By: Patricia Francis Good     

Some would say that our marriage was difficult. Being married to a warrior for
33 years, I have to agree that it wasn’t easy at times. But, I will tell you this…
I know he loved me and I loved him. And that is all that mattered in the end.
LOVE HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT! Through the good and bad times,
we made a lot of history together…just like Skip promised on our wedding day.
And now my warrior husband is at peace. Our home is not the same. But I know
he will always love me and I can’t forget the life we shared for 33 years or the
memories left behind in my heart. My warrior husband came into this world with
a destiny that he fulfilled with honor and grace, while loving his family and me,
the best that he could.

On October 25th of 1949 a warrior was born into this world. He was named Otto
Stoler Good, III. He was a smart hard worker. Fortunately, he found his destiny as a lawyer and courtrooms became his battle field for 49 years. No one in his family had any background in the law, but he was convinced at a very young age that
becoming an attorney was his purpose for being on this earth. His father had left his mother before Skip was born. She was a state employee who lived with her brother to make ends meet for her small family of two girls and a boy. When Skip rose to the top of his class and announced to his mother that he wanted to be a lawyer, she had no idea how she could afford law school, let alone college. Skip assured her he would find a way and worked two or three jobs at a time to pay his way through college and law school.

Skip’s oldest sister found their father who was working as a hospital administrator
in Kentucky. He invited Skip to come visit and eventually offered him a full college
education at the University of Kentucky. He immediately accepted his father’s
offer. Unfortunately, shortly after Skip’s first year in college his father died
suddenly. But he left enough money for Skip to complete his undergraduate
studies at UK.

After college, Skip and his then wife Jan moved with their son, Murray to San
Antonio, Texas. Skip enrolled in St Mary’s University Law School and worked
several jobs to pay for his education. He graduated with honors from law school
and was hired by one of the most prestigious law firms in town. A few years later he and several partners started their own law firm. They did well for over 25 years. In 1985 the marriage to Jan ended.

I had been living in Austin, Texas and working for the Easter Seal Society. But
by 1987 I had moved back to San Antonio because my mother had developed a
heart condition and I wanted to be closer to her. I met Skip through his partner’s
wife, who had become a friend of mine. After Christmas I went shopping and
found four holiday stockings and bought them in hopes that one day I would have a family to spend Christmas with in the years to come. Well, “wish fulfillment” actual worked. I got that family of four when Skip proposed to me during the Christmas holiday of 1988. Little did I know that it would last 33 years of my life.

On our wedding day, Skip said to me “We are going to make a lot of history
together”. He was right… we did. I engraved into his wedding ring … “Lady
Loves Warrior.”

Through the years, Skip and I shared a life that was rich in history, memories
and love. But, being married to a warrior was not always easy. In fact there
were times it was down right difficult. Some days I felt like I was on the witness
stand being cross examined! But there were other days that 14 red roses would
appear for no reason at all, except to express his love for me.

We had a great life. My husband was a successful trial lawyer. We lived in a
beautiful home. His mother and I became such good friends that Skip would
joke that if we ever separated, his mother would want to go with me! Speaking
of his mother, she made me promise that I would never leave her son, even
though she knew he was a warrior and not the easiest person to love. I kept
my promise.

In the summers we vacationed in the Virgin Islands on the island of St. John. I
never saw Skip more relaxed and happy than when we were on island.

I used to say he developed a “Teddy Bear Shuffle” because he was so
relaxed that he barely lifted his flip flops an inch off the ground as he walked
the beaches and streets of our little island paradise. We often invited guests
to St. John. One year before our guests arrived, Skip & I went to the
Shipwreck Bar & Grill to have a drink. We met the nicest people who sat next
to us in the bar.

After a night of drinking, our new friends said that they had to find a place to
stay that night because their renters had already taken over their house. We
told them our guests weren’t due on island for a few days, so they could stay
with us. They asked where we were staying. We told them “LOVE VIEW”.
They howled with laughter… because that was THEIR HOUSE! We remained
dear friends and they never got tired of telling that story of how we met!

In the winter months Skip & I would travel to our law firm hunting lease in
south Texas. Since we were both avid cooks, we spend our days and nights
preparing and cooking food for our guests. Whether we cooked over an open
fire in camp or on a stove that only had one working burner, it was always
fun. Although the oven, whose temperature varied at any time for no reason
at all, became a challenge!

Everybody enjoyed rides in the double decker trucks, fishing in the four tanks
we had on the property, and filling the 18 deer feeders with dried corn.
The land was full of wicked black brush, dust that always found its way into
your mouth and clothes, and critters both small and large … tame and
dangerous! But the wild, blue sky was big and beautiful, and the sunsets
and moonlight were spectacular … We loved it!

During the holidays, our house was the place to be! It took four men to haul
in a live Christmas tree that we erected in our vaulted ceiling living room.
We would invite friends over for an “Elf” Party to bring down our many boxes
of holiday decorations. We would put on a big pot of chili or soup, play
holiday music and get the decorating started for the season.

We hosted festive holiday parties, hiring talented musicians and singers.
Skip & I would cook for days to prepare food for lots of guests (including our
children, grandchildren and all their friends). Family was everything to us!
We gathered our relatives for warm and memorable Christmases in that big
old house on Hunters Arrow, filled with holiday music and great aromas of
turkeys roasting and cookies baking. Skip was often found singing and
playing our grand piano. He just loved holidays! And truth be told, so did I.

So our life together was rich but like every family’s was not without pain
and sorrow. We witnessed the death of his mother and my mom and dad. As the years progressed we lost many who had enriched our lives with their
presence, including dear friends and beloved pets. I developed some
health problems and so did he. We dealt with them the best that we could,
always having each other’s back when times were hard.

But in November of 2022, Skip fell and broke his ankle. We didn’t think it
would be a big deal…just a broken ankle. But that started the downfall of the
warrior’s life. With his heart problems at bay, we still didn’t anticipate any
complications. But life sometimes jumps up and surprises you, and this time
we had no idea that the broken ankle would lead to his strong heart losing its
hold on life.

I have to admit that in my mind I was worried as the events of his final
months fell short of any signs of Skip getting better. I thought he would pull
through somehow, and we would get back to living life as we had done in
the past. But that was not to be.

Skip was a lousy patient. He didn’t follow doctor’s orders. He pulled IVs out
every chance he got. He even hit two nurses while in the hospital. I knew that
Skip, being the warrior that he was, was not going “gently into the night”. But I
had no idea just how hard this part of our life was going to be.

A couple of days before he died he had been taken down to a room on the
second floor. I asked him, “Do you still love me?” and he replied, “Always”.
Then Skip asked me, “Do you miss me?” I answered, “Home is not the same
without you.” That night I got a call from the Hospital ICU that Skip had been
found unresponsive again in the second floor room, and was back in the ICU.
The next morning with his medical Power of Attorney in hand, I arrived in the
ICU and announced that we were not going to do this any more. Now, we
were going to do it Skip’s way. I called in hospice care and they stopped all
treatment. Calling his staff and law partners, I told them to come see him for
the last time. I told his daughter to go get her mother & brother to come say
their goodbyes. I knew the warrior was ready to go.

Skip lasted through the night and the next morning I saw his color change. He
was on a morphine drip and was resting comfortably for the first time in a very
long time. His favorite nurse, the ICU doctor and the hospice nurse all agreed
that his time was near. On the morning of February 3, 2023, while I was
holding my husband’s hand, the warrior slipped peacefully away and left this
old world behind.

So now, I have one last thing to do for my warrior husband. With family and
friends by my side, I am taking his ashes back to Saint John in the Virgin
Islands at the end of the year, to honor him for the last time. Back to where I
know he was the happiest on earth. Back into the sea he loved so much.

And my final words to him:
Thanks honey, for all the history we made together and for the
memories you left behind.
Lady Loves You.
God’s Speed Warrior Skip.
Rest in Peace.

Chili – Skip Good’s Award Winner!

Ingredients:

• 7 pounds chili meat – (You can use venison, beef, or any combination of red meat that you like. You can also use ground meat or cubed roast. I personally prefer using a 4 lb. top round, which I cube and 3-lbs of ground chili meat.)
• 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 head of garlic, minced (approximately 12-15 cloves)
• 2 7-ounce can mince green chiles (mild)
• 3 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon sugar + 2 tablespoons mole)
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 can beef consommé or beef broth
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 8 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 cans of pinto or kidney beans
• Vegetable oil or lard
• 3-4 cans of beer (Guinness Stout preferable)
• 2-3 cups of water (as needed)

Directions:

1. Put a small amount of lard or oil in a deep cooking pot or Dutch oven. Place pot on medium high heat.
2. Fry meat, in small batches, and set aside. After all the meat is seared, lower the heat and add chopped onions and garlic to the cooking pot.
3. Sauté briefly until onions are softened and transparent. Be careful to keep heat low to avoid burning the garlic.
4. Then add meat, beer, water, consommé, tomato sauce and green chilies. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add remaining ingredients, stir thoroughly, and simmer for at least 2½ hours mostly covered. Cook for longer if possible.
6. Add the beans after cooking 2 hours. If desired, thicken with ½ cup of masa, mixed with warm water or beer until it makes a thin paste and add 30 minutes before serving.
7. Serve.

INSPIRATION:

Do not pray for an easy life.
Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.
Seek not a life without challenges,
but the inner strength to conquer the toughest one.
Instead of asking for an effortless path –
Ask for the resilience to thrive in the face of adversity.
Remember, it’s yours ability to endure and grow through
difficulties that truly defines your strength and character.

Bruce Lee

---

If you know someone who would appreciate these stories, please share it with them! It really helps me and, hopefully, helps them too! – Pat