It started as an unremarkable and forgettable day
By Dave Queiser, American Family Insurance Application Development Senior Engineer
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
That’s what my daughter said on June 19, 2012 — a completely unremarkable and forgettable day … until she said it.
I met my wife, Terri, in 1997. We were consultants working on the American Family Insurance Year 2000 project. We worked together in the “factory,” and like a lot of people in that group, we did a lot socially. After six months of friendship, I dorkily presented her with a flower and asked if she’d be my girlfriend. She laughed and asked what took me so long.
We said we were soulmates — each other’s better half — and were married in September 1999. We went through the usual life changes and rarely argued but talked constantly, about everything.
In 2007, we traveled to China to adopt our daughter, Danni. Late in 2011, we started the process for a second adoption.
And then on June 19, 2012, at 7 p.m., Danni and I returned home from a visit to the park. Danni, just 10 short steps in front of me, innocently said those words I can’t unhear.
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
Terri had collapsed in the family room and wouldn’t respond. I made the 911 call, and the operator stayed on with me while I did CPR. Eventually the medics arrived. (I don’t even know how they got into the house.)
It was around 9:30 p.m. when the coroner pulled me aside and made it official: Terri had passed away. She was 44.
This, then, becomes the story of what life insurance meant to us. Terri was an employee at American Family Insurance, and I was informed very quickly that I would receive the payout of her life insurance benefit. It only took a few weeks for that check to arrive.
Less than 36 hours after the coroner told me the news, I was planning a funeral. I didn’t know the first thing about it, but I had two things that kept me sane. Because Terri and I had talked about everything, I knew just what she’d want (or rather, what she didn’t want). And because of that upcoming benefit payout, I was able to simply tell them what I needed. I knew it was covered.
Danni and I embarked on a two-week car trip to take Terri’s ashes home to Oregon and made many stops along the way.
I didn’t have to worry about making big decisions until I was ready. Terri’s life insurance gave me stability when I needed it most. That’s something that goes beyond dollars. I didn’t have to wonder if we’d have to move, or if Danni would have to give up dancing. Only if we decided to, would those things happen. That’s what that life insurance meant to us — that in our worst moment we were protected and still had options when we were ready.
Afterward, when things settled down, I purchased additional life insurance for both me and Danni outside of the life insurance I had through work. Should the worst ever happen to either of us, we’ll have that protection again.
Protect What Matters Most
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