Bob Conzemius' Faith Story

A couple of weeks before my mother died, I was visiting her in a nursing home near her hometown of Breckenridge, MN. She was struggling with memory loss and was also limited to a wheelchair. When I was leaving, I hugged and kissed her and started walking down the hall.

I turned to wave at her before turning the corner and out of sight. She had a big smile on her face and was already waving before I turned. Just at that moment, in an gathering room of the nursing home, the music for a sing-along group started playing: 'Somewhere my love, we will meet again'. It struck me quite hard and it took a little while before I could make the trip back here to Ames. Two weeks later mother's children were called because she was starting to go down hill quite steadily. I went up and we were in her room when she died. I happened to be holding her hand when she took her last breath. At that moment when I realized she was gone the thought overtook me: 'I will never see mother again unless Jesus rose from the dead' Later, I said to her: 'Yes, somewhere my love, we will meet again'. It is a thought that has been a constant source of faith for me.

-Bob Conzemius
and his wife Jackie have been STA parishioners for 45 years. Bob is a retired ISU chemist and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Bereavement committee and a hospitality minister. Bob also volunteers much time working with the parish grounds and landscape.