7 Good News Stories: ‘Sense Of Belonging’; Secrets To 70-Year Marriage

ACROSS AMERICA — Cameron and Michelle DiNardo’s lives could have turned out lonely and, well, awful.

Their father died of a heart attack in October 2021 and their mother, Ukrainian born, had been diagnosed with cancer. In July last year, she reached out to John and Jen Baer, of Naperville, Illinois, whose kids had grown up alongside each other, with a life-changing proposal.

Yelena DiNardo was dying, and the kids’ only relative living in the United States was her mother, who was in an assisted living facility. She didn’t want her children split up, and she didn’t want them to move out of the school district where they had made friends.

“I don’t know who else to turn to,” the Baers recalled Yelena’s words in an interview with Patch’s Lisa Marie Farver, “and you have been so kind.”

By September, Yalena was gone. The couple already had two children, including Ryan, Cameron’s best friend since childhood. Adding two more kids to their household would be tough financially, and emotionally, too, as the kids grieved the death of their parents. But they honored Yelena’s last wish.

Cameron and Ryan are college freshmen, and Michelle is adjusting. Inspired by Jen, who figure skates, she asked about lessons.

“I don’t know what’s going on inside her head and heart,” Jen told Patch, “but I feel she has a sense of being and belonging here.” » By Lisa Marie Farver for Naperville Patch

They’re All Family Now

A police detective in North Haven, Connecticut, didn’t just save a newborn’s life four years ago Friday when her mother rushed out of a movie theater, frantic because she wasn’t breathing. Michael Harton, who was working a detail at the theater, saved Eimaan “Tooka” Buchanan’s life right there on the spot, and he’s earned a place in her family because of it. Nicole Brown asked Harton to be Tooka’s godfather, a role he accepted. “Our families are now extended and connected by what could have been a tragedy,” Brown told Patch’s Vincent Salzo. Not only that, she’s part of the police family in North Haven, and they “never miss a holiday or birthday.” » By Vincent Salzo for North Haven Patch

How To Stay Happily Married

John and Lillian Lynch didn’t write the book on how to stay married for 70 years, a milestone the Redding, Connecticut, couple will celebrate in May, but they could have. Among the advice they shared with Patch’s Rich Kirby is the importance of laughter. “If you don’t laugh a lot, you kind of wither up, I think,” John, 89, said. “Don’t give up, and always laugh,” Lillian, 88, added. “It’s too easy to quit now.” » By Rich Kirby for Redding Patch

The Stories They Will Tell

They may still be seniors at Brentwood (New York) High School now, but in a few years time, you may be seeing the faces of Mariana Arboleda, Javier Chevalier and Kimberley Donis on your television and computer screens and relying on their reporting. The three were nominated to and chosen for the PBS News Hour Student Reporting Lab’s “20 Under 20” list celebrating up-and-coming storytellers from around the country. As Patch’s Maureen Mullarkey reports, Brentwood High School is the only one in the country to have three of the 20 recipients of the exclusive designation. » By Maureen Mullarkey for Brentwood-Central Islip Patch

Her Light Still Shines

It’s hard to reconcile that it’s Kristina Chesterman’s photo, not Chesterman herself, that is circling the globe and showing up in photos taken at Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal and other places the ambitious adventurer from Livermore, California, had put on a bucket list before her life was cut short at 21 years old by a drunk driver in 2013. “As soon as I found it, I knew we had to do what we could on the list,” her mother, Sandra Chesterman, told Patch’s Michael Wittner. She and her family checked off several items, but a decade later, they’re ready to complete it (anyone know how to get hold of a camel?). People around the world began completing other items on the list, including a bride who sewed Kristina’s photo in her wedding dress, so Kristina could “get married.” And along the way, the Chestermans have met the people who received organs from Kristina, a nursing student when she died. “People would always say when she was young that she was an adult already,” her mother said. “She was an old soul, is what people said about her.” » By Michael Wittner for Livermore Patch

‘You’re Everything Our Nation Aspired To Be’

Retired U.S. Army Col. Paris Davis, a barrier-breaking Black officer during the Vietnam War from Arlington, Virginia, was finally awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award for bravery. One of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, he received the award 60 years after he was first nominated for it, but the paperwork for two previous nominations was lost, a fact President Joe Biden apologized for during a medal presentation ceremony at the White House Friday. “Paris, you are everything this medal means,” Biden said. “You’re everything our generation aspired to be. And you are everything our nation is at our best: brave and big-hearted, determined and devoted, selfless and a steadfast American.” » By Mark Hand for Arlington Patch

‘We #ChooseKindness’

This story almost ended in heartbreak. A woman in Monee, Illinois, had a medical emergency and had to move in with family, who unceremoniously put her dog, King, up for adoption by tying hi to a dumpster in a fast food parking lot. Attached to his collar was a note that read: “Hi, I’m King. I’m a good boy. Love to hug and kiss.” Hearts broke around the internet, but also in Monee, where the police department and the South Suburban Humane Society teamed to reunite the woman and her obviously well-cared-for and loved dog. “We know that some of you may have differing opinions on this and that’s ok, but in this situation, we #ChooseKindness,” the police department wrote on Facebook. » By Lauren Traut for New Lenox Patch

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