Anyone who's going to get any of his organs are going to have a piece of history in them. The last few minutes that we had, the nurses let me lay in bed with him, and I put his arm around me and I just laid and I listened to his heartbeat, and I was so thankful to think someone may have that heart. |
He was at a point in his life where he was retired. And he had expressed this was the happiest point in his life. |
He was my rock. I know he's looking over me to help me get the strength to get through this. |
I asked him if it bothered him that I don't like baseball. He used to laugh, 'cause I'd say I'd strangle somebody if they made me sit through three innings of baseball. And he said, 'That's what I love most about you.' He knew I was real and that this love was real, and he loved that about me. |
I do want people to know that Kirby was a very happy man and that retirement gave him the opportunity to do things he always wanted to do. He was just ready to live the rest of his life. |
I know there's been bad things said about Kirby. I wouldn't know that Kirby. |
Kirby was very, very happy. He was very happy. Not a day went by that he didn't have a smile on his face. |
Kirby wasn't a very romantic man at times. He bent down on one knee and showed me the ring and asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him. |
She was just very supportive, and I thank her for that. I know a lot of people think it would have been bitter. It wasn't. She embraced me, and we cried, and she was very nice. |
Tonya has been truly wonderful through this. I'm very close to his siblings. He was very close to my family. Which, sometimes, people think is uncommon. But it was one big happy family. |
We knew for years this would be our destination. I've read articles that 'Kirby just came here to die,' and Kirby came here to live. |