As I had mentioned on my personal page, Kellea was someone I really didn't know that well. And yet her sudden death seemed to magnify in my mind how life is short on this earth and how we as people should treat one another with the greatest of respect no matter the circumstances. This tribute was written prior to February 15, the day of her death, and I was hoping for its publication in The Garland News, published out of Garland, Texas.
So since I have a web site, I'd figure I better write it down here for the whole world to read and ponder on.....and if you like (or dislike) it, e-mail me with your thoughts.
About a year ago, in January 1997, my family and I decided to get up with the times and buy a computer and get on the Super Highway...in other words, the Internet. For those who haven't figured it out, the Internet is something new that is the rage of technology. And it makes for great conversation with those who are across the country through the use of electronic mail, or e-mail for short.
Around mid-June 1997, I was on an emotional high having attended Garland High School's Class of 1982 15-year reunion. As a habit acquired with getting the Internet, I checked out the guestbook for the City of Garland's web site. In scanning through the people that signed in, I noticed a name that rang a loud bell....Dolores Freeman-Landgraf.
My mind raced back to June 8, 1995, and a story that ran in The Garland News about Dolores and David Landgraf and the chances of both meeting each other again. But my mind also raced back to an awful period in my life....February 15, 1983, and the events that surrounded Dolores, Lori Smith and their other blood-related person: Kellea June Freeman.
I can still recall that day like yesterday. I was a first-semester student at Richland Community College and had gotten home from class. Instead of studying at that time, I decided to go out and shoot hoops in my driveway. While I was inside getting the basketball aired up, my sister came out of her bedroom apparently upset at hearing some bad news.
"Scott, do you remember Kellea Freeman?"
"Yes, I do."
"I just got a call from a friend. She told me Kellea had an asthmatic attack, collapsed, and died this morning."
Stunned silence came over me, hitting me like a locomotive.Someone I had seen and known from a distance from the time she joined Northlake Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, back on March 14, 1982, had been taken from this life.
I e-mailed Dolores and struck up a friendly conversation with her.......but then came the unexpected. Lori Jean Freeman-Smith e-mailed me. And through that correspondance, I found out what had happened and the situation surrounding Kellea's untimely death.
Kellea was only 17 when she died. She wasn't even in the prime of her life. But what she was able to do in the brief time on earth was an inspiration to those who knew her very well, especially Lori. And through the conversation on the 'Net I found out that Kellea had asthma for two years. Asthma, to the non-medical community, is a disease that affects the lungs and can cause discomfort to the person affected by it. It can be triggered by allergic reactions such as cats, dogs, smoke, haze and environmental situations.
From her first attack to her last, Kellea struggled with asthma. Lori said that Kellea had attacks when there were no allergens around, such as the sterile hospital room. But she was able to control the attacks through treatment and constant visits with her lung specialist. Along the way, Kellea stayed active at North Garland High School. From serving as class officer and varsity cheerleader, Kellea had an attitude of never giving up. To go a step further, she participated in the Garland Jaycee Jubilee Junior Miss pageant and was named a physical fitness winner. And during the 1982-1983 school year (some 15 years ago), Kellea was a varsity cheerleader and a nominee for Homecoming Queen. She was also named as an All-American Cheerleader and was named as one of eight All-North Garland seniors.
On February 13, 1983, she was at church with her boyfriend and other members of the youth group. They were at a friend's house for a time of fellowship, but she had to be at home early and in bed early due to school the next day. She made it through Valentine's Day 1983 without any problems. But later that night she started to get sick.
"She had awakened that morning (February 15), wheezing," Lori recalls. "She and my parents decided to take her to the doctor for the Adrenaline shots and Decadron they usually gave her when her nebulizer wasn't enough."
On the drive to the doctor, Kellea became worse. She was able to still breathe enough to talk, but the decision was made to head on to Garland's Memorial Hospital (now Baylor Hospital of Garland).
"Kellea walked into the hospital and was put into a room to wait for the doctor. As she waited for the doctor, she went into cardiac arrest," Lori remembers. "My mother grabbed a doctor and they took her to trauma."
What had actually happened was that prednisone, a medicine Kellea had been taking to keep inflammation down in her airways, had caused her lungs to be in a state of non-elasticity. In other words, her lungs could move no air into her body.
When Lori was notified that Kellea wasn't going to make it, she hurried to the hospital and "saw my beautiful sister in the emergency trauma room after she had died."
Even the story of Kellea's death in The Garland News said Kellea died at 11:20 a.m., she had actually died about 9:30 a.m. News of her death wasn't relayed to students at North Garland High until her teammates from both gymnastics and cheerleading squads were first notified. And the outpouring of grief was felt from those who heard the news.Hundreds of flowers were sent from high school clubs and organizations from all the then-four high schools in Garland. Due to the small sanctuary at Northlake Baptist Church at the time, Kellea's funeral was held in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Garland with over 2,000 on hand.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Due to my work and school schedule at Richland that day (and the lack of a motor vehicle at the time), I was unable to attend the services......AND I REGRET THIS TO THIS DAY! Even while I never knew Kellea really well, her unexpected passing caught me off guard and sent me into an emotional state of confusion during the summer of 1983.
In the process of working on a book abouth the history of high school football in Garland (which I really haven't had much time to due to working late nights at Brookshire's in Mineola), I decided to set up an interview with David and Dolores Landgraf. Both were very gracious with most of the conversation centering on the hey-days of Garland High gridiron battles in the 1960s.....even before the nation lost its innocence through Vietnam and the drug culture.
Also in the process after the interview (after I turned off my tape recorder) the subject of Kellea came up. And one item struck me in discussing about her with Dolores.
Kellea's mother told me that despite the asthma, Kellea didn't have the fear of dying. Instead, she had the peace with what awaited her on the other side. And that is a strong statement of faith that Kellea demonstrated on her part.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention this in my tribute to Kellea June Freeman....
Kellea was a Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in my mind, I truly believe that Kellea is in Heaven in the presense of Jesus and enjoying eternity.
Lori has moved on with her life, happily married and raising three children...one of them named after her sister, Kellea Jean Smith. And David and Dolores remain together through thick and thin....including a scare earlier this year.
Martha Williamson, executive producer for Touched By An Angel on CBS-TV had this statement in a book about inspirational sayings from the show:God is not the author of confusion. He likes to write happy endings. Kellea's death may have been a sign of confusion to those 15 years ago. But might I add that God's reasoning behind this is His way to suggest that one ought accept His gift, the Lord Jesus Christ, and have eternal life? And one day see Kellea in Heaven?
In this scenerio, I would consider this a happy ending He does like to write.....without being on the Internet.
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