4 minute read
With Parish's Help, Family Heals
By Marty Denzer | Photos by Megan Marley
For months, Darryl Norton and his family woke daily to sadness and uncertainty. St. Louis Parish stepped up to help.
Darryl’s father served as a security guard for St. Louis and St. Monica Parishes for more than 30 years. He also did maintenance work for St. Louis Parish. Darryl often helped his dad when he could and, over the years, grew to know and love the parish.
Growing up, Darryl’s relationship with his father was distant, he recalled, but his maternal grandparents filled the gap: “They more or less raised me, always there for me.”
He joined the Navy in 1990, serving in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in the first excursion of his four-year tour. “My dad had been in the military, and I followed a similar path. Later, he experienced PTSD and gave God credit for helping him get past it. My dad ended up being Catholic. Yeah, religion has always been a part of my life.”
In spring of 2020, Darryl thought life was pretty good — he, his wife, Dawne, and their four sons were content. Then, in May, “on the edge of Covid-19,” an “unfair landlord” scammed them out of $3,800 rent paid, claiming their rent had not been received and evicted them. Homeless, the family was forced to stay in a hotel and borrow living expenses from his father.
The older man had suffered several episodes of pneumonia and his health was deteriorating. Darryl helped him as much as he could.
Around that time, his mother, a nursing home resident, was hospitalized, but no one let him know. Darryl was used to talking to her every day. When he heard nothing for two days, he demanded answers. Much to his dismay, he then learned of her hospitalization.
Due to Covid restrictions, Darryl couldn’t visit her, but he could talk to her on the phone daily. In July, the hospital arranged a video call so he could be with his mom during her last moments. “She was still cognizant,” he said. “She knew what was happening. It was distressing that I couldn’t be with her in person when she died.”
His mother’s was the first of 11 family funerals over the next 13 months.
Darryl said that despite the stress, worry and sorrow of those months, he tried to stay calm and not ashamed to ask for help.
In its Mutually Shared Vision, the Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph has prioritized “tending wounds and healing our family.” As Bishop Johnston noted in a 2019 blog post about Vision priorities, “It is striking … how much of Jesus’ public ministry was … healing.”
The Norton family’s wounds needed tending and the late Marilyn Hardy, longtime St. Louis Parish pastoral associate, had just what they needed to heal.
With the parish’s backing, she offered them a home in the unoccupied rectory for as long as they needed it. Darryl would help his father full-time, and Dawne could work in the parish office and help Darryl clean the food pantry. They accepted gladly.
Darryl’s father died not long after he started work at St. Louis Parish. Now the son provides parish security and maintenance, again following his father’s path.
“St. Louis has always been there for me, physically and spiritually. I’m not Catholic, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this parish. Right now, I’m getting ready to paint inside the church. The support my wife has received is priceless. Best of all, Dawne and I have discovered that helping older folks gives us more pleasure than we ever imagined.”
God always has a plan for us, Darryl said, “I am very thankful to be here!”
Darryl Norton
