Editor’s note: The Dart is a weekly feature, where reporters throw a dart at a map of Selma to find a random location for a story.

 

It has been nearly a year since Selmont resident Ollie Braxton’s husband of 52 years died, but the pain still resonates within her as if it was yesterday.  

Ever since Ollie’s husband, Joseph Braxton Sr., died on Oct. 6, the loneliness of living without him has made many of her days difficult. It’s only through God’s strength and beautiful memories of him that she’s able to cope with the devastating lost.

“I have some good days and weary days, but I’m coping,” Ollie said. “I’ll start singing, praying, and talking to the Lord to make me strong.”

When Ollie does reminisce about Joseph, she recalls pleasant memories that remind her just how great of man he was.

She said Joseph, who served in the U.S. Army for 24 years, was a hard-working, freehearted person always willing to help others in need.

“He was a beautiful person, who enjoyed life,” Ollie said. “He was the man of his house, and he always took care of it.”

For Ollie, it was the small, caring things Joseph would do as a husband that she will miss the most. Ollie said she could always expect sweet cards and flowers from him for nearly every holiday.

“I used to love when he would come home and kiss me and say, ‘How was your day, girl?’ I would say it was bad, bad, bad. He would say, ‘Oh, what happened today?’ And we would laugh it off,” Ollie said with a chuckle.

No matter what difficult times Ollie went through in life, Ollie said she was at peace knowing her husband was there to help her through it.

“When I had a problem, I could always go to him,” she said. “He would ease my burden. In some way, he could always make it all right for me.”