A Brother Knight Helps a Family Member of Another Brother Knight

Well at first pass, this seems pretty normal that as Brothers in the Knights of Columbus, we would help each other and our families, but this is somewhat of a “special” situation.

SK Coleman Stephens was a long time member of our council. He was well-known and was a very active member of our council. About two years ago when he retired, he moved from Elk Grove to his home state of Texas to be closer to his family. Coleman has stayed in touch with our council, more recently with establishing a daily morning rosary group on ZOOM, in which SK Larry Navarrete and I participate.

Now here is where it gets interesting. Coleman’s sister, Barbara and her roommate Lynn live together in Spring, Texas which is about 180 miles from Coleman’s home. One day, Lynn took a fall and injured herself pretty severely in the garage. Barbara said that a handrail could have prevented Lynn from falling down. With Coleman living a fair distance away, undergoing chemotherapy, and staying at home due to COVID-19, he was not readily available to help.

At one of our ZOOM rosaries, Brother Larry Navarrete came up with the idea that perhaps a Brother Knight, located in her city could help. Barbara worships at St. Edward Catholic Church in Spring, Texas and as luck would have it, a KofC council is associated with her church. Barbara and Coleman contacted the parish office to see if perhaps someone from the KofC could help her install a handrail in her garage.

As soon as SK Charles Gustavus heard of Barbara’s need, he immediately sprang into action! He fabricated, painted, and installed a handrail in the garage for Barbara and Lynn. He was so happy to help! It turns out Charles lives just a few blocks away from Barbara and Lynn! Barbara wanted to pay him for his efforts, but there was no way she could convince Charles to accept payment for the handrail! This call to action from a Brother Knight clearly embodies what we as Brother Knights are all about. SK Charles is a member of St. Edward the Confessor Council, #14512.

Coleman can now rest assured that his sister and her roommate will feel safer as they go between the house and garage.

On Behalf of Coleman, Barbara, and Lynn, Laguna Council #11236 of Elk Grove, California would like to sincerely thank Brother Charles Gustavus for his willingness to help a family member of our good friend, Brother Coleman.