posted December 19, 2007 02:10 AM         

If you remember from Rainbow's site it was Kathy who sang professionally with Ginny in their youth. She is the one in the pictures with Rainbow. Kathy and Ginny were very close all their lives.

It's sad enough to be losing another family member to cancer in less than a year after Rainbow's death but more bad news came today.

Tommy, one of Rainbow's sons, contacted Lisa ( Lialei ) in email this evening and told her that his cousin, Mark, Kathy's son, committed suicide today. I don't know much of the details right now but from what Tommy said it seems that Kathy's son shot himself in the head.

Please keep Tommy and the rest of Rainbow's family and her sister, Kathy in your thoughts and prayers. This is the second Christmas that the whole family is grieving the impending loss of a loved one and now, the death of her son, Mark.

My thought was that if it were me in Kathy's position hearing about my son taking his own life would make me just give up. I would want to die.

This is so very tragic and my heart goes out to Tommy and the rest of the family and to Kathy.

posted December 19, 2007 03:48 AM         

*sigh

...... My prayers are there, Absolutely

Mirandee as sad as this news is, I still wish to take the time to say thank you for sharing this here with us...

My heart just aches for thier family....

*This really touches home for me, as I myself am a cancer survivor... My eldest son was very traumatized by the thought of losing me while we dealt with these issues...
-geesh I don't...

Don't really have any words...

Wish I had a magic wand here...

posted December 19, 2007 08:28 AM         

Love to each of them.
Amanda/GG

posted December 19, 2007 11:42 AM         

The world needs a hug.

posted December 19, 2007 01:52 PM         

------------------
~
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted December 20, 2007 12:29 PM         

Mark was out of work for a while,
and perhaps that, compounded with the impending loss of Kathy, his mother, might have overwhelmed him.

Thank you for all your caring and love.
It's a blessing to see...very kind.
It will be a comfort for Ginny's family
to know others care.

posted December 21, 2007 02:09 AM         

I have an update. So much to digest. Hope I get all the details right.

Lialei talked to Tommy on the phone today and Tommy told her that today something just came to him and he couldn't shake it - that it might have been an accident and not suicide.

Tommy said that it came to him how just a few weeks ago Mark was having trouble with the pull strength of one of his new rifles. He said that it took a 10 lb. pull and Tommy suggested a hair-trigger and they went out and got one for the rifle. Tommy said Mark used it hunting and bagged 5 deer with it.

Tommy was wondering if that was the rifle. He said that it could have been an accident and that if Mark had sat the rifle down abruptly and uncautiously without knowing there might still be a shell in it, that it could have easily gone off with that hair-line trigger.

Tommy was at the scene right after it happened because Mark was at his sister's house and in her bedroom when it happened. Mark's wife was at work and his sister was not home. It was his nephew, his sister's 19 year old son, who found the body. He called Tommy. The police and clean up people were at the scene when he arrived.

In the shock and confusion Tommy did not ask the police any questions. The police just deduced it was a suicide. So Tommy is going to go talk to the police in Grand Rapids and find out what rifle it actually was.

Kathy has been told about her son's death and did not take it well, of course. She is at home with hospice and her daughter is with her. But today she was better. More lucid Tommy said.

Tommy feels this came to his mind for a reason, not just hope on his part. He said there was no suicide note. But then again not everyone leaves a note. My ex-brother in law did not leave a note when he committed suicide. Tommy also doesn't think that Mark would kill himself at his sister's house in her bedroom. Tommy said that Mark was depressed but that is understandable with his mom dying and losing his job.

Tommy wants to find out for sure because he said this image of it being an accident kept going around in his head all day at work today like a movie of how it actually happened. He also feels that Kathy would feel a bit better knowing her son died from an accidental gunshot and that he didn't take his own life. The whole family would feel better.

Another thing that Tommy told Lia that we didn't know, is that his cousin, Jane died just two weeks ago. We don't know the details about her death, if it was due to an accident or an illness.

Tommy is holding up well, considering he saw the scene and was very close to Mark. He did say he was beginning to think that his family was cursed.

There will be a service held for Mark next Thursday.

Wanted to update you all and let you know what Tommy is thinking and that it may turn out to have been an accident and not suicide. Will let you guys know what comes of that when Tommy talks to the police who were at the scene.