Dunlap family presents CHP lighthouse

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

Dick Dunlap was many things to many people. To some, he was Dick Dunlap, the former county commissioner, or Dick Dunlap, the hard-working farmer, or Dick Dunlap, the one-of-a-kind Euchre player.

But to his two daughters, his six grandchildren and his 13 great-grandchildren, he was a cherished, loving figure that rarely missed a ball game, or an opportunity to express his kindness.

“Dad had such a soft touch,” said his daughter, Susan Bagley. “As kids, we always went to dad first, because mom was the disciplinarian. Dad was always the softy.”

Dunlap’s passing in 2011 gave many a chance to reflect on a man who had proudly served his country during World War II, and later served his community for two terms as county commissioner. He was an avid local high-school sports fan, and was well known and loved by many.

“Dad never met a stranger,” Bagley said. “If he ran into someone, he would always say, ‘Oh, that’s my good friend.’ Not just someone he knew, but his ‘good friend.’ That’s just the way dad was.”

So it’s fitting that the annual presentation of the lighthouse at Thursday evening’s Community Health Professionals Beacon of Hope came from the Dunlap family. The local fundraising event each year honors families who have been a part of the agency’s hospice program. “It’s not a memorial service, but it’s kind of a celebration of life,” said Shelly Barrett of CHP. “The beacon is meant to remember all those people that we’ve lost under the hospice program in the last year. The whole premise behind the lighthouse is to show the eternal light they leave behind in all of the people who knew them, and whose lives they touched.”

The event also serves to educate people about the hospice program, and debunk the common myth that hospice is only for cancer patients, or is free to patients. While hospice is not free, Community Health Professionals does not turn away terminal patients, and offers payment plans, or assistance to those not insured or not adequately insured. Proceeds from the annual Beacon of Hope are placed into a patient care fund, which is reserved to assist those uninsured or underinsured patients. Barrett stressed that all money raised at the local Beacon of Hope stays local.

“We get asked many times what the money goes for, and what it doesn’t go to is any type of administrative fees,” Barrett said, adding that proceeds are placed directly into a patient care fund.

Thursday evening, Willow Bend Country Club provided the setting for an evening of charitable bidding on a number of live and silent auction items, including OSU recliners, Bristol get-aways, and a number of other gift packages.

Before presenting the symbolic lighthouse, Dunlap’s daughter, Vickie Woodruff, paid compliments to the local hospice agency, as well as remembering her father. “It takes a special calling to work at a hospice facility,” Woodruff said. “Dad was not just another patient and we were not just another family to Community Health Professionals,” she added. “They should take great pride in the fact that they did their job with love, and their expertise made our situation just a little easier.”

The annual Beacon of Hope was emceed Thursday evening by Lima sportscaster Vince Koza, who put a light-hearted spin on the evening before the main auction, which featured vacation timeshares, getaway packages, gift baskets, and much more. “There’s a nice history to this event, and it’s done very well, and it’s been duplicated in almost all of our offices,” Barrett said.

The evening also featured a poignant slideshow presentation of images from Dunlap’s life, including a special image of him presenting his granddaughter with the annual Lion’s Club scholarship at Lincolnview’s graduation.

“Dad always presented the scholarship,” Woodruff said, “and he had the opportunity to present it to a student who is now my son-in-law, as well as my current daughter-in-law. And recently he had the opportunity to present it to my granddaughter, and it was so touching for him to be able to do that.”

The presentation also displayed Dunlap in the role he loved most, as the family patriarch who was a constant source of love and support to his family.

“After my mom passed away, he had to be both mom and dad,” Woodruff said. “And he was grandma and grandpa, and he would do the things that women usually do, like make up the Easter baskets. He just always made sure to let us all know how much he appreciated us.”

Woodruff went on to say that her father’s communication with the family grew even stronger when Dunlap was introduced to the world of e-mail. “He would take his laptop with him at hospital stays, and the hospital staff would assume he was a retired educator because he was on that computer all of the time,” Bagley said. “He was just emailing everybody all of the time.”

Dunlap’s final days were spent in hospice, where the family said he was kept comfortable and free of pain. The hospice process, Woodruff said, had a profound impact on the entire family. “Little did we know on our way to Van Wert how hospice would impact the life of not only our dad, but his entire family,” she said. “We felt as if the staff wrapped their arms around us and gave us a shoulder to lean on.”