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State lawmaker, long-term care administrator overwhelmed by veterans and their war stories BY TIM FARLEY
MARLOW - As Memorial Day came and went, long-term care administrator Jessica Garvin remembered the many times she has listened to the war stories of her residents and saw their tears as they spoke. “It makes me cry a lot and I’m not really a big crier. It’s overwhelming,” she said. Garvin, who doubles as a state lawmaker from Duncan, said the veterans who reside in the facilities she operates, are from an era of tough, rugged men and women who made life work for them and their families despite incredible obstacles. “For some of these people, we’re talking about them living through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and a World War. They have such knowledge and a wealth of stories that are priceless,” she said. “It’s not often that a veteran speaks of their own heroism. Most of the time, when these stories begin to pour out, it’s bragging on a shipmate or someone who was in the
80 ion Oklahoma MAY/JUNE 2021
