PORT ORCHARD, Wash — 91-year-old Leone Rinehart is a former teacher and now lives in the memory care unit in the Retsil Veterans Home. She's very much loved by her children, and their love for her is exactly why the last few weeks have been hard.
"It's really scary to think that she could pass away only being able to hear our voices on a phone," said Cyndee Rinehart Steussy, one of Leone's four daughters.
It's scary for the siblings to be separated from their mom by this new normal, but loving someone means wanting to take care of them -- no matter what. It was that thinking that sparked some creative thinking.
In a group chat between the four sisters, they came up with this -- reach out to mom's former students on the Port Orchard community Facebook page to see if they would write her letters.
"That would give her some stimulation and give her some recall from people she knew," said Judith Rinhart-Nelson, another daughter of Leone.
The sisters thought they'd get up to 25 people to respond. They ended up getting hundreds of positives responses both online and in letters -- from former students reminiscing about their mother's lessons to strangers who saw someone they love in her.
"We're just over the moon that shes getting this response," said Cyndee.
The sisters said their idea is spreading.
"I think a lot of people are saying, 'You know what? I'm going to write your mother, but I'll also write my aunt or my uncle or someone I know,'" said Judith.
Judith said their mother seems to be really enjoying the letters, but the siblings are getting just as much joy out of the experience and hope others in the same position get inspired.
"She liked to make a difference and she liked to empower people to make a difference so this has made it an uplifting time for us," said Judith.