Chalkboard Thoughts

         Delores Jean Alkire was born September 5th 1968 to John and Margaret Alkire. She married David Wells on June 9th 1984. The couple welcomed a son in 1985.     In 1987 Delores Wells was a Mom and homemaker caring for her 2 year old boy, David Lee. It should have been a joyful time in her life. On January 26th, 1987 all that changed. She was walking home from a relative’s house in Terre Haute when she was kidnapped.    Delores was abducted on January 26th 1987 by Bill Benefiel. He grabbed her and took her to one of his three run down homes on 13 ½ Street in NorthTerre Haute. She would not be alone there in her captivity.          Bill Benefiel had abducted teenager Alicia Elmore on October 10th, 1986. She had been walking to a corner store to buy her mother a soda. Her Mom was sick and thought the soft drink would help settle her stomach. Alicia had been there for months now ...

   Donna Marie Husband was born on March 11th, 1956 in South Bend, Indiana to Eloise and Joseph Husband. She grew up in South Bend and married a man named Lanier. (I was unable to find his full name.)    She was 28 in 1984.  Her life had been a difficult one. Her mother had been killed in the years before.  The man suspected of that crime was later murdered as well. Donna and her children lost everything but their lives in a different fire in 1979. Still, she kept going.     Donna had four children. Three were still living at home in 1984. It is not easy to make a living as a single mother.  If your kids get sick you have to be home with them. They never get sick all at the same time. Children have school breaks and snow days but most jobs do not. It’s impossible to find a workplace that will be flexible like that. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. If you have ever been poor then you know.    Minim...

        Linda Lynn Weldy was born a little over a month after the U.S. Bicentennial, on August 13th 1976. Her Mother was Karen Lewis. She had a brother, William Lewis who was two years older than her. In 1987 her father had been out of the picture for some time.  She had a step father, Robert Egolf. Karen Lewis and Robert Egolf had been together for years.  They officially married in 1988.    In early March of 1979 the family suffered a house fire at 311 D Street in LaPorte and Robert Egolf helped everyone escape. He and Karen both suffered cuts as they helped the children get out of a window. A young person passing by also assisted as the family escaped through the broken window. The children, 2 year old Linda and 4 year old William, were unharmed.     In 1987 the family lived at 181 West McClung Road near Fishtrap Lake on the northwest side of LaPorte, Indiana. Karen worked at a factory.  Linda attended Cri...