Cornerstone Ruminations
Heroes From The Past, Heroes Today and Heroes For Tomorrow
On a daily basis, the team at Cornerstone Wealth Management Partners is reminded of our modern-day heroes during our current COVID-19 pandemic. Whether you are the hero working on the frontlines in healthcare, or working to keep us secure in law enforcement or as a firefighter or as the EMT or the dedicated workers at your favorite grocery store or various other essential businesses – we offer our heartfelt MONTANA -size “THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS”.
Due to this epiphany in our thankfulness for our current heroes, I thought it would be good to take a few steps back and remember who our “Heroes” were before our current COVID scenario. Please see below for Cornerstone team heroes and our younger grandson’s heroes . . . it is always good to look to our youth for their innocent thoughts and inspiration! We each came up with a “Past Hero” (someone who is no longer with us) and a “Present Hero”. Who would you consider to be your personal “Heroes”? Have you asked your children or grandchildren who their heroes are? We hope our heroes inspire you to become a better “you” in these times.
Carter (9 years old) – Present Hero – My mom, because she helps people out every day at the rehab hospital and is in charge of the nurses and is a nurse herself, so she is a very caring person.
Eli (12 years old) – Past Hero – Abraham Lincoln, because he helped to abolish slavery, he helped shape America as one country instead of two divided nations, he helped shape America to what it is today.
Henry (10 years old) – Past Hero – Bailey, my first dog, because he was my best friend and I will always remember him because he was like my guard, always taking care of me and watching over me.
Don – Past Hero – John Wooden, UCLA Men’s Basketball Coach. His successful tenure as the men’s basketball coach at UCLA and his pyramid of success. Great example and words of wisdom to live by.
Present Hero – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He overcame abject poverty, racial discrimination, and the absence of a good mother and father role model. He has risen to serve in this great country’s Supreme Court with grace, dignity, honor, and fortitude
Leslie – Past Hero – My mother, Audrey Smail. She raised 4 rambunctious children, Leslie being one of them, almost single handily as our father was away from home for his job, and her tiny frame enduring open heart surgery and being so sick while raising her 4 very young children w/o much family support. She taught me to take all that life has to offer – the good or the bad – and only give back the good to those around you.
Present Heroes – Our 2 sons, Cory and Eric. Cory for his 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force and helping to abate the terrorism in the Middle East and Eric for his practice in medicine as a Pulmonologist physician while acting as the Medical Director of the Telehealth & Virtual Care Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho. Each of them is making a positive difference in the world and I can’t think of a better blessing as a mother!
Nathan – Past Hero – My grandmother, Olga Abraham. She is my hero because she made it through the Holocaust and came to America with nothing. She made a family with my grandfather Sam and had two boys who grew up to be a Doctor and a Law Professor. Even after all that she went through, she was able to maintain a positive view on life. She was also my best friend and biggest supporter.
Present Hero – My mom, Sandra Abraham. She is just perfect in every way. She is smart, sweet, beautiful and would give you the shirt off her back. She is the oldest of 5 kids and has always looked out for everyone and always puts others before herself. She also deals with my father, which in and of itself is so impressive that it is heroic!
Bethany – Past Hero – My grandma, Ruth Andrianoff. Even though her life would not have been considered glamorous by any means, my grandmother lived life to the fullest, with a passion for adventure and a heart for others. Although she always dreamed of living in Africa, she found herself in the remote mountain regions of Southeast Asia, learning how to raise a family while also immersing herself into a new culture and language. She became a widow far too early, but her life and service was far from over. She spent several years as a house parent at a college in Northeast Georgia and finally settled in Washington state. She traveled as much and as often as she could – nothing could slow her down – and she continued to pour her heart into the Hmong people from Laos, who had become family to her.
Present Hero – My college roommate. While we were not super close in college and I was a bit more focused on my own social life back then, I am so grateful that we have been able to maintain contact and I have been able to visit her and see her home and life work. She now lives and works in Africa with her family and I am so humbled by her life and sacrifice. Through her compassion for “discarded” women and young girls, she has created a non-profit organization that equips these girls with education and empowers them to re-enter society with a new sense of self-worth.
Teresa – Past Hero – My grandmother, Julietta Garcia. Although we never met, the energy and force my grandmother has brought into my life through my own mother is unmatched. She was an immigrant from central Mexico and came to our great country seeking a better life for herself. After years of living in Tijuana and pursuing her green card, she was able to come to America where she met her husband. Although the marriage did not work out, she continued to raise her two children (one of which being my mom) through adversity every step of the way and providing for them by cleaning hotel rooms. She passed away when my mom was 20 and my uncle was 25, but she was able to rest peacefully knowing she raised two children who were both college-educated and lived relatively successful lives.
Present Hero – My mom, Narda Stroesser. Very similar to my grandmother’s adversity that she faced; my mother was put in front of many challenges that most 20-year-olds never deal with. Through everything, though she was able to maintain a relationship with her father even though that was not easy for her and she was able to create a successful career for herself. As a first-generation citizen of the United States, she faced many emotional and physical challenges throughout her life, but she ended up on top with four healthy adult children and a happy marriage of her own.