alls painted forest-green and tall mahogany bookcases hold a montage of golf-related photographs in the Anderson’s den in Salinas. There are shots of Joe Montana and Tiger Woods at the AT&T in Pebble Beach, and Maria Anderson with Kathryn Crosby and Jack Lemmon. Soon Maria will be adding photos of her late husband George playing in local tournaments. All of the images are a moment’s flash of good times, great golf, and treasured family memories.

“Golf was George’s passion,” Maria said as she recounted her husband’s love for the game. “We went to the AT&T for 17 years, every year the entire time we were together.”

Certainly, the knock-out scenery may have also had something to do with it. But, as George and Maria stepped along the fabled course every year, they couldn’t help but remember another special occasion--their 1991 wedding reception at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. There, with the spectacular views of Carmel Bay and Point Lobos in the distance, the Andersons began their lives together, surrounded by dozens of friends and family members.

Today, Maria, who was born and raised in Salinas, is still surrounded by those friends and family--pillars that sustained her during George’s illness and since his death in February, 2006, from esophageal cancer. She even discovered new friends when the hospice team entered their lives in the last two weeks of George’s life--friends who became like family to her and their children, David, today 15, Nina, 13, and George Nicolas, 11. “The support and care we had was just amazing,” she said.

When we were all growing up, (if a loved one was dying) kids were always put in another room,” Maria said. “Now, to make the entire family part of it, I think, is so much of the preparation. The knowledge that (the hospice team) gave us really helped.”

As part of George’s hospice care program, a registered nurse visited frequently to check on his condition and to help Maria and the children understand what was happening. She also taught Maria about his medications and plan of care, what to do, where to call, and when. Between visits, a nurse was always on the other end of the phone if Maria had immediate questions. A home health aide also came to help George, and other members of the hospice team provided support and comfort to Maria and the kids.

“I think to watch someone die is kind of like watching someone being born,” Maria said. “It is a profound experience. Our kids--all of us were there with him.”

George Anderson, a produce broker, moved from his hometown Chicago to Salinas in 1978 where he could be closer to the growers with whom he did so much business over the phone. He fell in love with the area and, in 1989, met Maria through her high school friend who worked for him. The couple was married two years later.

Since George enjoyed golfing so much, Maria figured she should learn the game. Then, like so many other thousands of local residents, she soon was hooked. George was a member of Corral de Tierra Country Club in Salinas and over the years they enjoyed many games there together.

“When you can go out and play with your husband, especially in such a beautiful setting, that’s when it’s really fun,” Maria recalled.

Several years ago, when renovating their Salinas home, George and Maria, with her flair for home decorating, designed the den to remind them of The Tap Room at the Lodge. They incorporated their golf photo collection with family photos and Maria said it was one of George’s favorite rooms in their house.

Though Maria recalls how devastated they were to learn of George’s diagnosis, she found the two years following were also some of the most enriching of their marriage and family time.

“Once or twice a week we had to drive two hours each way to UCSF for his chemotherapy treatments and doctor consults. These were very special times--we could just talk with no outside distractions. To have this level of relationship was really great--almost something you normally take for granted. We knew because his cancer was stage 4 that we were not going to win the battle, so we decided to live our lives differently.”

For a time, George was responding well to the treatments, designed primarily to slow the progress of the disease. Maria said he didn’t experience some of the commonly known symptoms of hair loss and nausea. In fact, during the summer of 2005, George sold his business so he could spend more time with his family and felt well enough to take them on several vacations.

“I was a memorable summer, almost like he was in retirement. We took the kids to Cabo San Lucas and to Lake Tahoe, then we went to Los Angeles and San Diego while the kids were at summer camps.”

That August, George and Maria celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. The kids rode their bikes several blocks to the nearby Longs Drugs to buy their parents anniversary gifts. George surprised Maria by picking her up in their neighbor’s classic Bentley for the drive to Roy’s restaurant at the Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach. There, they enjoyed what would be their final date overlooking the links, listening to a Scottish bagpiper play as they watched the sun depart behind the horizon.

“We’ve been doing okay,” Maria said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of support. I can’t imagine going through this without it. Sometimes I feel like I’m caught in this ocean of waves trying to come up for air. Sometimes I’m floating with my head above water and can get a breath. Other times I’m overwhelmed. The kids though are so resilient. They have all of their sports, activities and friends to keep them busy.
“I never thought I’d be raising my kids by myself. But George helped us prepare. Those two years were a gift. He was always open with the kids about the situation. He talked to David about how to take care of the yard and garden. David took notes and still uses them. George always told me, ‘You can do this. You are a strong person.’

“When my father died, he was on vacation in Greece with my mother. He was dancing on the tables. I always thought what a way to go. But now that I’ve gone through George’s death with hospice, that is the way to go. Dying is part of life. The knowledge and the preparation of the dying process given to me by our hospice family lifted my shoulders from the tremendous burden of the unknowns.”

Hospice Foundation funds local hospice care with grants to three non-profit hospice programs in Monterey and San Benito counties: Hospice of the Central Coast (a program of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula), Central Coast Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, and Hospice Caring Project.

This funding helps these providers close the gap between what it costs to provide care for patients and families and what they receive in reimbursement from health insurance companies and government programs, such as Medicare.

The grants help these hospice care providers maintain a high-level of quality service, and keep programs open and available. The Foundation’s grant funding also helps these programs be innovative to meet growing community needs, and to reach out to underserved areas of our region. Your support of Hospice Foundation helps us, help them.