At the end of 2009, several Missouri City residents were recognized by the city
for their extraordinary stories of joy and sorrow. Now, embracing a new year in
their life journeys, these families are looking toward a better tomorrow.
The Larsens
Timmy Larsen is the foundation of his family. He has taught his relatives to be
humble and happy.
“Timmy changed me,” Tom Larsen said recently, solemnly recalling his refusal to accept that his son
was different for 12 years.
Timmy, the youngest of three sons born to Tom and his wife, Lou, is
developmentally disabled. As Timmy matured from a baby to a toddler to a
teenager, Tom struggled with his son
’s condition. “I realized when we first found out in 1963,” he said, “but I didn’t believe it, and when he was 12 a doctor sat me down and said he is going to
always be this way, so I accepted it.
”
Mr. Larsen’s acceptance was a pivotal point in his life and enabled him to turn his pain
into a passion for helping others.
“Once I accepted it, that’s what brought me around to seeing how good we’ve got it,” he said, “And how we’re not as bad off as some other people’s children. So we try to give back.”
The Texana Training Center in Missouri City, an arm of The Arc of Texas, has
provided invaluable resources and support to the Larsens over the years. Timmy
’s mother, Lou, has volunteered with the agency for more than 40 years, and since
Tom retired in 1996, he has become very involved as well. The goal of the Arc
of Texas is to promote inclusion through advocacy and to provide training
opportunities for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For Mrs. Larsen, working with Texana is a central part of her life. “I’ve done it since Tim was 3 years old. I guess I don’t know what I would do without it. I’m now chairman of the Learning Center and serve on the board of the Arc.” Her husband—a part-time employee at the Quail Valley Golf Course—says helping the kids gives him a “warm feeling [in his] heart,” and he extends his contributions to the center through his activities with the
American Legion, catering four events for the center each year.
The students, teachers and volunteers of the learning facility also showcase
their progress and share their joy with Missouri City residents each Christmas,
going from home to home singing carols.
Ultimately, the Larsens are especially proud of the independence Timmy, 47, has
gained through his participation with the center.
“Tim was one of the first individuals to ride the transportation at Texana,” a beaming Lou Larsen shared recently. “He gives the driver a dollar and they pick him up in the afternoon. He didn’t spend the dollar during the day at the Coke machine, so that’s also how he has grown and is learning.”
Lou has welcomed other local families into the Texana fold, including Kathy Jack
and her grandson Josh. Thirty years ago, Josh was born with Down syndrome. When
Josh
’s mother became sick, Kathy and her husband, Bob, became his primary caregivers.
He lived with them for five years but has now moved into a group home.
Jack said Texana has made an incredible difference in Josh’s life. “He wanted friends and after high school, he didn’t have any. He even asked his dad to buy him a friend,” she recently shared. But now, she said, “He’s happy, willing to do things he wasn’t able to do before, and he enjoys [working] on the computer.”
The Alvarados
For Lydia Alvarado, every new year brings a time of reflection and reverence. A
time when she vividly remembers July 14, 2004: The day she lost three of her
most important family members. Her parents died and she knew her son was being
deployed.
“They passed within 36 hours of each other,” she said of her parents who were ill at the time. “[And I was] driving down the freeway between two hospitals when [Peter] called
to tell me about the deployment. It was a very big blow.”
Alvarado was inconsolable and relied heavily on a close network of family and
friends to cope with the pain. Her child having to leave home cemented her
grief.
“You have to have hope and faith,” she said. “It’s really important to have friends and family for support, because it’s very difficult for family members of those that are deployed—just them being so far away. I’m not sure why that matters, but it does.”
While Alvarado struggled through her sadness, her son Peter was on the front
lines in Iraq.
Stationed in the Southern region of the war-torn country, the former staff
sergeant was not only serving his country but he also strived to help improve
the lives of the Iraqi men, women and children he encountered on his tour of
duty.
“The biggest thing with the deployment is seeing how unfortunate other people are
and [how] we take things for granted here at home. When you go to a Third World
country and you see how they
’re struggling and how the children are struggling, that’s the whole reason we’re there, to get them back on their feet.”
Alvarado is currently a Missouri City police officer and a member of the
National Guard. Since his safe return home in 2005, Alvarado has cherished the
time he shares with his family even more.
“[When you’re away], it’s kind of lonely and depressing having to be so many thousands of miles away
from family, and at the same time, you have your Army family and that
’s who you bond with for holidays and birthdays,” he said. “But there’s nothing like being home with Mom.”
Lydia Alvarado was thrilled when her son returned home and she said “I didn’t think I would ever let him go. You count their fingers and toes, like when
they were babies. I just couldn
’t wait to get my hands on him. You just think nothing’s going to protect them as well as Mom can.”
Others Who Make Missouri City Proud
Ken Vanway has organized the Oyster Creek Rotary Club’s Veterans Day ceremony for the last 10 years, and he is president of the
Missouri City chapter of AARP. The military veteran fought in World War II and
Korea and served his country for more than 20 years, retiring in 1963. Vanway
said he was
“very lucky” to be home most holidays during his time in the military. He recently
celebrated his first wedding anniversary
with wife, Betty Vickroy Vanway. “She’s 85 and I’m 84, and I hope that I look as good as she does when I’m her age,” Mr. Vanway recently said with a twinkle in his eye.
Missouri City firefighter Colby Ford is a Marine reservist who has served multiple tours in Iraq, helping to train
the country
’s army and working on infrastructure projects. He said his service has been
humbling.
“You think we have it tough and then you see their struggles,” he said, adding that it made him appreciate his blessings even more. Colby
weathered the time abroad by bonding with his fellow Marines, but the toughest
time for him was thinking about how
“[my] Mom worried about me a lot.”
For Lydell Smith, trips home are times to get reconnected to his roots. The long-time Missouri
City resident is studying political science at Morehouse College in Atlanta and
will graduate in May. He loves his visits home with his family.
“We are extremely close and I look forward to coming home. It’s a time to relax, laugh, eat great food and to share old memories and make new
ones.
”
His best friend of 20 years, Evelyn Rideau-Pete, is also a long-time city
resident. She said she eagerly looks forward to Smith
’s visits because “life could be lonely without true friends. People forget what you said or what
you did, but people never forget how you make them feel. Lydell has a gift of
making people feel good with his presence. So it
’s truly a blessing when he comes home.”l
