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Husband uses late-wife’s journals to finish book they began together

Terry Klaaren is trying to write about his "romance" of 50 years with Dori, who died on New Year's Day 2019.

TAMPA, Fla. — Terry Klaaren affectionately refers to his Tampa home as his “memory vault." Paintings and photographs from 50 years with his beloved wife, Dori, dot the walls.

“So many reminders of her in this house,” he said Tuesday morning. “This is full of her.”

The Klaarens met at age 17 in high school and never really parted. They became life-long artists and travelers until Dori died on New Year’s Day 2019. They were together for over 50 years.

Those same paintings and photos on the wall are now Terry’s daily reminders of his wife.

“It gives me a chance to relive what I’d rather be living,” he said.

One of the sayings the couple lived by was “let’s do it while we can." That motto served Dori well. She was more of the planner of the two.

“She was opposite of me,” said Terry.

Terry had planned a memorial with friends for last week near Lake Eerie but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. He drove all the way to Asheville, N.C. before turning around.

The pandemic has changed a lot of things for Terry. One benefit has been increased time to write. He is writing a book using his own words and journal entries from Dori to document and preserve their lifetime of memories.

So far, he’s written over 10,000 words.

“I was really hit hard by this. I expected to have a lot more years with her,” the muralist said. “A lot of book writing, we’d planned to do. She had it all set up.”

The novel, which is still to be named, is a way to honor his wife. They spent 50 years together and traveled to many different countries. Both were photography students and have “thousands” of photos of their journey. Siphoning them down into a consumable format will be the biggest challenge for Terry.

“I am now the only source of this tale and must get it in print before I pass on,” he said. “If I see a picture of Dori, it’s like seeing her. I’m so glad we did what we did when we did it because we can’t do it now.”

He’s already memorialized his wife in a mural in downtown Tampa. He completed that using some of Dori’s mosaic tiles from the house. It was dedicated on March 9. His hope, after completing the book, is to also find gallery space to display all of Dori’s paintings.

She lived a life worth remembering, says Terry.

“I'm keeping Dori close by continuing projects we began together.”

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