Silver Spurs & Sweet Memories: Looking Beyond Alzheimer's

One of Arizona's best kept secrets is the White Mountains on the southeastern edge of the Colorado Plateau. It is a relatively wild, but surprisingly beautiful area where logging and ranching have been mainstays in the economy of the area. It was there that Clint and Mary Slade, who were cattle ranchers in western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, carved a good living out of some very rugged land. Although a tenderfoot may tend to glamorize life on a western ranch, the bottom line is that it is a lot of hard work for a ranching family. Ranchers tend to be self-sufficient folk who depend upon each other and good ol' American ingenuity to get the job done. They face storms, droughts, temperature swings, and even wild animals to make a living. There are years of abundance and years of lack. Mary worked side-by-side with her husband Clint through all their years of ranching. Like everyone else Clint's and Mary's lives had been confronted with the vicissitudes of life-some big and some little-but they stayed together, worked together, and did well. Then came the storm. In 2006 Mary and Clint came face to face with the most heart-wrenching trial of their lives. Clint came down with Alzheimer's. In the midst of that storm came doubts, fears, hopelessness and helplessness. This was the great crisis of Mary's faith. In desperation she struggled to be the care giver for Clint. Mary's commitment to biblical truth brought her through this crisis. Her story will be a help and a blessing to all who journey with Mary through the ups and downs of her life as a rancher, wife and mother, and care giver. You too can find her faith and receive the courage to get through all the storms of your own life.