Father Noel Hickie and Marcia Hilton
Father Noel Hickie was working as a hospital chaplain when he met Marcia Hilton, a bereavement counselor, at a hospital in Eugene, Oregon. For 25 years, they often worked together on the hospice team, helping patients and their families through illness and death.
But when they first started, neither was sure if they were cut out for the work.
Marcia retired in 2013, Father Noel in 2015.
Originally aired July 28, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
This interview is part of StoryCorps Legacy, which provides people of all ages with serious illness and their families the opportunity to record, preserve, and share their stories.
Dawn Sahr and Asma Jama
One night, in October 2015, Asma Jama went out for dinner with her family at an Applebee’s restaurant in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Asma, who is Somali American and Muslim, was wearing a hijab, as she always does.
While Asma was talking with her cousin in Swahili, a woman named Jodie Bruchard-Risch, who was seated nearby, told her to speak English or go back to her country. When Asma responded to say that she was a U.S. citizen, the woman smashed a beer mug across Asma’s face. She was rushed to the hospital and required 17 stitches in her face, hands and chest.
Bruchard-Risch pleaded guilty to felony assault charges and served time in jail for the crime. After the trial, her sister, Dawn Sahr, contacted Asma online and they struck up a correspondence.
At StoryCorps, Dawn and Asma met in person for the first time.
Originally aired July 21, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Tom Sullivan and Terry Sullivan
On July 20, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 12 people in a packed movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. One of the victims was Alex Sullivan. He was celebrating his birthday at the movies that night — something he had done since he was a small child. Alex and a group of friends planned to see a midnight showing of the latest Batman film, just as he turned 27.
Five years later, his parents, Tom and Terry Sullivan, sat down at StoryCorps to remember him.
After their son was killed, Tom and Terry Sullivan turned to a close network of friends and family for support. Tom’s longtime friend, Dan Van Minnen, was one of those people.
Originally aired July 14, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: Tom and Terry Sullivan.
Middle photo: Terry Sullivan holds a photo of her son, Alex.
Bottom photo: Tom and his friend Dan Van Minnen.
Zoë Waters, Maddy Waters, and Nick Waters
Ten-year-old triplets Maddy, Zoë, and Nick Waters have spent their entire lives together, sharing everything from a birthday to a bedroom.
But despite being so close, they’d never sat down and asked each other some of their most pressing questions. So they came to a StoryCorps MobileBooth in Bloomington, Indiana, where they found out they still had a lot to learn.
Originally aired June 30, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: Maddy, Zoë, and Nick at their StoryCorps interview in Bloomington, Indiana.
Middle photo: Maddy, Zoë, and Nick on the day all three were able to come home from the hospital in 2007. Courtesy of the Waters Family.
Bottom photo: Maddy, Zoë, and Nick walk to school in Bloomington, Indiana on Zoë’s first day using her power chair in 2016. Courtesy of the Waters Family.
Darrow Brown and Juan Calvo
Now, a conversation that reminds us how being a father can be about much more than biology.
In 2007, after volunteering to care for infants born to drug-addicted mothers in Baltimore, Juan Calvo knew he wanted to do more. So he and his husband, Darrow Brown, became foster dads. At StoryCorps, they remember the moment they met their first child and talk about the heartbreak and joy of being foster parents.
Two years later, they adopted their, son, Lucas, who is now 7 years old. They continue to open their home to foster children.
Originally aired June 16, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top Photo: Lucas, Darrow and Juan at their home in 2016. With permission from the Baltimore Sun.
Bottom Photo: From left, Juan, one of Darrow and Juan’s foster children, and Lucas on a post-reunification trip to the Maryland Science Center on May 22, 2016. Courtesy of Darrow Brown and Juan Calvo.
Emily Addison
On June 12, 2016 a lone gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Among those killed was Deonka Drayton. She was 32.
Deonka left behind a young son and her co-parent, Emily Addison. At StoryCorps, Emily sat down to remember her.
Originally aired June 9, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
There were hundreds of people at Pulse the night of the shooting, and some were able to escape in time. Christopher Hansen is among those who survived that night. It was the first time he’d ever visited Pulse, having just recently moved to Orlando. He came to StoryCorps to remember what happened that night.
These interviews were recorded in partnership with WMFE and the Family Equality Council. In March, StoryCorps recorded 14 conversations in Orlando, Florida about the Pulse nightclub shooting and the lives that have been deeply affected by the tragedy. The project welcomed survivors of the shooting, friends and family members of lost loved ones, and community organizations who have been vital in the aftermath to record their experiences, and focused on capturing stories from the LGBTQ community. In addition, WMFE used the StoryCorps app to collect stories from the broader Orlando community, in a project they called Taking Your Pulse.
Top photo: Deonka Drayton with her son, Diyari. (Photo courtesy Emily Addison)
Middle photo: Emily Addison and Deonka Drayton with their son, Diyari. (Photo courtesy Emily Addison)
Bottom photo: Christopher Hansen at StoryCorps
George Rincon and Yolanda Reyes
At the beginning of the Iraq War, nearly 40,000 members of the United States military were not citizens. Army Private First Class Diego Rincon was one of them. As a child, he had immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia with his family. He had always known he wanted to join the military, and at 19, he enlisted in the Army.
Diego was deployed to Iraq in March 2003, at the beginning of the war. Just 11 days in, he was killed by a suicide bomber. Diego received U.S. citizenship on April 10, 2003 — the day of his funeral.
His parents, George Rincon and Yolanda Reyes, came to StoryCorps to remember him.
Originally aired May 26, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: Diego Rincon. Courtesy of the Rincon Family.
Bottom photo: Army Pfc. Diego Rincon’s uniform and photograph stand next to his flag-draped casket during a funeral service on April 10, 2003 in Conyers, Georgia. AP Photo/John Bazemore
Roberta Vincent and Robert Howard II
Many people come to StoryCorps to tell the stories that have shaped their lives. Robert Howard’s story starts during the Vietnam war.
Robert grew up in Norwich, Connecticut in the shadow of his father, a larger-than-life character and celebrated athlete in town who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1969.
When Robert came to StoryCorps with his mother, Roberta Vincent, he spoke about saying goodbye to his dad.
This interview was recorded in partnership with the Otis Library in Norwich, Connecticut. The Otis Library’s recordings were made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Originally aired May 19, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bottom photo: A picture from a local newspaper of Robert Howard II accepting the medals awarded to his father posthumously the year of his death, while his mother Roberta Vincent looks on. Courtesy of Roberta Vincent.
Sarah Churchill and Yomi Wrong
Many people come to StoryCorps to honor loved ones — often their parents. Yomi Wrong brought her mother, Sarah Churchill, to a recording booth to say thanks for never giving up on her.
In 1972, Sarah was pregnant with her third daughter. Shortly after giving birth, doctors told her that her baby had a rare genetic disorder that caused her bones to break under the slightest pressure. The doctors told Sarah that she had a choice — she could try to raise a child who might not survive, and, if she did, would be a tremendous burden on their family, or Sarah could leave the child at the hospital since she wouldn’t live long.
That baby was Yomi, who, at the time of this recording, was about to celebrate her 45th birthday. Here, Sarah tells Yomi about the night she was born.
This interview was recorded in partnership with the Disability Visibility Project.
Originally aired May 12, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bottom photo: Sarah Churchill at a family gathering in the Bronx with her daughter, Yomi, in 1976. Courtesy of Yomi Wrong.
Kevin Fredericks, Isaiah Fredericks, and Josiah Fredericks
StoryCorps gives friends and family the chance to sit down together and ask questions they’ve always wanted to ask. Isaiah Fredericks and his younger brother, Josiah, made the most of that opportunity.
When this interview was recorded, Josiah was seven years old and Isaiah was nine. They came to StoryCorps in Los Angeles with their dad, Kevin, who fielded all sorts of questions from his curious sons — some of which we’ve never heard before.
Originally aired May 5, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.