Today I learned about one casualty. Molly Hightower. Molly is the niece of a friend of mine, Therese Hightower, and an old Gonzaga acquaintance, Craig Hightower. Therese and I met at Washington Mutual. We're not close, but I like to keep tabs on her. Last year, we happened to be together in San Francisco to get drunk watching the Zags lose in the NCAA tournament. Craig was a baby J (a Jesuit priest in training) while I was at Gonzaga. He is now a Campus Ministry leader at Gonzaga.
Anyway, Therese and Craig are siblings. Molly is the daughter of their brother Mark.
She died in Haiti when the building she was in collapsed. She was on the 7th floor. Miraculously, her friend, who was with her, survived.
I am very very sad for the Hightower family.
I am also sad that Molly had to leave so early in life. But, she has left me inspired. And, I am sure I am not the only one. Her story is amazing.
You may wonder what she was doing in Haiti. She was working at an orphanage. Caring for children and babies that were abandoned. Often abused or neglected. She was truly doing God's work.
She kept a blog, if you're interested. http://mollyinhaiti.blogspot.com/ It's seen a ton of hits since we all learned of Molly and her fate. Take a look through it. It's great.
Few people inspire me. However, the Hightower family seems to produce many people that do. Craig, a Jesuit priest. Therese, a successful HR professional, and now Molly, a 22 year old graduate spending her post college years helping people in a 3rd world nation who can't help themselves.
Death is terrible for the living, and my heart goes out to the Hightower family.
But, while we grieve and long for the ones we lost...I have no doubt that Molly is with God, now. And, God is so so proud of her. She is at peace and she is happy.
This is a piece done by Ron and Don, a couple local radio hosts. It had me in tears, this afternoon.
More audio at MyNorthwest.com
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