Publisher’s Point by Jean Loxley-Barnard
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I am writing this month’s column with both joy and sorrow!
My life has just had two major changes.
The most significant is that my husband of 26 years, Terry Barnard, passed away on October 21st after three weeks in Chesapeake Regional Hospital. His cancer had returned after a dozen years following successful treatments at Johns Hopkins. And pneumonia came to top it off!
Terry was one to never complain, and I had hope for another cure right
down to the final week. I was privileged to know that my husband’s doctors, Dr. Franzman and Dr. Patel, really cared for him. Everyone at Chesapeake Regional was helpful, even loving. How fortunate is that!
Shortly after the shock of losing my dear husband, I decided it was time to turn over The Shopper to two outstanding men, Shane Roddy and Wendell Ward, who I am confident will take good care of my beloved publications! They are both familiar with The Shopper and have wonderful new ideas.
And I am still here in various ways to share my love of this business, which feels more like a calling than a job! I am hopeful I can help Shane and Wendell over the coming years and enjoy their successes! I am keeping Doctor to Doctor Magazine, which I introduced in 2009 and still enjoy. So, I will be busy with all this and finishing my long-awaited book. I am already proofing it and will soon finish the final three chapters!
I am joyous at these changes. I still have other ideas, jump-started after my Terry passed. I am writing a story about him with excellent help from Wendell Ward—fine writer that he is! I must thank our editor and senior writer, Rob Lauer, who also helped me through chapters in the past!
When we complete the tribute, we will place it in The Shopper and put it online. I am sure I am not the only widow or widower who might cherish a story about their late partner. We are situated to see that they get an opportunity to do so. I, for one, want to write a tribute to my Terry and have it framed for hanging in our home, and I know that Dave Reifel, owner of Great Bridge Frame & Art, does a wonderful job of framing. In fact, his shop is located in the same shopping center in Great Bridge where Shane Roddy’s EIT Services and The Shopper’s new offices are located.