85: Terrible Loss, Unexpected Love
When remarriage happens after the death of a spouse, the stepcouple faces unique and hard-to-navigate circumstances related to grief and leftover feelings from those experiences. Ron Deal talks with Bill and Evelyn Thompson, who both lost their spouses prior to remarriage, on how to blend a stepfamily after death and what they wish they’d done differently in their early years of dating and remarriage.
About the Guest
Bill and Evelyn Thompson
Blended families are born out of loss. Bill and Evelyn know this all too well suffering the loss of their beloved first spouses. Bill’s first wife, Margie, succumbed to breast cancer after a valiant 13 year battle. Evelyn suddenly and tragically was widowed when her first husband Rick, the commander of STS-107, perished as the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart minutes before its return to earth. Both strong believers of Jesus Christ, they trusted in the Lord to heal their shattered hearts and to guide them faithfully.
Remarriage was not on the radar screen for either, but God brought this couple together and they fell in love. The new family has blended Bill’s grown and married children with Evelyn’s early adult children. Their blended family has produced much joy, challenges, and many things to pray and rejoice over. Bill is starting a new career with Marketplace Chaplains and is working on a Master’s Degree with Liberty University. Evelyn, author of “High Calling; The Courageous Life and Faith of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband” (Thomas Nelson, 2004) travels nationwide sharing the inspiring message that hope endures even in the most painful and challenging of times.
About the Host
Ron Deal
Ron Deal is Director of FamilyLife Blended®️ for FamilyLife®️ and President of Smart Stepfamilies™️. He is a family ministry consultant and conducts marriage and family seminars around the country; he specializes in marriage education and stepfamily enrichment. He is one of the most widely read authors on stepfamily living in the country.