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Oklahoma's Own: The Wertz Family

by Dorothy Wood

309 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #05-0032; ISBN 1-4120-5137-1; US$21.39, C$24.60, EUR16.68, £11.06

This heartwarming story reads like a novel. It tells how Rae Wertz and her five children from Lawton, Oklahoma gallantly confronted and overcame the trauma of her husband's harrowing death.

About the Book

This enticingly told narrative of the Wertz family in Lawton, Oklahoma reads like a novel. The story takes us back to 1937, at a life-changing time for the family. It was an event that would have crippled most families: the harrowing death of the family's provider, husband and father, But Rae Wertz and her son Ralph determined together to rise above the trauma and turn it into a challenge that could be overcome.

To Ralph's amazement, within a few short hours of his father's death he witnesses his mother stoically calling buyers and striking bargains- successfully salvaging his dad's truckload of fresh produce that was coming in, and avoiding financial catastrophe for the family. Rae showed by example what needed to be done. Within hours, Ralph likewise courageously stepped into his father's shoes as a trucker, buyer, and entrepreneur to help keep the family's business functioning.

Dorothy, who was only five when her father was tragically killed, and the youngest of five children, tells this heartwarming story of how her mother and brother worked together to help the family overcome this heartrending blow. Instead of crippling them and their tender family, it truly proved to make them only stronger.

This is a story that not only warms the heart, it can also instill hope. It is a story that exemplifies the strength we have within us to overcome even the darkest of circumstances when we are able to confront it with courage, hope and faith.

About the Authors

Dorothy Wertz-wood eventually settled in the Portland, Oregon area where she lived for many years until her final illness. She was a Registered Nurse with a Master's degree in Nursing Education, and actively practiced her profession as a nurse and educator until physical forced an early retirement. But her care and concern for others continued, and for several years she would volunteer to help others whenever possible. Her final days were spent with her son, David, and his family in the State of Washington before she succumbed to cancer in August of 2005.

Excerpts