Husband’s death leaves mom looking at bleak Christmas

Tiffany’s world was shattered in May when the man she expected to grow old with was taken from her and their five children.

“My spouse was recently murdered,” she wrote in her application for help from the Goodfellow Fund.

“I have a job but it has been hard getting my children what they need,” Tiffany said.

The four kids remaining at home — from grade-school age to high-schoolers — have needed their mom much that Tiffany’s hours at work were cut, putting a greater strain on her finances. With $50 JC Penney gift cards for each of the four, she’ll at least be able to get them some school clothes.

“I did this like a few years ago,” she said of another Christmas when money got tight. “I had no trouble getting the cards. And I got them two outfits each. I know how to shop.”

Tiffany hopes soon to get grief counseling for herself and her kids. They’ve so far been handling each day’s struggles as they come.

“The kids still miss him really hard,” she said. “We’re taking it one day at a time. I believe we’ll make it. But some days the struggles get so bad I think I might not.”

Be a jolly Goodfellow

Since 1912, the Star-Telegram’s Goodfellow Fund has provided practical gifts for schoolchildren. Join this tradition by sending a contribution to Goodfellows, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101. Or go online to goodfellowfund.org and make a secure credit card donation.

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Husband’s death leaves mom looking at bleak Christmas."