The Madison Press - Nov. 2, 2010

Inked Pink

By Kevin Dye, Staff Writer

More than anything...Be kind to one another, for everyone is fighting a hard battle," said Denise Houser. Many a bond in life has been made between individuals by the relationship they cultivate while working together in their chosen field. A group of Madison County women recently came together to honor a friend and co-worker who lost her battle with breast cancer. London resident Denise Houser was the administrative assistant at Madison County Jobs and Family Services, in London, where she spent 29 years. Denise had battled breast cancer over a six-year period. She had three bouts with breast cancer before it went into remission. The cancer came back and attacked the area outside of her lung and eventually doctors found it had made its way to her brain and spine.

Houser was featured in the Fighting Faces calendar for 2011. The calendar is a charity project to raise funds to fight breast cancer and it features central Ohio women who are fighting breast cancer and those who have survived it. The above quote, "More than anything...Be kind to one another, for everyone is fighting a hard battle," is from the December page featuring Denise. The Fighting Faces calendar sells for $10 at www.fightingfaces.com.

In September of this year, Denise lost her battle against cancer. It had a devastating effect on her family and her friends. One of her friends and co-workers, Lori Dorsey had known that Denise did not care for tattoors and before her death, she told Denise about a new tattoo she was going to get in her honor. "I teased her that I was going to get a tattoo to carry on her message," said Lori. "I'm going to get a "Be Kind" tattoo. She was adament about people being kind to one another. It was the very least we could do for one another."

When some of Houser's friends would meet, the subject of a tattoo would come up and be discussed. Not everyone liked the idea at first, but in the end 12 women and one man, all friends of Houser, decided that they would all get a tribute tattoo to honor Houser's life. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, exactly one month after her death, the friends of Houser arrived at the Fine Line Tattoo shop in Columbus to get a tattoo with the theme of "Be Kind." The Fine Line staff helped each person with their own style of tattoo, but each featured the "Be Kind' saying along with a pink ribbon, the symbol of the fight against breast cancer. Denise's daughter Rachel Krupa, who lives in Plain City now, thought that the tattoo was a good idea, but needed a little convincing. "Well, I didn't want to do it for a long time," said Rachel. "I didn't decide to do it until she passed away. She was my best friend and she is still alive in me and all of her friends." Fine Line Tattoo had already run a special to donate money for breast cancer tattoos to the Susan G Komen For The Cure fund. When they heard about the friends of Houser coming to their shop for the tattoo honoring their friend, the Fine Line Tattoo staff decided to donate all of the cost of the tattoos to the Komen fund. "It is for a good cause," said Fine Line tattoo Artist John James. "It's a pleasure for us to be able to help people out and fight breast cancer."

The list of folks who decided on the tattoo tribute for Houser were her daughter Rachel Krupa, Lori Dorsey, Rachel Dorsey, Anna Schafer, Caren Blevins, Lisa Hill, Abbey Hill, Marci Darlington, Sherri Kronk, Cathy Saunders, Chrissy Boyd, Carolyn Bragiel, Cindy Dewitt and Mike Morris. Most of the group selected a place around the heel of the foot where the tattoo message could be seen while wearing sandals. Others found a more intimate placement for their tattoo. For almost all of the group, the tattoo was their first and the process was a little scary. Houser's daughter Rachel appreciated the group's commitment to her mother's memory and to her. She said that they are a huge support group now that her mother has passed away. When remembering her mother, Rachel sited a Garth Brooks song her mother liked. Her mother said it seemed to sum up her situation in life. It was also a song that her mother requested be played at her funeral. "My mother loved the Garth Brooks song "The Dance", said Rachel. "She would play it over and over. She liked the line that says, "I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance." She said that summed up her situation in life. I'm glad we all got the tattoos together, it is a nice tribute to my mom."

Recently, Rachel said she received great advice on how to remember her mom. She has taken fast hold of it and lives everyday with it. "A person recently told me not to ever allow someone to talk about my mother in the past tense," said Rachel. "I found that advice to be very helpful. She is still here and with me today and she lives in me and her friends. Especially now with our new tattoos.

Kevin Dye

kdye@madison-press.com