Jordan is in his Freshman year at
Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO. He just made the
Dean's List in Academics and just finished his first basketball season
in college.
Hollis, now 11 and in fifth grade at the
local elementary school, plays Little League Baseball.
Ashley attends Wharton Jr. College, while
holding down a job and Chili's, and will be transferring to Texas State
in San Marcos this summer.
Matthew has finished his time with the Army
after 2 tours in Iraq, and is presently living in Las Vegas.
First,
let me include a cute little video for one of the most important men in
your life---your Father. You can send this to him for a humorous
note for Father's Day.
This last May 9 the Lord saw fit to bring home one of His
beloved children. As one pastor said, "God recalled one of
the generals in his Church militant. After over 40 years of marriage to
Rev. William Kirschke, a world-renown Sunday School expert,
denominational leader and speaker in great demand, Dorothy began, at
William's death, the third phase of her life and own ministry, first
going alone at age 75 to teach at Continental Theological Seminary in
Brussels, Belgium, then to join the staff of her son's ministry,
StraightWay, first as a missionary in Slovakia, then as Business and
Operations Manager at StraightWay's main training center in Hungerford,
Texas. She worked by the side of her son until her body would no longer
enable her, only months before her death at age 91. During
the last 3 decades, Dorothy also managed to serve as Christian
Education and Choir Director at Columbia Christian Center in West
Columbia, and choir director for Calvary Church in Houston, while also
conducting the choir of students at the StraightWay Training
Center. She had been attending Friendship Assembly in
Rosenberg up to her death.
With a special
love for the lost, the dysfunctional and the abandoned---all in need of
the hope and transforming power of the Gospel---"Gramma," as she was
affectionately called, had a special place in her heart for the
ministry of StraightWay until the day she went home to be with Jesus,
her husband William, and receive her reward.
The
funeral was held at Wharton Funeral Home in
Wharton, Texas. There was a wondeful attendance by all the
friends, students, and choir members with whom she had worked, served
and upon whose lives she had left a life-long endearing influence.
In Memoriam
"Gramma" Dorothy Kirschke
1917-2009
An article on
the "Life and Times of Dorothy Kirschke" will be featured here on the
only authorized memorial site for our beloved Mother and Grandmother.
In lieu of
flowers, the family is asking that donations be made in Dorothy's honor
to StraightWay. The address is StraightWay, Inc., P.O. Box
134, Hungerford, TX 77448. For those desiring to make a
secure donation on-line, simply "click" on the PayPal icon here below. A
program profile and information is provided for you at the bottom.
"Gone all fields green,
When yields the Autumn to winter scene,
Gone, then, its curse when
Spring buds to live,
Oh why does Nature take, only to
give?"
REASON is through---
GONE BEYOND BLUE.
"Gone all golden dreams
When ends Life's heartbeat, all's gone it seems,
Gone Love's rewards, which flee with Life's breath,
O Knowledge can't enchant the ruins of Death!
For REASON is through---
GONE BEYOND BLUE!
So ... "Change" is in the air once again, and what a change it will be
without my dear Mother, and this ministry's official
"Gramma"! In some ways, it won't be quite the same without
her. In other ways, however, it will be ... as we continue on
the legacy of diligence, dedication and fiscal management she trained
much of the staff in. In the Old Testament for generations
after King David, the Israelites "got it right" IF they "did it like
David did." And for years to come, I'm sure the question here
will not only be, "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do?), but also, "What would
Gramma do?" And the solutions will often be to "do it like Gramma did."
More
on "Gramma's legacy" and contribution to this ministry's history and
tradition later!
(To see the slide show we sent
out as our special Easter greeting,
CLICK on "Photos" in the ""Table of Contents at left.)
As
the "News" column to the left states, we now have three children in
college, so I'm officially "broke" -ha. Luke returned for the
Holidays from a year of college in Capetown, South Africa, and has
already returned. Matthew has already returned from Iraq
after two tours in Iraq, and is now officially out of the Army.
Jordan received an academic and athletic scholarship to play basketball
at a college near St. Louis, Missouri, and just finished his first
basketball season in college. He's doing well, and just made
the Dean's List in academics. My third college student,
Ashley, works at Chili's and is attending college locally, and will be
transferring to Texas State college in San Marcos (near Austin) this
summer.
That brings me to the youngest three still at home: Caleb, Faith and
Hollis.
Caleb, my outdoorsman and hunting buddy, is now 17 and is traveling
full-time with the StraightWay Team that
goes into the public schools. He is also a hard worker, and
helps Dad in our newest project, making stone-top tables. You
can see the beginnings of this new effort by clicking on "www.stonetoptables.com."
Faith is now 15, and is the sweetest girl one could have (not that she
doesn't have her usual "teen" moments). She is a doll,
talented, and also travels with StraightWay. She wants to do some
modeling and maybe acting one day. She also sings, home-schools (so she
can go on the road) and helps Mom cook.
Hollis, our little "Miracle Boy," recently had his 11th Birthday, and
got a little 4-wheeler that he and Caleb can ride on the 50 acres of
open land behind our house. I have a feeling Caleb will be using it for
hunting---he's already shot a doe bow-hunting. The
venison-stroganoff was delicious. Hollis is now in 5th
Grade. I will be getting up there in age (just a little) when
he goes into college. I wonder: "Will I ever get to
retire?" I get the feeling I won't.
One
more thing: The day after Christmas I left for Israel to work with Dr.
Scott Stripling (one of our LifeWay elders, who is an archaeologist and
teaches now for the Sugar Land school system & Univ. of
Phoenix) in Jerusalem on the Gabay Barkay's Antiquities
Salvage Operation at the Temple Mount. In case
you're interested, here are some links to the project:
Now,
some old news in case you didn't read it. For those who are
friends of my mother, Dorothy Kirschke, I wanted to mention the 34th
StraightWay Annual Banquet, which we had during the December holidays
at the Marriott Hotel in Sugar Land, was a tribute t "Gramma" Dorothy,
who has given over 25 years of her life to this ministry. The
children's choir, special music, the StraightWay Outreach with video
presentations and Graduation ceremony with graduate testimonies made an
event-packed evening to remember! I'll post pictures from the
banquet and the video tribute to her when I get a chance.
I
am still trying to finish this
entire website, and hopefully I can before long---rebuilding it from
the "ground floor up." New pictures, new links, new videos,
and some innovative slide shows will keep you entertained as well as
informed with all the new escapades of the Kirschke Family. Pictures will
continue to be uploaded and
can be seen by clicking on "Photo Album" in
the left Table of Contents. Another site to view a few family
and travel pictures old and new, some quite amusing is:
gallery.me.com/dkirschke
Some
links in the contents at left are not active yet, but will be soon - hopefully
(ha)! So ... as you check back from time to time,
you will find more features and items of interest available.
Enjoy your visit, and please come back and visit again soon ... and
drop us a line in the meantime. We would love to hear from
you!
God
Bless you, and have a wonderful 2009!
David & Jennifer Kirschke & Family
P.S. Have you seen this YouTube video?
STRAIGHTWAY, INC.
The StraightWay Training Center in Hungerford, Texas, located near
Houston, is a residential therapeutic, non-sectarian, Christian-based
drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, founded in 1975. SWTC has been
for over three decades the only program of its type to provide
treatment for whole families, unwed mothers, single parents with
children, and single adult males and females.
HOW DO WE STOP DRUG ABUSE?
StraightWay is also the largest drug prevention program in
the public schools, giving a message of hope to millions of people all
over Texas, as well as in the Midwest and western U.S. The StraightWay Team
has visited almost 5 million young people since their start in
1975.
