My wife is Elaine Thompson, and she and I met in high school and have been married for 36 years. She is my love.

I want to tell you about her. Elaine is a classy lady who I love with all my heart; she  is also the kindest woman I have ever known. I have never questioned her love and support for me. She is the rock I lean on when things are not going the way they should.

Elaine gave me the greatest gift any wife can give her husband and that was her faith in me to make a living for our family and to do it in a way that brings honor to our life together. When you start out in life without education like I did,  to have someone who always believed in you is the greatest gift a man could ever want. It was her belief in me that made me who I am. I always knew that if I missed a sale, had a bad year, or made a bad investment that she would always tell me it would be ok and that God had his hand on us. After a while of a husband hearing these confirmations, it begins to make the husband believe he can do anything.

I have never known of her to purposely hurt someone else, to repeat gossip that would hurt, or tear down another person. I have seen her on more occasions than I can count seeing someone that needed a lift, buying their meals, helping with money issues, or lifting them up. We have been in restaurants where she would see a mother or a family that just needed a little help, and she would say, “let’s buy them dinner.”

She is a faithful friend to many and the most amazing mother to our girls than I could have ever expected. There were many nights that I traveled when our girls were little, and she never flinched when I told her I needed to go out of town. She just took care of our girls and made a home for our family where our children never questioned their mother’s love and commitment. In fact, the reason our daughters are such fine women today is because of the example she always set.

She is my closest friend, companion, counselor and love of my life. KT