One last gift to her father

Stephanie Greene wins gold medal at Junior Olympics
August 8, 2008 - 11:56PM
By TOMOYA SHIMURA / Staff Writer


As soon as Stephanie Greene got back home to Adelanto on the night of July 27, she ran into her father’s bedroom.

The 15-year-old gymnast quickly took out a photo of her competing in the AAU Junior Olympics in Novi, Mich., and a gold medal she won there.

“I was a little tired because it was midnight,” Stephanie said. “But I told him that I won and I got new leotards.”

Lying in bed, Timothy Greene, her father, raised his eyebrows as much as he could, expressing his excitement.

“His eyes were wide open when she talked,” said Audrey Greene, Stephanie’s mother. “He never closed his eyes.”

The former middle school teacher had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, know as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which took away his ability to speak and move his arms, legs and body since last year.

“Stephanie and Tim shared so much,” said Audrey. “She knew when her dad was happy. She knew her dad was proud.”

Things took for the worse for Timothy on July 24, the day after Stephanie left for the Junior Olympics.

“I was a little nervous,” Stephanie said. “I knew there was a problem with Dad.”

Despite the adversity, Stephanie put together a solid performance and got a score of 8.90 in the vault to win the event. She finished seventh overall in the 15-year-old intermediate optional.

“She had to endure a lot of emotional stress,” said High Desert Acrobrats coach Karen Mathews, who traveled with Stephanie to Michigan. “She was very, very upset during the meet.”

Timothy and Audrey couldn’t travel with Stephanie to watch her compete in one of the biggest amateur sporting events in the country because of Timothy’s condition.

“He promised Stephanie he wouldn’t die and he didn’t,” Audrey said.

On July 28, Timothy went into a coma and passed away two days later. He was 53.

“He’s with his family,” Stephanie said. “I’m sure he’s pretty happy up there.”

Tomoya Shimura can be reached at 951-6281 or tshimura@vvdailypress.com.

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