“So… your dad’s dead. Now what?” It was a terrible question, and it was one Hannah never imagined hearing in her life. Hannah grew up in Lake Highlands, which was a quiet neighborhood in Dallas. Her parents married in 1986, and her older sister was born in 1989. Hannah came along in 1994, and her little brother arrived in 1999. They had a nice house, good cars, and plenty of love, and from the outside everything seemed perfect. However, things were much harder inside their home. Hannah’s dad had a serious drinking problem, and it caused pain for everyone. In 2001, her mom finally decided they needed a divorce because even though she still loved him, he did not love himself enough to stop drinking.
After many years of going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Hannah’s dad got better, and in 2006 her parents got back together. For a while life felt steady again, but in 2010 he began drinking once more, and her mom had to leave him again to keep the kids safe. By then, Hannah was in college in East Texas with her boyfriend, Darren, and although she still tried to help her dad, he continued to struggle. Their family business, Orr-Reed Wrecking, was also having problems, yet her dad still had a special gift. When he spoke, people listened, and he could inspire almost anyone.
In January 2012, he asked Hannah to move back home to help with the business, and from May 2012 to January 2013 things looked brighter. Hannah bought a house and began planning her wedding, and she felt hopeful again. On January 24, she helped a friend plan a funeral, and the next day she called her dad while crying and asked him to take better care of himself. He tried to calm her down and said, “Don’t worry, honey. I’m not planning to die today.” That night he asked her to watch a movie with him, but she was exhausted and said she would see him tomorrow. She did not know that it would be the last time she ever spoke to him.
Early on January 26, around 3 a.m., a fight broke out at a bar. A man named Federico Prado started attacking someone, and Hannah’s dad, John Hargrove, stepped in to help. Prado hit him with a chair and a pool cue, and although John was taken to the hospital, he died soon after. It did not feel real because it felt like something from a TV show, but it was Hannah’s real life.
At first, Hannah wanted Prado to feel the same pain her family felt, but after a few days the anger faded, and sadness took its place. She learned that Prado had a difficult life too because he grew up in poverty, his father was in jail, he dropped out of school, and he had two daughters he struggled to care for. Instead of pushing for the longest punishment, Hannah’s family made a deal. Prado would earn his GED, take parenting classes, and get a job, and Hannah believed her dad would have wanted that.
After his death, Hannah and her mom took over the business. It was not easy because they worked in a field mostly run by men, but they kept going and refused to give up. They sold old doors, windows, and flooring to homeowners, builders, and artists, and six years later the business was still strong. In every success, Hannah felt her dad’s presence.
Six weeks after losing him, she got married in the junkyard where she grew up. It rained all day, and it only stopped during the exact time of the wedding. She felt it was her dad’s way of showing he was there with her. Life after losing him was painful, and she missed him every single day. When her son Sawyer got sick, she wished more than anything that her dad could hold him and make him better. In that quiet moment, she finally understood something important. Her dad’s love was still with her, and even though loss never truly disappears, life keeps going. The sun rises, and the world moves forward, and the best way she can honor him is by carrying his love with her as she continues moving too.
