She 'paid it forward" by example

By: Melanie Zimmermann | Hickory Daily Record
Published: November 18, 2008

On Saturday, I lost a friend and gained an angel. Her name was Bobbie Jo Kincaid Lutz and she was a good friend for more than 15 years.

She was someone I watched grow to be confident and determined in her resolve to take control of her life and take care of her daughter.

We were not typical friends. We very rarely saw each other, but she knew I would be there in a second if she needed me.

Bobbie and I met at Catawba Valley Community College. We were both enrolled in the Creative Design program. She wanted to be a graphic designer. She was a very talented artist and a gifted photographer.

After CVCC, I went to work in minor league baseball and Bobbie was looking for a job. She called me one afternoon and I suggested she try the Hickory Daily Record. That's where I found her about four years later when I was hired to work in Creative Services. She was the first person I saw and I knew I was in the right place.

Soon after, she faced some very difficult challenges and she came to me for help. She had her parents, her sisters, her brother and her daughter for support, but she called me when she needed the extra push for courage to face those difficulties. She gave me the chance to "pay it forward" because someone had once helped me when I was facing similar difficulties.

She left the Record to start over with her daughter and I heard from her every now and then. We would meet for lunch or she would stop by to say hello.

The last time I saw her was over a year ago when she told me she was getting remarried. She was very happy that she and Makayla were going to be joining her new husband and his two children to form a family. I knew she would not need me anymore. She was strong and confident and had found the happiness she needed.

I found out Bobbie was sick about a month ago from a mutual friend. The cancer had already spread through her body. Just recently she came into the office with her husband and Makayla. I didn't get to talk to her. I wish I had. I would have told her that she has "paid it forward" to her friends and family in her courage and determination to fight her battle with cancer. I will look to her example when I need the push to face future difficulties.

Bobbie is survived by her husband, George; two daughters, Makayla Buff and Destiny Lutz; a son, Andrew Lutz; her parents; sisters; and a brother. Her obituary on www.hickoryrecord.com lists two memorials in her honor. Read her guest book to learn more about her and her family.

Have you "paid it forward" or need that extra push? I want to know. E-mail me at mzimmerman@hickoryrecord.com.