Reprinted with permission from Mingo



I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my broken heart for the incredible love and support you've given me since the tragic and unexpected death of my darling wife, Bev Culley Wasch. It has taken me this long to even be able to put these sentences together, so please forgive me if I ramble a bit. I've been blessed with the most incredible family a man could ever hope for. At age 56, I still have BOTH my loving parents, two AWESOME sisters who have been spoiling me with hugs, kisses, nonstop love and comfort food to the point that my pants are getting tight. I've been blessed with the best little brother I could ever hope for, my brother-in-law Brian, who has been my nonstop guardian angel since Bev passed. Brian and my sisters have held me in their arms when I wept like a tiny baby, supporting me and helping me with my grief as they dealt with their own. Giant thanks and hugs to my amazing cousins who took us all into their homes when we needed them most (and Christina and Gary, who are taking me in for a while in their Bellevue home while I figure out my living situation, you guys are the best! XOXO). Massive hugs and kisses to Bev's sister Keri and her husband (and my amazing friend) Mark, who took me home the night she passed and made sure I was safe. Huge hugs to Bev's sister Linda and her awesome husband Richard (who I'm lucky to call a great friend). Giant hugs of thanks to all my friends, who dropped what they were doing and drove and flew in from all over the country to attend her memorial and support me and my family. Thanks to my incredible boss and my managers, who blocked for me while I had to be away and are still protecting me by keeping the wolves at bay when I need some time to myself. Thanks to all my other friends for your nonstop calls, texts, messages, cards and e-mails. Those little nudges of support keep me upright when I want to collapse from grief, exhaustion and agony. Even when I can't answer, just know that I appreciate the support and love you are sending. My girl was never the wallflower who people might miss. She was larger than life despite being barely 5'3" and 115 pounds of sexy, sassy, gorgeous awesomeness. This is why we all are in pain. Her death has left a void in all our lives. So we must all continue to support each other. I have one favor to ask of each of you. Tonight, before you go to sleep, I want you to hold the person who means the most to you. Your spouse, kids, friends, whoever. Hold them longer than you normally do. Tell them you love them. Tell them how much you love them. And when they start to giggle and ask what is going on, hold them a few seconds longer. And then I want you to tell them that little extra squeeze was for Bev. Because that is exactly the legacy she'd want to leave behind. I never doubted for one single second how much she loved me. I never felt completely worthy of such selfless love...and for some inexplicable reason, she actually put the moves on ME first! She was generous, and kind, loving, and funny, goofy and a great listener. Even her Irish temper was cute and I'll always remember how she'd end a belly laugh with a cute little snort. She was incredible in a tiny bikini or an evening gown or yoga pants or while we were just chilling in our PJs watching TV. She was my whole world. My best friend. My inspiration, my fishing buddy, my party girl. My wife. God blessed me the day I met her. Every day that I got to wake up as her husband, I felt unbeatable, on top of the world. Cocky with a swagger at times. I even felt taller (and for me, that's quite a stretch). Rest well, my sweet darling girl. Say hi to Gabby, Gaga, Mum and the Chief for me. I love you so much more than I was ever able to express in words and I miss you terribly. Until we meet again...I'm yours forever.