Brian and Brandon Fishing at The Cabin

Here is that long lost picture that I have been searching for.  Brandon wanted a copy of it and I couldn't find it, but today I searched with different words and I found it.

I hope that Brandon will find it here on my blog.  It's also one of my favorite pictures.

And guess what?  I just noticed that it is a picture that is also stored on my desktop hidden among the many pictures that I have there.  It was right in front of my face all along.

Looking for Baby Pictures

I've been searching for pictures of my grandson Brandon Hatcher when he was a baby, so that we can compare them to Ody, but so far I haven't been able to find them.  I know that I have some, but his mom & dad had most of them and apparently they got lost while being stored in one of those rented storage buildings.  It's tragic how people lose such treasures, but it happens all the time.  I'll eventually find the baby pictures that I have, but for now I found other pictures along the way that might help to see the family resemblances.

                                      Sandy Wallace, Ody's great-grandmother napping like Ody.

Ode's great-grandma napping

(above)  Brian as a baby

Lt to Rt. Brian's mom Sandy Wallace, Brian's grandfather Thomas Diaz, Brian's dad James E. Hatcher

                                                             Grandma Wallace as a baby

To BRIAN and REVA

The Grandchild you always wished for

On June 6, 2023 Brandon & Krystal blessed You & Reva with the sweetest little grandson which they named Ody Hatcher.  I know that you are proudly looking down from heaven at your very first grandchild with love and admiration.  

Brian, I know that we talked about it many times and that you wished for a grandchild of your very own.  I can just see your reaction and your excitement, and imagine how proud you would have been.  I can imagine you taking Ody out of Krystal's arms and proudly walking out of the hospital room to show Odie off to all that you would encounter.  As your sister Sharon said, you would probably just take Odie and walk straight out of the hospital with him and try to take him home with you, while Reva would chase after you and say, "Brian, bring him back here!"  

Both you and Reva would have had Odie spoiled rotten and Brandon would have to try to pry Ody out of your arms to take him home with him & Krystal.  They'd never have to worry about a babysitter because you and Reva would always be available.  I wish you could have been here, both you and Reva, but I know that you two will try to send messages to Brandon now and then, and when you do Brandon will smile.  You raised a good boy who has turned into a wonderful responsible young man.  Brandon will be a good loving kind father.  Brandon & Krystal will be wonderful parents.      

Memories on old electronics

Yesterday  I spent the day pulling out of hiding all of my old electronics, because I was too sore from picking up all the winter branches that had fallen in the backyard to do anything else.  

I have three old laptops, one old iPad, and one old desk computer.  I charged everything up except of course for the desk computer that is plugged in at all time.  They all still worked, but are all very slow and out of date.  I was able to connect all of them to the internet, but I don't know why I did that.  I have my newer Macbook Pro which I can look things up with much faster speeds, but it's getting old and out of date too, but it's the best I have for now.  

On the old electronics I found some old pictures on them and that's actually what I was looking for.  I was looking for those pictures that were too embarrassing to be posted, and now they are gems and wonderful to see.  

I sent some of them to Brandon and I hope that I didn't make him too sad, because they were of his mother, Reva, who just passed away on Christmas Day, and also of his dad, Brian.  The pictures were of a trip to a waterpark and we were all in our swimsuits.  Brian looked fine, but Reva & I just didn't want to share pictures of ourselves in bathing suits online.

  

I was only able to look thru one album of pictures and I can't wait to see more on these old machines.  I'm sure all of the pictures are saved on flash drives or on external hard drives somewhere, but it's more fun looking at them on these old devices.

While searching the area where my old electronics were stored I found a new pack of ten LIFESAVERS candy rolls.  I had bought several packs for Rick's birthday about 6 or 7 years ago.  We opened one roll last night and they were regrettably gummy, chewy and sticky.....not good at all.  

 

Remembering Reva: Part II

 

Remembering Reva: Part I

 Reva was a big part of my family.  She was sweet, fun loving, a good mother and wife, and a great cook.  Reva was much more than that, and we all loved her.

Here are some pictures of Reva, who never liked to be photographed and often times hid from the camera.

This picture is of James Brian Hatcher, Sandie Whittemore and Reva Courtney Hatcher.  They all three passed away within 13 months.  Brian passed away in Nov. 2020, Sandie Dec. 2020 and Reva on Christmas Day 2021.  

Reva Courtney Hatcher: August 5, 1964 - December 25, 2021

It’s with great sadness that my daughter-in-law, Reva Courtney Hatcher passed away yesterday, on Christmas Day. She has gone to be with her husband James Brian Hatcher who passed away 13 months ago. Please keep their son’s Brandon Gene Hatcher and Brian Douglas Hatcher, and her family and friends in your prayers.

 

Obituary

Reva Joyce Hatcher, 57, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, at St. Joseph in Berea, KY. She was born on Aug. 5, 1964, in Cynthiana, KY to the late Ronald Courtney and Delores Fryman.
Reva loved her family and dogs, and was loved by everyone that knew her. She was a loving, selfless caregiver who enjoyed being around people and spending time with her grandchildren. She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith.
Reva is survived by her sons, Brandon (Krystal Nicholas) Hatcher and Brian (Tabitha) Hatcher; her brothers, Ricky (Lisa) Courtney and Randy (Wanda) Courtney; her sisters, Ronda (John) Phillips and Roxanna (Mike) Wade; and her grandchildren, Makayla Paige Hatcher and Tanner Hatcher; as well as several nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband James Brian Hatcher.
In accordance with the family's wishes, Reva has been cremated and memorial services will be Monday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. at Cynthiana Baptist Church with Bro. Paul Marksbury officiating. Davis & Powell Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements. 
www.davisandpowellfuneralhome.com

Published by The Cynthiana Democrat from Jan. 10 to Jan. 22, 2022.

Good Memories of Brian

 

I've always loved this picture of Brian & Brandon.  Brandon was showing his daddy the fish that he had just caught at their Shady Oaks home.  

TWO GOOD PEOPLE

 Yesterday I had these two on my mind. 

They both died so closely together.  Brian at the end of Oct or the 1st of November 2020, and Sandie right before Christmas of 2020.  They both died so young.

Brian was 58 years old and Sandie was 56.

Both gone too soon.  

MY THREE CHILDREN

 I was trying to doctor up a little photo of my 3 children, but I didn't so such a good job on it, but here it is anyway.  I finally just turned it into a black n white picture.

Standing is of course Brian, 

and from left to right in front are 

Suzanne & Sharon.

James Brian Hatcher giving us a sign

"I said a prayer for you today, I know God must have heard. I felt the answer in my heart, although he spoke no word."

Brian's sister, Suzanne, prepared the prayer cloth to be wrapped around her only brother's ashes before he was laid to rest at Shady Oaks in the family cemetery today.

Suzanne went out there over the very hot weekend, mowed and weed-eated a large area around the cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day just in case someone wanted to come visit the graves of James E. Hatcher and his son James Brian Hatcher on or around Memorial Day.

Brian's sister, Sharon, had a stone made and placed it on Brian's grave  with the names of those who dearly loved and will forever miss Brian.
She placed the stone on his grave.

Some of Brian's ashes were laid to rest on top of a bed of red roses provided by Suzanne.

The beautiful Peonies that Brian and Reva had planted were beginning to bloom and have many buds ready to pop open yet,  and Brian was placed right next to one of them. 

 It was just Suzanne, Sharon and myself who went out there and we sat under the shade of a redbud tree, (it was so hot 90 degrees), and we

played some of Brian's favorite music, Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of them.  After Sharon had played a selection,  then some how mysteriously, Spirit in the Sky  by Norman Greenbaum just started playing on its very own from my cell phone.  It was a little eerie at first, but then we saw it as a sign from Brian.  This is something that none of us will be forgetting anytime soon.  For just  half a second or so I thought Brian was calling me on my cellphone, but then I realized that this couldn't be possible.

Spirit in the Sky was the ringtone that Brian had chosen to put on my cell phone so that I would recognize that it was he who was calling me.  Brian loved that song, and today, sitting by his grave,  I definitely knew that it was Brian who was reaching out to us to let us know he was still watching out over all of his family, and that he is fine.

Here are some more pictures of our day and also some taken previously of Shady Oaks where some of Brian's ashes have been laid to rest:

  

 I CRY EVERYDAY FOR MY SON.  As a Christian I am supposed to be happy that his spirit has now crossed over and that he is whole again and pain free.  I'm happy that he is pain free, but I miss him, and that's why I cry.

My Son

 My son is no longer with us.  My son is no longer with his family where he is supposed to be.  My son is gone.  He was taken from this life much too soon.  We were not ready.  We didn't have time to prepare.  We didn't have time to say, "Goodbye."  Did he know how much we all loved him?  Did he know how much I would miss him, how much his family would miss him, how much his sisters would miss him?  Did he know how much this little boy, in the picture, needed him in his life?  How much we all needed him in our lives?

Thinking back.......

Brian still had many plans & dreams for his future.  The last day that I got to spend with him, I took him to a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment, then we went shopping.  Brian needed a new warm hat and gloves.  He was planning to do some riding on his scooter and it was still cold outside.  He wanted us to take some short slow rides to break-in his brand new re-built scooter, so that he could eventually take a long ride to visit Reva, Brandon & Doug in Somerset, Ky. when he felt better.  He wasn't feeling very well that day.  

Brian had bought a brand new 2020 150cc Tao Tao that ran perfectly with his first stimulus check.  He tore it down and completely disassembled it and re-built a 170cc scooter with flashing lights, Blue Tooth cell phone and music system, all kinds of gauges & gadgets, longer kickstand, bigger more powerful battery, lots of bells n whistles and two anti-theft alarm systems.  I can't possibly name all the extras that he put on that scooter.  He also had plans to fix my scooter for me.  He was talented that way and very skilled at what he did.  

Brian was naturally smart and could do anything he set his mind to do, and if he was unsure about something, he would do extensive research and make notes and learn all he could about whatever he was researching.  He had a journal of notes that none of us could understand.  

He had an IQ of 165 and got a Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.  He had a 4.0 GPA and was in the Who's Who of Kentucky Graduates.  His engineering degree  was only one of his many accomplishments, but one he was very proud of.  During his education he helped design a mechanical hand prosthesis that operated using your own body's impulses from the brain to operate it.  There was no end to his abilities, and if he would have been given the chance to leave Cynthiana, him and Reva could have had anything they both desired.  He had many lucrative & exciting job offers, but was forced to remain in Cynthiana making any commute to a good job almost impossible.  Things changed throughout the years, and they finally moved away from Cynthiana and ended up back here in Berea for a while.  

During Brian's last year of life, he moved back here to Berea by himself to live out the last year of his life.  I enjoyed having him near, but he missed his family and hoped that they would join him here, and he almost got his wish before he died, almost.

I miss my son very much.  I think of him daily and he is always in my thoughts and in my prayers, day and night.  I pray that he didn't suffer, and that he just fell asleep and never woke up.  I pray that he wasn't upset or depressed, and that he just fell asleep while watching TV.  There was no autopsy, so the manner of his death will never be known for sure.  The coroner just called it a heart attack on site and that was that.

I LOVE YOU BRIAN!!!

REST IN PEACE

Post taken from James Brian Hatcher Memorial Site

Mother's Day 2021

 

This year was the very first year that I spent Mother's Day without my only son, Brian, since the day he was born.  It was a life changing event for me and for our entire family.  Brian loved giving me flowers, like hanging baskets.  Sometimes he would bring it by early and I would find a beautiful hanging basket of petunias hanging on my front porch.  He loved surprising me, but I always suspected that they were from Brian, and sometimes he would wait until Mother's Day to give them to me.  One year he gave me a beautiful pink peony and he planted it next to my chain-link fence near another peony, which has since died out.  I'm not really sure if this peony was given to me on Mother's Day or on my birthday, but it reminds me of Brian each time I look at it.   Brian's peony is doing great, but sometimes I'm afraid that the neighbors chickens will accidentally scratch it up out of the ground.  Early this Spring, Tommy (Rick's brother) thought it was a dead weed and tried to pull it out, but Rick thankfully stopped him.  That was a close call.  Brian must have loved peonies because he planted two on each side of his dad's gravestone.  Brian's headstone is right next to one of those peonies that he himself planted.  The picture is of the beautiful peony that Brian planted for me in my yard one year.  I have to give credit where credit is due, because the peony and all of the Mother's Day flowers were also from Reva, Brian's loving wife.