In Loving Memory of John Dion Ridenour-Marvel

This is an exclusive membership club for moms who have lost a child. We are the survivors who will teach people how to react to us when we lose a child.

This page is dedicated to our son, John Dion Ridenour-Marvel, who was killed on January 20, 1989 as a result of an accidental shooting. The girl who shot our son was sentenced to 17 years in prison for manslaughter with a gun. She spent less than three years in prison - thanks to early release programs and gain time.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department tried to charge her with Second Degree Murder, however, there would have not been enough evidence to convict her on that charge. So they had to settle for "Manslaughter With A Gun".

Our story begins when our son was visiting his biological father at his home. John found out that the house was being used for a drug house. He was coming back home the next day. He wanted to stay long enough to talk to his father. The morning he was to come home, the girl who shot him claimed she was "pretending" to shoot John. She picked up the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet went right into his heart. He died en route to the hospital. They tried to save him. They knew he was a strong young man, but they couldn't. John knew too much. This girl was the girlfriend of the drug dealer who was providing drugs for that house.

Well, that's our story...it's not a pretty one...but it has to be told. I, personally have been afraid of guns since this incident. My only suggestion if you must have a gun, is to get educated on gun safety...practice at a target range...Don't be a victim!

Kids & Guns

To All Parents
A Poem Written By: Edgar A. Guest

"I'll lend you for a little time a child of Mine," He said,
"For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead,
It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for Me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and shall his stay be brief
You'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.
~~~~~~~~~~
"I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over in my search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have selected you.
Now will you give him all your love, nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call to take him back again?"
~~~~~~~~~~
I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord, Thy will be done."
For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may
And for the happiness we've known forever grateful stay;
But shall the angels call for him much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand."
~~~~~~~~~~
(from "All In a Lifetime"--Copyright, 1938)

"The Undefended Victim"

For me, no gavel, hammers
The Scales were never weighted.
My Crime was that of a victim,
My life, was the price I paid.

And when my life was taken,
Why weren't my rights read?
And the Statement, "overruled"
When they pronounced me dead?

I'll never hear my rights
Nor take the witness stand,
No attorney to defend me,
My fate was in a killer's hand.

Now the courtroom's crowded
As the defendant pleads the case.
With just the glimmer of a tear,
Cold eyes on a straight face.

But oh, that I could take the stand
If they could witness my last breath,
Could they live with the terror
That I went through in death.

If they could hear my pleading cries
And see the hatred in that face,
At last, we'd know, the scales had
"Been balanced" in this case.

If I could, I'd tell the jury
Exactly how it was,
The fear and pain that I went through
Struck down without a cause.

Did the jury carefully weigh it all
As they listened to the plea?
There were no emotions, showing now,
Just the hope of going free.

The final verdict now is in
As the defendant stands in tears
If only I had done as well.....
Given ten to twenty years.

In Memory Of Stephen Scott Strouse
Murdered in Tampa, Florida May 13, 1994
You'll Never Be Forgotten. Love, Mom!

Footprints In The Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You would walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed You most You would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints it is then that I carried you."

Author Carolyn Joyce Carty ©1963

Why God Takes Children
(By an Unknown Author)

When God calls little children
To dwell with Him above,
We mortals sometimes question
The wisdom of His love.
For no heartache compares with,
The death of one small child,
Who does so much to make our world,
Seem so wonderful and mild.
Perhaps God tires of calling
The aged to His fold,
So He picks a rosebud
Before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them,
And so He takes but few,
To make the land of heaven
More beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult
Still somehow we must try,
The saddest word mankind knows
will always be Good-by.
So when a little child departs,
We who are left behind
Must realize God loves children,
Angels are hard to find.

This page is also dedicated to the children we have lost.

Jeff Linder lost his son, Warren Linder, in an automobile accident on June 28, 1987. After Warren died, Jeff set up a Driving Safety Poster contest for the high school that Warren attended. The contest is still going on today! Decisions was written by Warren Linder about a month before he was killed! This page by his father, Jeff Linder, is a dedication to Warren Linder 08/02/72 - 06/28/87.