes we lived in a smallhome with like three bedrooms
with nine children, so theywould turn the porch into a
bedroom and we lived there formaybe three months until they
(03:00):
got the other house built, andthen my mother, she was a
realtor months until they gotthe other house built, and then
my mother, she was a realtor, soshe did real estate now
probably 40, 50 years, so so sonine nine siblings.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Nine children total.
What was it like being in ahouse with nine other kids, so
11 total in the family?
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
It was always busy.
Um, we were, you know we didn'thave many toys.
We, you know, did the chores,the brothers.
They had to do the outsidechores and then we did the
inside chores of laundry dishesand then we had to go help dad
with the home.
You know we would clean thehouses out before they would,
you know, sweep them.
We'd fill nail holes.
(03:43):
You know we would clean thehouses out before they would,
you know, sweep them, we'd fillnail holes.
You know we would do whateverwe could wash the windows, you
know, prep the homes for them tosell.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
So cheap labor yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
That was the first childhood labor, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Oh, that's good.
So so growing up, uh was busy,right?
No, always busy, alwayssomething to do.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
We were in some sports.
I was in swim team diving, butwe had to get up and you know
tend to the garden before wecould go to the swimming pool.
So it was fun, but you know wealways worked together on it.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Did you graduate from Eaton?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I did Okay, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
So you graduate from Eaton High.
I did Okay.
Yes, so you graduate from Eatonhigh school.
I got all your siblings.
What's next for you after highschool?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
I went to Wright state for about two years.
Um, I actually met my husband,um, before I went to school
Wright state, and so we dated alittle bit during school and
then he asked me to marry himand I left college and got
married and we moved toCincinnati for a period of time.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Okay, what was down in Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
His work, okay, he worked for AT&T, the big phone
company.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So you're young, you're married, you're living in Cincinnati
Family.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yes, so about 11 months later we had our first
child, sarah, and then we werestill in Cincinnati, and then we
moved to Kentucky when she wasprobably six months old, and
then we had another child, john,about a year and a half apart.
So we lived there for aboutthree years, four years, and
(05:26):
then we moved back to Eaton.
I was driving home probablytwice, three times a week,
visiting my family.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So he got a transfer to Eaton.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
To move back home, not actually.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Eaton, but he still worked in Cincinnati for a long
time.
Then he went to Dayton and justmoved around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So that family pole brought you back.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So you were nine kids .
Speaker 3 (05:48):
You were tight.
I mean you had very closerelationship with your family If
you're living in Cincinnati andyou're driving home two or
three days a week correct,there's a pole there and a
loving family for sure.
So you moved back home, andhow'd that feel?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
um, it was good.
Um, we had a house that we momfound for us in town.
We rented it from my parentsfor about nine months.
Then we ended up buying it fromthem.
It was an older duplex and werehabbed that, so we were always
in the construction, so we dida lot of rehab well you had
those skills right yeah, right.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, and if we didn't, we would ask dad or my
brother, ken.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
We always had someone to help us.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, that's, that's great.
And and that the Hake familyname, um, you know that was
construction.
I mean, if you had a Hake home,that's a, that's a good home.
So, um, you definitely learnsome some valuable lessons from
from your father and mother forsure.
So you're in Eaton, you'reraising a young family, life's
moving on.
How's things going?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Um, it was going good .
Um, so I was working atjuvenile court, um, with judge
dues, for a period of timeactually about 10, 10 years
worked with him, and thentowards the end of that time,
about eight years in, he waswanting to build a youth
facility.
So I helped him on that, alongwith everyone else in the
(07:15):
courthouse or not courthouse,but in the juvenile court and we
would find different placesthat we thought we could do it
and we would do activities atthe pool, at the fairgrounds,
and then finally the YMCA cameto Bill Dews and met with him
and said that he would like topartner.
So then that took aboutprobably another 18 months where
(07:39):
we were working on fundraisingand designing the building, and
so so I was involved with, youknow, the designing construction
.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That's awesome and then fundraising.
Well, and you know you kind ofsaid that all kind of quick, but
I want people to recognize,especially for those that may
not be from our area, fromPreble County, Ohio, small
community, Correct, Ruralcommunity, Never really had
anything like the YMCA.
No, it was a big, bigopportunity and a big
(08:11):
undertaking for the communityand you did a lot to bring the Y
along with Judge Dews to PrebleCounty, along with Judge Dews
to Preble County Every morningand in fact last week my son,
Ryan, and I are going in in themorning at the Y and he said Dad
(08:32):
, who are you interviewing nextweek for the podcast?
And I said, well, Becky.
Well, who's Becky?
I said when we walk into the Y,guess what?
When you walk in in thevestibule, on the right-hand
side is a plaque of Judge Dews,On the left-hand side is a
plaque of Judge Deuce, On theleft-hand side is a plaque of
Becky.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
So you did a lot.
They surprised me with that.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, but it took that leadership.
We just did a podcast withMaddie Ledgerwood on leadership
and two leaders, Judge Deuce andBecky Morin.
You guys made that happenbecause there was some pushback?
Oh, definitely.
And how did you overcome thatpushback?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Because that's a big deal to bring that facility,
because it's not just the Y,it's so much more.
The fundraising was very hardat first because there was a
philanthropist that came intothe community many years ago and
he actually ran away with allthe money that was raised to
build a facility.
And so people were pushing backand they said, no, they're not
going to donate to a causebecause they don't know who the
(09:38):
philanthropist is.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
How do you overcome that?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, we had many meetings.
We would take them into the.
Well, I think we went to thecountry club a few times.
And you know, different smallplaces where we could meet with
them.
And John Prues, he was thephilanthropist that came in and
he was from Chicago that came inand he was from Chicago and
(10:06):
he's actually done a lot of workin the community since then
with Parker Hanifin and HennyPenny, so he would, you know,
work with those companies andthey, they trusted him and so he
was a great person.
He actually had someconnections to the community so
that that helped.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I didn't realize prior to that that there was a
philanthropist that raised themoney and then left I did not
know that either until until youwere in the middle of it wow,
wow that you know it's quite abit of money back then okay,
talk about a challenge, yes, youknow, to try to convince an
individual or a business or manyindividuals to give um to make
(10:47):
this come to fruition, becauseit was a big need in our
community.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
And, uh, and and you and judge dues leadership was
able to to make that happen.
So talk about the constructionprocess it happens, the
buildings built.
Talk about the grand opening.
That had to be a prettymemorable time.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yes, it was.
It was February 2nd 2002, Ibelieve.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
And we opened it up and there was hundreds of people
and it was on a Sunday, youknow and just filled the
facility.
And so you know we had thestaff.
We had to.
I pretty much had to help hirethe staff because the people
that they brought in JoshSullenberger, he was there at
(11:36):
the beginning and he didn't knowanyone in the community, so
they wanted to have, you know,the leadership of the community
there.
And so I helped hire the people, helped hire the board, and you
know it was a busy time.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Took the bull by the horns.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And so, probably for the first year, I worked every
day for 17, 18 hours.
I go in the morning, make sureeverything was opened right,
stay till closing, and then itwas finally had.
The staff that they knew whatthey were doing felt comfortable
with that, so I was able tostep back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
And that goes back to you being raised with your
family, right, you had to do thework.
You had to help to build thehouses, to clean the houses, to
do whatever it took to do thelaundry for 11 people in a house
.
I know there's seven people inmy house and I feel like that's
all my wife does is laundry, soI can only imagine adding those
additional numbers with laundry.
(12:32):
So you learn those valuablelessons growing up and then you
transition to helping raise thefunds to build this amazing
facility that we have in PrebleCounty, ohio.
That's now been what you saidoh four, so 20 some years later.
Here it is, with some additionsthat have happened to it the
growth with the medical center.
You know it's.
(12:53):
It's a beautiful facility, it'san important facility for our
community and to hear that youspent that much time, 17 hours a
day, for seven days a week, forhowever many years, to help to
get that off the ground and tobe comfortable, that is amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Yeah, thanks.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It was fun.
It's a testament to you.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I always try to make things fun.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Yeah, and you did because I was involved there,
you know, teaching some classes,and I'd see in the mornings and
then if I was there in theevening, I'd see in the evenings
like does this woman ever gohome?
But it made a big impact on me.
So I appreciate your leadershipand appreciate all you did and
and judge dues, uh, you know forbringing that facility to
(13:37):
Preble County.
So at the same time, not onlyare you doing that, but you're
still raising a family, right?
Yeah, life's still going on.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Kids were getting bigger.
They were in junior high, highschool at the time, so they were
able to cook a little bit forthemselves.
And my husband?
He stepped up and did a lot ofcooking or went out and got
dinner somewhere.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
So then, as things are progressing and life's
progressing, there's somechallenges that happen.
Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, so I guess it was about 15 years ago.
My mother she died of cancerand then my brother died of
cancer and then my dad died ofcancer, all within about a
two-year period.
And so I was researching alittle bit on cancer programs
(14:29):
and I come across this programcalled Listrong Listrong at the
YMCA, and I went to thepresident and vice president of
the YMCA, Greater Dayton, and Itold him I says I'm not going to
ask you to do this program, I'mtelling you we're going to do
it.
And I said I'm not taking nofor an answer, it's going to
take time and money.
(14:50):
And so he he agreed, which Iwasn't going to let him.
But anyway, it was about an 18month program that we had to go
to Chicago um about every threemonths, and so Josh Sullenberger
and then Heather Macy andmyself we would go to Chicago
for two or three days at a timeand we had to do the homework
(15:14):
and study and get that going.
And so our first class that wehad to do, we had to interview
cancer survivors, and so we justgot to pick someone, and it was
mainly people that were part ofour YMCA membership.
So I had interviewed a lady.
Her name was Delaine McIntyre,and so she was telling me her
(15:37):
story and you know how she foundout that she had the cancer and
so she had multiple myeloma andshe broke her ribs when she was
making her bed, and so shethought you know, that's not
right.
And so she made the bed manydays and then it just happened.
(15:59):
So they took her in and it tooka while to figure out what it
was.
So anyway, she had gone in andhad infusions and blood fusions
and everything and went througha lot of cancer treatments up at
Ohio State and then, probablyabout two years later, I broke
(16:22):
my rib opening up the car doorfor my grandson at the Y, and I
thought this is not right, andthe first thing that came to my
mind was Delaine McIntyre.
And I'm not a hypochondriac oranything like that.
I just thought this justdoesn't feel right.
So I, you know, went to thedoctor.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I have a brother brother-in-law, that's a doctor,
actually a few of them.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
So I went to Dr Mark and he, you know, did x-rays and
, you know, did some blood work.
Couldn't find anything that youknow would have caused me to
break my rib and then also myshoulder collarbone froze up and
I couldn't move my arm.
I thought, okay, something'sreally going on.
(17:10):
So he put me through multipletests and he just still couldn't
find anything out.
And then I went to my otherbrother-in-law, joe DeCicco, and
he was going to give me a shotin the collarbone to give me
some movement in my arm, and hewas like I'm just going to do
(17:31):
one more x-ray.
And he did the x-ray and he waslike do you have cancer?
And so I had the same type ofcancer that Delane had.
So I had a good connection withher still great friends with
her today.
So I had a good connection withher, still great friends with
her today.
(17:51):
But you know, that time myhusband, doug, he was in Canada
fishing and so I could not tellanyone.
So he was like you know, I'mcalling your sister Julie, his
wife.
So we went out, I spent thenight with them and just cried
(18:13):
and did all the normal thingsthat you do when you find out
you have cancer.
So they got me hooked up withan oncologist over in Dayton, dr
Lavelle, and then he was like Iwant you to go to the best, I'm
going to send you to Ohio State.
So he sent me to Ohio State andI saw Dr Efiber Abera, which
great doctor.
She's no longer with Ohio Statebut she is still practicing.
(18:37):
So then the first time I metwith her, doug and my sister
Julie went up to Ohio State andwe were up to Ohio State and we
were going through all the bloodwork and more tests and she was
going through a study that Icould be in and it was kind of a
(18:58):
you know, you don't know ifyou're going to have the actual
meds or if you're going to havethe placebo, and so I was like,
oh, I was a little nervous aboutthat.
And I said but she was like thestudy is to help people, you
know, find out, you know if themedication works, and so,
luckily, I was on the stem thatwas actual, the actual
(19:22):
medication.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So and I said first thing I said to her I said when
am I going to be over it?
I got things I got to do.
I'm not one to sit around, butit did wear me out.
But I just felt that otherpeople went through things much
worse.
There's so many people thathave gone through some hard
(19:43):
things, so I was just ready toget on and get moving and get
over it.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Now, that's amazing.
Can you talk about when theconversation came up and he told
you you've got cancer?
What's that initial feelinglike?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Oh, I just was numb.
Um, he was my brother-in-law.
He was numb.
He actually was banging hishead against the wall sitting in
the chair.
He did not want to tell me, andso it was just.
You know, we sat in the officefor a little bit and.
I didn't cry until my sistercame.
And so it's just like I, youknow, and I really I couldn't
(20:26):
tell anyone that I had cancer, Icouldn't tell my kids because
my husband was in Canada, wasn'treachable, and he was there for
two weeks.
He had just gone, and so I justkind of hid in my house and
just not talked to anyone.
And then finally I had oneperson that came over and
(20:46):
actually my brother Ken, and hewas like like you're not
answering your phone, you're notwhat's going on.
And so I just burst into tearsand told him and you know, he
stayed, stayed at the house, wewatched tv for probably four or
five hours, just went through awhole um season of a show.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yeah, yeah, and I mean I, I can't imagine the
feeling because you know yousaid you lost your, your mom and
your dad and your brother allin a short period of time with
cancer.
You know you, you use thatexperience to force the why to
bring in the Livestrong programwhere you.
(21:26):
You know you heard the storyfrom Deb Delene, delene sorry
and probably multiple otherstories along that way.
Oh definitely To lead you to thejourney that you never want.
That nobody ever wants to hear,but I don't know how many
people hear every day that theyhave cancer.
And then once you and then yourhusband's away for two weeks on
(21:51):
a fishing trip in Canada andyou've got to kind of hold all
that in, and that's that's achallenging spot.
Did you ever ask why me?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
No, no, I did not.
I just felt, you know, thechances of me getting cancer was
fairly high with.
You know, our family history ofcancer.
My mom's, you know, mom wascolon cancer and many of her
brothers had colon cancer.
So that's kind of what Ifigured I would have it was
(22:24):
colon cancer.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But never did I think that I would have multiple
myeloma, which is a blood cancer.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
So yeah, and you, you get through.
So you go in and you have thistreatment and it works right.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yes, and it's not curable.
They say it's similar todiabetes.
You know it's something thatyou have to treat every single
day.
So I'm still on a chemo pill,take two every day, and I will
for life or until the cancercomes back.
And majority of the time, mostpeople, the cancer has come back
(23:06):
.
The time, most people, thecancer debt has come back and
you know you just got to dealwith it.
And they have many otherprograms out, medication
programs out there that they'relearning to heal people with.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
So so again, all these people out there in this
world who are told they havecancer on a daily basis, trying
trying to navigate what thatlooks like and what the next
steps are.
And here you are, where youknow you're going to be fighting
this battle for the rest ofyour life.
What advice do you give tothose people who may be in a
(23:39):
similar situation where they'retold they have cancer?
What advice do you have to giveto those people you know to try
to get them through the initialshock of understanding the
diagnosis they've been given?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I'd say mainly, just stay positive.
You know, don't think of it asa life sentence.
You know, most people could getthrough cancer now.
There's many treatmentsavailable.
So just do the research eathealthy exercise.
So just do the research eathealthy exercise.
You know, just take care ofyourself and then have fun.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
That's right, that's right, so you get through that.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
What's next in life?
Well, I continued working atthe Y, you know.
I was still there and continuedwith the Live Strong program,
continued with my dailyactivities, and then COVID came,
and so my risk of getting sickis very high, so I was working
(24:40):
from home.
I worked from home for aboutnine months and they finally
told me.
They said you either have tocome back.
They never said or, but theysaid you need to come back.
And I was like my husband hejust retired in March of 2020,
which was planned, and then, youknow, come June, I decided that
(25:04):
I was going to retire.
Wasn't old't, old enough, but Ijust wanted to take care of
myself, take care of my familyand just enjoy life a little bit
more.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, so you retire your husband's retired.
What keeps you busy?
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Gardening and my kids and grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
And I actually have a great-granddaughter she's four
years old.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So she's probably the love of my life, right now yeah
, and.
I don't get to see her as oftenas I used to.
I used to babysit her aboutthree or four days a week.
Now I'm down to once every twoweeks.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
So it's hard, yeah, it's hard, but it's important to
have those relationships withthose grandchildren.
You know, as you were talkingabout your cancer diagnosis, my
dad was diagnosed with prostatecancer in 2012.
And I remember when he told meyou know it was.
It's a shock, right.
(26:02):
Because, you know the C word isnothing anybody ever wants to
hear, but it's so prevalent inin our society today and and
there's so many different formsof cancer and you know some you
have better options to getthrough and others you don't.
And, um, you know people aredying daily of it and it's
trying to figure out why.
(26:23):
You know what causes it and youknow we, we know certain things
cause different things, but alot of times it's it can be a
family history, right, and sothose are.
Those are things people worryabout.
But when in 2012, when dad wasdiagnosed with prostate cancer,
I'll never forget we were at a Yevent.
They were doing the triathlonat Lackengrin at.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Lake.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Lackengrin and uh, and he did it.
He had not went through, he'djust been given the diagnosis
and they were putting a plan ofattack in place of what to do,
uh, with his prostate and allthose things.
And I'll never forget, we gotdone with with that event and
dad sitting there and justsaying I've got cancer inside of
me.
You know, it just seems soweird that here I am, you know,
(27:08):
running and biking and doing allthese things, but there's, you
know, there's this diseaseinside of my body that I have to
get out and I don't know what'sto come right, and I think
that's probably the scariestthing that anybody's given, and
a cancer diagnosis is one.
When you think of cancer, youthink of death, right, which is
everybody's fear, but somehow,some way, you're given that
(27:31):
diagnosis and you make thedetermination that other people
have it worse than me.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, and you know, you see people that don't have
limbs.
You see people that are blind,or you know just so many issues
Massive heart attacks that youknow put them in the grave, or
you know, somewhere in betweennot being able to walk.
You know it's just.
(27:59):
I always feel that you knowI've been blessed and I don't
have it as hard as many people.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
That's an amazing perspective on life.
For sure.
You're an amazing woman.
You're a servant leader.
You've done the amazing thingswith bringing the why and then
continuing it on, and here it'sstill going today, I think, just
as strong as it's ever been.
What's it like for you to stepback and to look at the why and
(28:28):
to see its growth and to seewhat it's done for the community
, knowing that you were part ofthat in the beginning?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think you know the leadership there.
Heather Garcia is now theexecutive director and I think
she's going to be an excellentleader there.
She's very friendly, she's youknow out with the members and
she'll do a great job and Ithink you know the staff that
they have there.
People go there for a reason toget healthy.
(28:57):
Give them something to do, justsee their friends.
You know that's one place thatthey could go in and they could
meet with their friends and havecoffee with them.
The older people and then theyounger kids they go in and play
basketball and then justlearning how to swim, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
And I think that's one thing that makes the Y and
any Y in any community unique tojust a regular gym is, you know
you have that sense ofcommunity.
It's not just you know, a bunchof big guys in there working
out, you know, trying to thatsense of community.
It's not just you know a bunchof big guys in there working out
, you know, trying to push abunch of weight.
You know there's, you know,ranging from, you know, from
youth to, you know, 90 year oldsin there doing whatever, and
(29:39):
some of them just go in and havecoffee just to have that
conversation and have thatfellowship.
I think that's.
That's one thing that makes theY unique and a little different
from other just gyms andcommunities.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I can remember a gentleman coming in there and he
would just walk the track andhe would come in because we'd
say hello to him.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know he said no one ever says hello.
Wherever we go, no one eversays hello.
And you're all friendly.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
And that's what life's all about, right, it's
all about making right.
It's all about making thoseconnections with people.
And uh, cause we talk about itevery week?
I think you know everybody'sgot a story, everybody's got
challenges they face, whetherit's cancer, whether it's the
loss of a limb, uh, you know,whatever it may be, and and just
to to make those connectionsand to talk to people, right,
that's what's important.
I think that's what makes thewhy unique.
(30:29):
So let me ask you whatmotivates you now, at this stage
of your life, with everythingyou've been through, what
motivates you to get out of bedin the morning?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Oh, I have a long list of things that I do on a
daily basis and just you know Igot to check those off.
So my gardening I stay busywith it pretty much year round,
whether it's, you know, planningfor the, what I'm going to
plant, buying more seeds orbulbs or plants or whatever.
(30:56):
My husband always tells me toslow down.
I just keep putting moreplastic tarp on the grass and
throwing off a little grass.
I could add some more flower.
Let's make it bigger and biggerand bigger Less to mow, that's
right.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
You're doing him a favor.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Here we are.
We're in February, right, youknow.
So we're still in the in thewinter months in Ohio and in
Indiana, and but we're gettingready for the spring.
That planting season, right,yes, that planting season, right
, yes, definitely, which I cantell, just like the farming,
that's right, yes, it's coming.
Whether we're ready or we'renot, what?
Speaker 2 (31:37):
do you value most in your relationship with others?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Well, I would say just true friendship,
communication, being atrustworthy person, yeah, so If
you could have a conversationwith one person, living or
deceased, who would it be andwhy?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I'd say right now try not to cry, it would be my
grandson Um.
he was my oldest grandson and hewas killed in a motorcycle
wreck almost two years ago andhe went on a little trip with my
(32:23):
husband and they did agenealogy trip and my grandson
Peyton he did not want to do itand when he came back he said it
was the best trip he's everdone, learning about his family
history and and so he went.
As soon as he got home hejumped on his bike and he was
(32:44):
going to go see his uncle totell him about it and go visit
some of his friends.
And she never came home thatnight.
So that was.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
That's a challenge.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
It's very hard.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
A major, major challenge in your life and your
family's life, especially afterall that you had been through.
You know, but the loss of achild, the loss of a grandson, a
granddaughter, whatever it maybe, you know, I think that's
it's my number one fear in life.
Right, you know you can, youcan handle cancer, you can
(33:20):
handle, uh, differentadversities that come, but when
a when a tragic event happenslike that, it kind of makes the
world stop.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Definitely.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
How do you keep going from that?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
His daughter.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yeah, that's your, my great granddaughter.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, so, like I said , she is my life.
Um, we get together, we have.
I just stop everything that I'mdoing and just do whatever she
wants.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Devote your time to her.
Yeah, that's amazing, becky.
You're an amazing woman.
You have done some amazingthings and you've been through
some very, very difficult timesthat a lot of people won't face,
but you do it with a positiveattitude.
You're an inspiration to many.
(34:09):
I want you to think about anyquotes, any Bible verses, any
closing thoughts you might haveto someone out there who's
listening, who may have lost achild, may have been given a
diagnosis of cancer, may justhave had a rough day and lost
their job.
Do you have any advice forthose people out there?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
lost their job.
Do you have any advice forthose people out there?
Well, I would say, you know,just live life to the fullest.
Um you, you never know what'sgoing to happen.
You know, just don't, don'tregret not doing something.
Just you know and tell, tellthem that you love them.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
You know, that's the main thing, just let them know
that you love them, because younever know when it's going to be
over for all of us.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Just want to make sure that they know it.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Yeah, that's amazing advice.
You're an amazing woman.
You know.
This has went really quickbecause, as most people who are
servant leaders and theirfamilies and in their lives,
they, they, they gloss over allthose things very quickly.
Right, and and I hope thateveryone who listens to this
(35:22):
recognizes that you know, asquickly as you talked about the
cancer and your family and yourgrandson and all those things
that you've been through in life, that you are an amazing woman.
You're an amazing leader.
I am.
I'm thankful that I got to be apart of some of your leadership
(35:42):
at the Y when I was there, uh,you know, working with the move
to lose program and teaching thebike classes and doing all
those those fun things andhelping to try to inspire, uh, a
lot of the women in the move tolose program.
I don't know that I had any men, I think they were all women uh
, at five in the morning.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Um, you know, but with your guidance and your,
your leadership, uh, you'vechanged many lives.
And uh and I hope that yourecognize that and I hope that
you take a step back and look atthat and and uh, you know and
are proud of of what you've doneand what you've been able to
accomplish, uh, for your family,but also for our community,
yeah, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
Yeah, ben, you got anything to add no, I, I go to
the Y all the time, I actuallyand I still have a purple edge
membership, but it's I go to theY because kind of the same
thing, right, and I've been tomultiple different Ys.
I go and play basketball in themornings with there's no Y like
the Preble Y when you talkabout being like greeted and
everything.
Most of those people know yourname.
(36:42):
When you walk in it's not justa hey, how are you doing?
It's you know.
Hey, becky, how are you doingtoday?
How's you know something youmay have said yesterday that
reminds them that they, you know, they listened, they understood
and that's a culture thing thatwe talked about, you know, in
our last episode and you knowyour plaques in there like you
helped build that.
I just can't imagine how proudyou must be every time you walk
(37:03):
back in there and know like Ihelped build this culture.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Anything to add for your sisters?
Speaker 3 (37:12):
um, they're next oh, that's great, becky, appreciate
you taking the time to come overhere and do this.
I I know a lot of people whenthey when they come in here,
they have some anxiety yes, youknow, and and a little bit
apprehensive.
But, um, I appreciate yousharing your story because
there's no doubt there's someoneout there, like I said, dealing
(37:34):
with something that will beimpacted by your message, and so
we appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
All right.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
You did amazing, thank you.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
All right, everybody, please like and share and
subscribe and do all thosethings.
I know everybody in theirfamily has someone who's dealt
with cancer, or a friend, if notin your family.
So be sure to share Becky'smessage and go out and be
tempered.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Hi, my name is Allie Schmidt.
This is my dad, dan.
He owns Catron's Glass.
Thanks, allie.
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