Expressions of gratitude

Dear Editor,

What I am about to explain is something that newcomers to the area may overlook when moving to the South. The beauty of this tiny little city in the foothills of the Blue Ridge has, in recent years, been dwarfed by the sprawl of the bigger cities encroaching on our community.

On Dec. 19 of last year, we were faced with a family’s worst nightmare. Our son of 23 years committed suicide. The initial shock following his death was total devastation, and we, as a local small business owners in town, couldn’t even face customers. It seemed that all of our lives had crumbled in an instant. The thought of continuing on without a child is something that, for us, we felt we could not do.

In the depths of our despair, the people of Pickens came to our side. From our customers, we received letters of encouragement, which continued for weeks. From friends, we received food that fed our families throughout the whole ordeal. From other local businesses, we received support to help us keep our doors open during a time we could not even force ourselves to turn on the lights.

The gracious and giving hearts of the people who live in this little sleepy town have shown to us that there are still places in this world that hearken back to the days where the townspeople took care of their own, through the good and the bad.

Even though we could not begin to thank all of those who took the time to help us throughout this ordeal, we wanted to send a special thank you to some for the continuing support they have shown our families.

Russell Brinson Photography and family, for taking time out of their own busy schedules to keep our doors open and handle all of our customers.

Heidi’s Hot Dogs, the Scoop Ice Cream Shop and Table Rock Resort for providing us food during a time when we didn’t even want to eat.

The Rock Golf Course and staff for hosting a place for the families to go after the funeral.

Carolina Florist Supply for providing the casket cover and the staff to make it.

Mountain View Funeral Home, in particular the staff, who held our hands during the whole thing and gave us the assurances we needed.

Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery and two particular staff members — Gail, who walked us through the whole process of our choices, and CB Dunson, who was there to give a hug when needed.

Aunt Sue’s Country Corner and Town and Country Florist, who let their own employees off work so they could help with our own flower deliveries and arrangements during our absence.

Both Landmark Baptist (Gary Edwards) and The Mill Church (Bryan Holder) for their spiritual guidance, food, prayers and the continual phone calls checking on our well-being.

A special thanks to all of the thousands of people who sent emails, texts, phone calls, posts on social media and prayer chains. Without people like this, Pickens would not be considered a home — it would just be a residence.

Our words alone cannot express our gratitude for all of you who have helped, written and prayed during the last few weeks, and we thank you all for all you have done. We feel like through our loss and pain, our roots to this town have grown deeper.

Kevin and Cynthia Linkenhoker

Cynthia’s Fine Flowers