The "Reading, Writing and Lunchmeat" Back to School Update

Dear Friends of Heart:

It's been - can I even admit this? - just over three decades since I graduated from Kansas State University yet here I am sharing this update and a few nice donations because of recent trips "Back to School" for both speeches and Lunchmeat & Life Lessons "text book" sales.

One thing I know for sure: My own learning continues as the ripple effect of "Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom" continues to spread far and away from its rural Kansas roots.

If this book had its own passport, it would have stamps from across the globe - that's how far it has traveled. From Kansas to Korea, and today as I ship a box of books to New Zealand I continue to count my blessings as we add another country to the "Lunchmeat Legion" thanks to Doug & Jane Kelman of Christchurch.

And while I'm delighted with that, the fact that "Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom" continues to land in school classrooms, career centers, lunchrooms and even health centers makes me the most proud.

From the food service team members at the North Kansas School District I spoke with this month to Dr. K's Leadership Studies students at Shawnee Mission East High School as well as the health care practioners from Kansas State University's Lafene Health Center, Dad's common sense wisdom is continuing to provide an A+ education.

Case in point: Thanks to Annie R. Willis Groups Director at Indiana University another 340 students entering her program this year were given copies of Lunchmeat & Life Lessons as their first assigned reading project.

Here's an email excerpt from one of the first students in the program to share her thoughts with me directly as to how Dad's wisdom impacted her:

"My education class was instructed to read your book as an assignment. At first I was reluctant but after picking the book up, I couldn't put it down! I read the entire book in a matter of hours. Your book has truly inspired me to put on my blinders and to inspire myself. It served as such an eye opener for me and I'm really glad that you decided to share your father's wisdom with the world. After reading your book, my outlook on life and what's really important isn't quite the same. Thanks for being so thoughtful as to share the insight that you've obtained from your father with those like me, who've never been so fortunate to hear such life altering words."

... I'm again reminded of the truth in the passage we chose for our parent's headstone and the inspiration for this AHA Tribute Site: "To Live In Hearts We Leave Behind Means Not To Die"...

The fact that we now give back to the American Heart Association as a result of the "Butcher's Wisdom" for me is a gift and an amazing example of the power of the circle of life!

If I could shine up a ripe red autumn apple and place it on Dad's "desk" (the butcher block table in our family kitchen) right now as a show of appreciation, I'd do just that.

Thanks for reading, thanks for writing, thanks for your support of this Tribute Center and most of all thanks for helping to keep the lunchmeat lesson of giving alive in your HEARTS!

Until next time, class dismissed!

Warmest Regards,

Mary

Happy Birthday Dad!

Whew... it has been one crazy week!

In fact since this past Monday I feel like my life has been playing out in front of me like a double feature of sorts... "Planes Trains and Automobiles" meets "Four Weddings and a Funeral".

Between travel for speeches & consulting work and happy & sad personal celebrations (weddings & funerals) my schedule has been full & frenzied.

When I finally sat down tonight to total the donations I had collected for the John & Mary Bichelmeyer Tribute Site I realized that while I had been focused on going from moment to moment of late the moments had been adding up to a milestone that is frankly pretty great!

Drum roll please...... WE DID IT!

Thanks to recent online donors and a generous audience at the 71st American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers Exhibition this week just in time to celebrate Dad's Birthday today we reached the 10K mile marker in donations made in memory of our lost loved ones!

Just as so many of you have shared stories of your loved ones lost here... today I am bursting with pride as I hold my parents tightly in my heart and offer all of you my grateful thanks for helping me keep their legacy alive in such a heartfelt and meaningful way.

What a gift!

Once again... THANK YOU and Happy Birthday Dad!!

Always the Butcher's Daughter...

Mary B. Lucas, B.D.

Our hearts beat with gratitude and hold precious memories of our fathers, Stan and Harold. We miss the embrace of their love, listening to their life lessons and stories,and seeing the living example of their lives of honesty and integrity. On behalf of Stan, Harold, Randy and other family members whose hearts healed following intervention, thanks are extended to the AHA and the impact its had on all areas of cardiac care.

Father's Day 2010

This donation is being made in memory of Julie Hitchcock

Our dear friend Brant is in the midst of battling the effects of a brain tumor. Brant and his wife Lucy as well as their boys Foster & Calvin are special friends of our family and on Friday night Scott & I had a drink by the pool with Lucy and some other friends while Brant stayed at home not quite up to joining the party.

Although we didn't really dance around the tumor talk we didn't really focus on it either and our time together was more normal than not until Lucy told us about a friend's daughter who had passed away earlier in the week from the same type of brain tumor Brant has.

With a heavy heart Lucy told us all about Julie Hitchcock and her family and although I had never met Julie I was so touched by what I heard that I decided to share her story here as well.

Obviously Julie did not have heart disease instead she had a horrible brain tumor and when she lost her battle with that tumor this week she broke the hearts of all who loved her that she has left behind.

It is in her memory that we make this donation today to this tribute site to honor her and her family.

Today especially (Father's Day 2010) we can only imagine the heavy hearts of her own Dad, Danny Soseby as well as her dear husband, Ryan, the Father of 16-month Colton who lost his mother this week when Julie passed away.

On Brant's Care Page post Lucy asked all her readers to keep Julie's family "in your prayers" and on this post here at the Hearts We Leave Behind Tribute site I am asking the same.

I would like to also request that you keep Brant, Lucy, Foster & Calvin in your prayers as well.

Lucy went on to write on her Care Page post...

"Yesterday one of our ministers, Meg, visited with us. One of the questions she asked us was what is sustaining us during this time. I told her that I felt that my answer should be constant prayers, deep faith and reliance on God. I told her that honestly what is sustaining us are the people around us, our community. She offered the perspective that perhaps it is God, in people clothing, sustaining us. We indeed feel that we are being carried through these circumstances in ways we could not have imagined. There are so many different ways that we have been carried--reflective of the variety, character and personalities of those around us. Incredible...."

Well said Lucy, well said. I think the power of positive people support is one of the most heartfelt and generous gifts we can give each other during difficult times. Please know that there are so many people (especially and including the Lucas family) here for you and yours as you find your way in the midst of this difficult time.

In Memory of Julie Hitchcock and in honor of Brant Tidwell & family we ask that all of you reading this "Pile On" the prayers and cherish the loved ones surrounding you.

Mary, Scott, Chase & Nick Lucas

Happy Father's Day!!!
As the Butcher's Daughter I am posting here today as a tribute to my Dad. Words cannot express how much I miss him each and every day not only on Father's Day!
If you are here reading this and are thinking about making a donation in memory of someone who you have loved and lost I thank you in advance for your generosity.
Warmest Regards,
Mary B. Lucas, B.D.

Mid June Update
Many thanks to the organizations below and their members for affording me the opportunity to make another nice donation today to this tribute site as a result of presentations made over the past two weeks:
-HCA Healthcare IT&S Executive Leadership Team Meeting
-National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Jacksonville Florida Financial Summit
Special thanks to Vivian Slater from the HCA and Sherry Flippo from the NAIC for the invitations to speak and for all their support of efforts made on behalf of the AHA.
Oh... and almost Happy almost Father's Day to all!
Warmest Regards,
Mary

This donation is being made in memory of our beloved Husband, Father & Grandfather Bernard "Bubba" Miller who left this world this week but will live on in the hearts of all who loved him forever.

In memory of my grandpa, Merle Kelly.
Everytime I make homemade ice-cream I think of you. Thanks for all the fun flavors!

Hello Friends...

My travels of late have been frequent and fruitful, so I wanted to acknowledge some of the many contributions made as a result of recent book sales and speeches.

HEARTFELT THANKS go out to all those attending my Lunchmeat & Life Lessons presentations sponsored by the following organizations:

Grandview Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Celebration
Pryor Center for Leadership Lunch & Leadership Event
Kansas Meat Processors Association Annual Convention
St. Teresa's Academy Teacher Appreciation Day
Central College Health Association Annual Conference
Healthcare Financial Management Association Heart of America Chapter Meeting
Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance Company Annual Employee Recognition Rally
CernerWorks Technology Delivery Services & Project Implementation Quarterly Team Meeting
University of Phoenix Commencement Ceremony
Lawrence Memorial Hospital Caregiver Celebration Finale

Because of you, donations to the John & Mary Bichelmeyer Tribute Site/American Heart Association now total more than $8,000!

I would also like to thank my tablemates at the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Luncheon for their generous donations, as well. We had a fabulous time together and several walked away with some great loot thanks to the "Pursonality" Auction - check out the pictures of the event here!

Here's a shout out to some of my very favorite Women in RED:

Joelle Bichelmeyer
Jane Bichelmeyer Wetzel
Patty Donnelly Adams
"B.D." Betsy Donnelly
Paula Hollenbeck
Cindy Stehl
Karen Wedel Renwick
Carolyn Wedel

Hmmmm... with a total of 94 gifts totaling over $8,172 we are in the home stretch of making our $10,000 goal by Father's Day!

Your charitable donations are already hard at work supporting the research, education and community programs that are so critical to saving lives. We hope you will continue to support our efforts to fund discoveries and programs that will help more Americans live longer, healthier lives. It truly is a matter of life and death.

Grateful thanks,

Mary

Mother's Day Message

"To Live in Hearts We Leave Behind Means Not to Die"

In March of 2000 I lost my Mom Mary Helen Matson Bichelmeyer to Heart Disease.

Every year I think it might get easier when Mother's Day comes around but it isn't. I miss having a Mom every day but on Mother's Day, my heart aches a bit more than normal.

Oh... I talk to her of course but I miss hearing her voice when she answers, seeing the look on her face when she smiles, her eyes, her laugh and most of all the warmth of her touch and the whiff of Shalimar when she wrapped her arms around me.

I miss buying her a card, a gift, a single long stemmed RED rose (her favorite) in a vase with a sprig of greenery and baby's breath to celebrate the Mom she was/is for me on this special day.

I have learned over the past 10 years without her that you only get one Mom in life and when she is gone she is gone. As a Mom Mother's Day is now all about me and my boys celebrating with me on this special day because I don't have a Mom to celebrate anymore right? WRONG!

On November 9th 2009 we launched the http://www.HeartsWeLeaveBehind.com Tribute Site in honor of my parents John & Mary Bichelmeyer. Launched on the anniversary of Mom's birthday I shared at that time on this site one of my favorite quotes "A Mother holds her child's hand for a while, their hearts for a lifetime."

I was reminded of that quote on Mother's Day as well as last Friday when I attended the Kansas City American Heart Association Go RED for Women luncheon. I was surrounded by 9 special friends at my table and more than 1,000 other women in red all gathered together to remember lost loved ones who live on in their hearts and more importantly to inspire those of us HERE TODAY to help the AHA fight the good fight against the number one killer of women today... heart disease.

I realize now that I can still give Mom a gift on Mother's Day as well as every other day of the year by continuing to support the AHA and the work they do on behalf of all of us Mom's. My decision to help support the AHA has never been more resolute than it is today.

I am proud of all we have collected to date. Yes... we are still short of our original 10K goal as of today but that doesn't mean I will stop working toward reaching that 10K mark and beyond every chance I get.

So... Happy belated Mother's Day Mom... I know you are proud of me (just as you are all your children) and I promise to continue to add to my work here for the AHA in your honor because after all I know that RED was/is your favorite color.

Always,

Mary

Mid April Update

SPRING HAS SPRUNG and with it a number of speaking engagements over the last few weeks where I have been showered with support and donations for the AHA. More details to come as well as donor names added to the list here but for now wanted to share the news that we will be over 6K in contributions atrributed to this site by the end of this week.

That is the GREAT news and my HEARTFELT THANKS go out to all of you who have been so generous with your support.

That said we are still short of our 10K goal by May 1 so if you are visiting this site for the first time I thank you for any support you can give as we are still working toward meeting that goal.

Special Note for Kansas City Donors:

I have acquired a table at the Kansas City Go Red For Women® Luncheon on Friday May 7, 2010 and all donors who contribute more than $250 between now and May 1 are invited to join me at the luncheon as my guest!

Details Below:

When: Friday 05/07/2010 from 11:00am -- 2:00pm

Who: Me - and anyone of you responding with a $250 Donation to the American Heart Association on this site!
Where: Overland Park Convention Center 6000 College Boulevard Overland Park, KS 66211

What: The Go Red For Women Luncheon helps women choose to live better and be inspired to be a BetterU! Women who Go Red are more likely to make better choices.

PLEASE donate and if you can join ME on Friday, May 7th!

Hope to see you soon and again THANK YOU for visiting this site!

Warmest Regards,

Mary

Mid March 2010 check in and Happy St. Patty's Day!

Now that the dust has settled on our February Heart Month campaign we are at $5,185.00 in contributions as of today!

MANY THANKS TO ALL who shared a contribution and a kind word or two on this site. We so appreciate all of you and your support for this heartfelt cause.

Still some work to do to get to the 10K mark by May so please continue to spread the word with others about this site (especially with any potential corporate donors you might know).

Warmest Regards,

Mary Lucas & the O'Bichelmeyer Family Members

To the entire Bichelmeyer Clan who like their parents have shown us all that Home is where the "Heart" really is.

In support of all those who struggle with heart disease and those who have left us.

With this donation I am honoring and remebering my beloved dad Richard Alan Lewis and my beloved brother Scott A. Lewis who left us much too early due to heart attacks in 2003 and 2004!
Due to their untimely deaths, I am constantly reminded of how precious life is, and I have also learned that we only get one chance at this experience called life and we need to make it count for something!

"To Live in Hearts We Leave Behind Means Not To Die"

A Heartfelt Hello to Each of You!

I can't believe that February, short and sweet, is almost OVER!

As a reminder February is National Healthy Heart Month:

As you know I've been doing a lot of work with the American Heart Association this month as they promote their annual February education and awareness campaign.

In fact you might be visiting this site because of an email I sent or a letter you recieved from the AHA with my signature.

No matter how you got here I am happy you are here because together we are in a battle against Heart Disease!

Consider these staggering stats:

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S.

More women die from cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

One in three women in the United States will die from cardiovascular disease, but only one in five believes that heart disease is her greatest health threat.

80% of cardiovascular events can be prevented if we make healthy choices.

So please... now that you are here won't you make a donation today?

Wait a minute.

With so many demands on our time and our pocketbook, let's spice this request up a bit, shall we?

Here's a special February incentive created exclusively for YOU!

If you make a donation between now and February 28, 2010 I'll match your contribution with the following goodies:

Individual Contributor:

$25 Donation - 1 signed copy of the Lunchmeat & Life Lessons anniversary edition

$40 Donation - 1 signed book AND 1 bottle of Award Winning Comeback Sauce

Share the Love Book Club Package:

$150 Donation - 8 books, 8 bottles of Comeback Sauce & a list of suggested Book Club Questions

Lunchmeat & Leadership Lessons Corporate Sponsor Package (Two Tiers):

$500 Donation - 40 Books to share with your team members

$1,500 Donation - 40 Books PLUS an on-site 40 minute presentation on Lunchmeat & Leadership Lessons. Your speaker? That would be me, of course, the Butcher's Daughter! (Contact me for details.)

As you can see over the last three months, this tribute site -- created in honor of my own parents who both died of heart disease -- has generated more than $3,000 in charitable donations.

Our goal is $10,000, and with all the generous hearts of my readers, I'm confident we'll get there.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Warmest Regards,

Mary

This weeks donation is being made on behalf of the Shawnee Mission East High School PTA and Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz.

I am especially grateful to event organizer's Alison Coulson and Denise Clark and PTA President Cathy Bennett for inviting me to be a part of their special February program about "Sharing the Love" and "Leaving a Lasting Legacy".

The majority of the proceeds from book sales that night did go to the Shawnee Mission East Love Fund to help support needy students at SME but we kept enough aside to make the first February donation to this site.

As a reminder February IS National Heart Month and all of us supporting the fight to end the battle against Heart Disease would greatly appreciate your support.

Once again thank you to all who are visiting this site as a result of the SME PTA meeting and/or the incredible recap of the evening that Kathi Hardin a meeting attendee posted on her blog http://www.traybellakc.blogspot.com

I am always grateful to have the opportunity to breathe life into the epitaph "To Live in Hearts We Leave Behind" that graces the resting place of both my parents.

Wishing you all a "Happy Heart Month" and again please take the time while you are here to "Share the Love" by making a donation and posting your favotite memory of a lost loved one.

Warmest Regards,

Mary

With this donation I am honoring all the loved ones of the Executive Services Team at the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center Office in Fort Leavenworth Kansas (several of whom are currently deployed overseas).

Known as the "Intellectual Center of The Army" the team from the Executive Services Group is responsible for supporting VIP's visiting Ft. Leavenworth whether that be Heads of State, Commanding Generals or Distinguished Visitors.

Made up of both uniformed and civilian team members they are one top notch group of people and I was honored to act as the keynote speaker & workshop facilitator for their 2010 kick off meeting yesterday. To say they embraced the wisdom I shared (courtesy of my Father) like the importance of "Comeback Sauce" and "Finding the Like" would be an understatement.
My HEARTFELT THANKS goes out to the entire team for allowing me to share the day with them as well as a special thank you going to LTC SONYA H.Q. EDMONDS aka: Sunnie & EXECUTIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR MERRY WEEKS for the invite and for helping me prep for the day.

I will cherish the memory of our day together as well as the U.S. Army Command Team Outstanding Performance Coin and the Ft. Leavenworth & U.S. Army pins they bestowed upon me.

Gratefully Submitted by Mary B. Lucas

Happy New Year to ALL who visit this site and many THANKS to the recent donors listed on the upper right who shared a gift over the holidays.

I am making my first donation of 2010 today on behalf of the Shawnee Tomorrow Leadership Program. I had the pleasure again yesterday of acting as the kick off keynote speaker for this program for the third year in a row. What an incredible group of professionals. If any of the participants from the program are visiting the site please know I wish you all great success this year.

Each year the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce hosts a program dedicated to enhancing the leadership skills of local professionals. I am proud to have a chance to play a role in their development and believe it is an outstanding program. Special thanks to Mary Taylor for always being so incredible to work with. Mary you are the BEST!

Looking forward to all that 2010 holds and wishing any who vist this site my heartfelt wishes for a happy HEALTHY new year! Thank you for your support.

Warmest Regards,

Mary B. Lucas

P.S. If you visit this site and are generous enough to make a donation please feel free to include a message in this guest book. I am hopeful that this year we will be reading about special memories of lost loved ones from all over the country keeping their legacy alive.

"To live in hearts we leave behind means not to die"

With this donation we honor our brother Johnny who passed away exactly 44 years ago today on December the 23rd 1965 at the age of 21.
All these years later the only thing that seems appropriate to say is still "Thy will be done"

With this donation we honor our Sister, Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother Joan Grimm on the fifth anniversary of her passing.

What many of us remember most about Joan we share below as adapted from her eulogy written by her second son Doug Grimm.

Mom/Joan loved beautiful things. She sought out beauty in the world around us -- whether it lie in the intricacy or majesty of nature; in the hearts/minds of the people she met; or the works of artisans, craftsmen, or companies that produced it. She found beauty in an autumn leaf, the spoken or written words of a friend, or in the stitching of a hand-made sweater.
Among the clothes, the Christmas ornaments, the books, the crystal, the jewelry, etc. Joan's pursuit of beautiful things was NEUTRAL to status - NEVER to be showy. Her love of beautiful things was born out of her understanding and deep appreciation for the value of beauty to the human spirit.

Nowhere was this more evident than in her love of music. Joan was an ambassador to the beauty that music brings into our lives: for music can transport us to new heights and places we have never been... it can inspire and calm... it can fill our hearts & souls with love and tell us to believe.

Now years after her passing Joan continues to call out to us through the many thousands of pictures she left behind that we all still cherish. Pictures that call out things that we may have overlooked or hadn't taken the time to appreciate... photographic 'treasures' that provide us with a chronicle of her view on life and beauty.

Joan's keen observations and sense of awareness would make the 'routine' trip between points A and B - a journey between points A thru Z. We are all better off for her efforts to make us slow down, or STOP to take notice... to appreciate our lives, each other, and the world around us. It is this quality quite frankly that might be what we miss most about her.

Throughout her entire life and leading up to the end five years ago today, Joan Grimm's spirit was 'without doubt that the universe is unfolding as it should.' "You'll know" was a phrase several of us came to know but were challenged to comprehend. Even tougher still to comprehend is how and why she left this world when she did... no matter... we will ALWAYS cherish her memory.

The Family of Joan Grimm

My father died of heart disease when he was 56 years old. He was only able to enjoy one year of retirement before he earned his wings! It was so unfortunate for the world to lose such a great man so early. He will always live in my heart.
Sue Sue

Yesterday was the 5th Anniversary of my Father's passing and the shortest day of the year - the Winter Solstice - but it was long on excitement. Let me take a moment to share with you...

The Lunchmeat Legacy Luncheon:

Was held in Shawnee KS and it was a total sell out! It was a chance to see old friends, and meet new. We dined, we drank, we delighted in sharing stories of the Butcher's Wisdom, and a MAJOR donation was made to this site today as a result of the proceeeds realized from the event and book sales... but more on that later.

December 21 Proclaimed John F. Bichelmeyer Day:

Yep. It's official: December 21 is my Dad's special day. Five years ago on this day he earned his wings to heaven, and yesterday during the luncheon the Mayor of Shawnee, Jeff Meyers, paid tribute to him with an official proclamation making December 21 John F. Bichelmeyer Day. Touching and tearful all at once.

Anniversary Edition of Lunchmeat & Life Lessons:

Now in our eighth printing of Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom, I debuted our special anniversary edition at the luncheon and was met with thunderous support and was able to add more $ to the donation made to the site as a result of book sales. The new edition also includes a reference to this website and asks readers to remember & remit in honor of their loved ones.

Which brings me back to yesterday, the Winter Solstice of December 21, and the real reason for the season. My wish for you is an abundance of learning and laughter, health and happiness, and time to enjoy these exceptional gifts with those you love.

Happy Holidays from The Butcher's Daughter,

Mary B. Lucas, B.D.

With this donation the Students, Teachers, Administrators and Mother's Club of Notre Dame de Sion School in Kansas City, Missouri are honoring the memory of John Bichelmeyer and the legacy of learning he left behind after his passing from heart disease in 2004.

This past year we all had the opportunity to hear Mary Lucas speak so lovingly about her Father and were inspired by the wisdom she shared with us that she learned from him.

Our mission at Notre Dame de Sion School is "Educating Minds, Expanding Hearts" and during the time we spent with Mary learning some of her Fathers life lessons that mission was accomplished yet again.

Wishing a Blessed Holiday Seasons to all who visit this site and a Healthy & Happy New Year.

From all of us at...

Notre Dame de Sion School
"Educating Minds, Expanding Hearts"
http://www.ndsion.edu/welcome