The Journey Begins: June 11, 1990
Our story started on June 11, 1990, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When we first met in college, neither of us could have predicted the beautiful 35-year adventure that lay ahead. By October of 1991, we officially started dating, navigating our final college years in Grand Rapids side-by-side.
Chasing Degrees and Commitments: 1992 – 1993
After finishing our initial schooling in Grand Rapids, we packed up and moved to Indianapolis for a year to complete our bachelor’s degrees. It was a time of hard work, big dreams, and growing closer than ever. In February of 1993, knowing with absolute certainty that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, I asked Tressa to marry me. We graduated that June and temporarily moved back to West Branch, ready to take on the adult world together.
The “Whoever First” Pact & Fort Wayne: 1993
As we both searched for our first professional jobs, we made a pact: whoever landed a job first, the other would move with them and find a career there. True to her brilliant and driven nature, Tressa won that race. In August of 1993, she accepted a position with Hewlett-Packard in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and we were on the move again.
A Selfless Wedding Journey: June 11, 1994
Planning a wedding while living 600 miles away from our hometown was a massive challenge. But in typical, deeply caring Tressa fashion, she didn’t want our families to suffer a long drive. Instead of making everyone travel to Indiana, she insisted we marry back home. For six months, we traveled the long road back to West Branch every single month to meet with our preacher. On June 11, 1994—exactly four years to the day after we first met—we were married.
Building a Home and Making Sacrifices: 1994–1996
In October of 1994, we bought our very first house in Fort Wayne. It was just a small bungalow, but it was ours.
Before long, Tressa felt a powerful, beautiful urge to become a mother. It was the next big thing she wanted in her life. To make that dream a reality and allow her the freedom to eventually focus on family, we needed to shift the main household income to my shoulders. When a friend mentioned that AT&T; was hiring in Michigan, I tested and interviewed. By October of 1995, we were selling our beloved bungalow and moving back to Michigan. We lived with our friend for a few months while figuring out where to plant our roots in the Detroit area, finally settling into an apartment in Farmington in early 1996.
Through Sickness and Health: 1996–1997
Our year in the Farmington apartment tested our strength as a team. It became a rough, painful year for Tressa as she began experiencing severe back pain. For four grueling months, she suffered through the agony without answers. Finally, we discovered she had a ruptured disk that required immediate surgery. On December 21, 1996, she underwent back surgery to repair it. Christmas looked a little different for us that year—spent in quiet recovery rather than frantic celebration—but it only proved how deeply we cared for one another when things got tough.
Tressa’s resilience carried us through, and by the spring of 1997, we were ready for a fresh start. We bought a beautiful colonial home in Hamburg, Michigan, out by Brighton. It became home number two, a place built on the healing and strength of the year before, and the perfect foundation for the dreams we were still chasing.
Shared Paths and Hidden Hurdles: 1998
By this time, Tressa had landed another fantastic job at AirTouch Cellular, which later became Verizon Wireless. With both of us working in the telecommunications field, our professional lives were aligned, but our minds were focused on our biggest dream: starting a family. As the months went on and it wasn’t happening, we decided to see a doctor. We discovered Tressa was facing some complex health hurdles, but the doctors remained hopeful.
In January of 1999, after our second in vitro procedure, Tressa received a Friday phone call that filled us with pure joy—she was pregnant. The doctors wanted to see her the following Tuesday. Tragically, the results did not go our way. It was a devastating, heartbreaking month for her. Little did we know, God had another plan unfolding for us.
A Journey to Motherhood: February – August 1999
Just one month later, in February of 1999, hope returned in an unexpected way. My aunt called to tell us about a young lady who was pregnant and looking to place her baby for adoption. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tressa stepped into her role as a protector and caretaker. For the next six months, she regularly made the long drive from our home up to Midland, Michigan, personally taking the expectant mother to all her doctor appointments. She poured her heart into ensuring this baby was safe and cared for, long before he was even in our arms.
The Night Everything Changed: August 25, 1999
Early in the morning on August 25, 1999, the call finally came: the birth mother was in labor. We packed the car and made the anxious, electrified two-hour drive north to Midland, our hearts racing with a mix of nerves and overwhelming excitement.
The Midland hospital gave us a room right next door to the birth mother, where we waited and prayed. Finally, at 7:05 PM, Devon was born. By 7:30 PM, he was brought into our room and placed into his mother’s arms. Watching Tressa give Devon his very first bottle is a memory etched into my soul forever. After all the heartbreak, the surgeries, and the waiting, she was finally a mom. Motherhood fit her perfectly.
Bringing Devon Home: August 27, 1999
We stayed at the hospital for a couple of days, soaking in every moment with our new son. On the morning of August 27, we finally packed up the car and headed home to Hamburg as a family of three.
Tressa was granted six weeks of maternity leave, a precious time where she fully immersed herself in the joy of being a mom. When it was time for her to return to work, our family stepped up in the most beautiful way. Tressa’s sister became Devon’s caregiver for the next nine months, selflessly driving down from Tawas every single week to look after him. It was a testament to the love that surrounded Tressa and the incredible family we were building together.
Embracing Motherhood and Coming Home: 2001
For the next couple of years, we continued settling into family life and making beautiful memories with Devon. Then, in the summer of 2001, Tressa was faced with a major crossroads. Verizon wanted to promote her to a regional manager position—a massive testament to her talent and hard work. However, the call to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom was even stronger. She chose family over the corporate ladder, accepted a severance package, and left the company to focus entirely on our son.
In typical Tressa fashion, her skills were too valuable to lose; just three weeks later, Verizon brought her back for a special project. This time, she was able to work entirely from home, perfectly balancing her professional brilliance with her desire to be present for Devon.
Yet, because we knew the project was a short-term gig, we began looking ahead to our family’s long-term future. We realized that moving back closer to home made the most sense for the cost of living. That meant putting another beloved house up for sale, while I worked on transferring my job north to Saginaw. We were right in the middle of working out a sale on our home when the world changed on September 11, 2001. The tragedy of 9/11 put everything into sharp perspective. We decided right then to accept the pending offer on our house, pack up, and officially move north back to West Branch, closer to the family and roots that grounded us.
Building a Forever Home: 2001–2002
We officially moved back to West Branch in September of 2001, renting a home just down the road from where Tressa’s family farm was located. At the time, we owned some property in my hometown of Beaverton and decided to put it up for sale. Our plan was simple: if the land sold, we would look to buy our third home. However, after six months on the market with no takers, we realized that land was meant for something greater. We made the exciting decision to build on that property instead and create our true forever home.
In the summer of 2002, construction began. With the incredible help of my dad and our close friends, we rolled up our sleeves and did mostly everything ourselves. It was a true labor of love. By September of 2002, the house was finished and we officially moved in. One of our very first and most cherished milestones in that house was celebrating Devon’s third birthday, surrounded by the walls we had built with our own hands. With our roots firmly planted in Beaverton, life beautifully moved forward for the next couple of years.
A Gift Named Cadence: 2004–2005
During this time, Tressa knew deep in her heart that she wanted more children. Though getting pregnant was not meant to be, God had other plans for our family. Channeling her endless love and maternal instinct, Tressa poured her energy into getting us certified as foster parents so we could open our home to children who needed it most. We welcomed several children into our lives, seeing them come and go, until April of 2004 when we received a life-changing call.
We were asked to take in a three-month-old baby girl. From the moment she arrived, she was an absolute blessing, and for the next ten months, you could not wipe the smile off Tressa’s face. As time went on, things seemed to be moving in the right direction for the birth parents, and we began preparing ourselves for the heartbreaking reality that our time with her was coming to an end.
But once again, God had other plans. Just four days before Cadence was scheduled to return to her birth parents, they made a critical mistake and fled the state with warrants issued for their arrest. Their parental rights were subsequently terminated. Because we were her foster parents and no other biological family members had stepped up earlier, we were given the first right to adopt her. Embracing her forever as our daughter was the easiest decision we had ever made.
Completing the Family with Kayla: 2004
Because of Tressa’s fierce devotion to children, she had developed lifelong friendships with some of the caseworkers in Midland County. In the fall of 2004—while we were still fostering Cadence and anticipating she might eventually return to her birth parents—the phone rang again. A caseworker asked if we would be interested in meeting an 18-month-old girl whose biological parents’ rights had already been terminated. She was looking for her forever home.
That is when we met Kayla. Wanting to ensure Devon had a sibling and longing for another child to love, we jumped at the chance to bring her into our home. Kayla came to us with significant health hurdles, but we didn’t care. The doctors warned us that because she was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, she might remain dependent on us for her entire life.
But they underestimated the power of our family’s love and Kayla’s own resilient spirit. She worked incredibly hard against every obstacle, eventually proving those early diagnoses wrong by going on to Central Michigan University (CMU). Today, she is working on her master’s degree in the healthcare field. She has grown into a deeply thoughtful and caring young woman, and it is absolutely amazing to see how far she has come from that fragile 18-month-old girl.
The Final Piece of the Puzzle: 2006–2007
With both girls finally ready for adoption, we made it official in March of 2006. It was a glorious, unforgettable day. Our family was complete—or so we thought. But once again, God had other plans.
As we were letting our foster care license expire, Tressa received one more phone call from a friend at the DHS office. They had a one-year-old girl who needed immediate placement, and they believed we already had her biological sibling in our home. Knowing Kayla’s history, we assumed the baby was related to her. No matter the surprise, we simply could not say no to a child in need. A few hours later, baby Andrea was brought to our house, and we discovered she was actually Devon’s half-sister—they shared the same biological mother.
Andrea fit into our home perfectly right from the start, though our joy was mixed with sadness because we assumed we would only have her for a short time. However, between missed visits and other struggles on the birth parents’ side, they could not get their lives together, and their rights were eventually terminated.
That was when a biological grandmother stepped forward wanting to adopt Andrea, and the judge noted that the courts prefer keeping children with biological relatives. In a stunning, beautiful twist of fate, the birth mother spoke up in the courtroom. She looked at the judge and said, “She is with family.” She explained to the judge that our oldest son, Devon, was Andrea’s half-brother and stated her strong preference that Andrea stay with us. With that blessing, the judge ruled in our favor.
Andrea was officially ours, and the great adventure of raising our four beautiful children was ready to begin.
A Champion for the Kids and Community: 2007–2021
With our foster care chapter complete, Tressa was ready for her next calling, and there was no better place for her to pour her heart into than our local school. Over the next fourteen years, she became a beloved fixture in the school system. She worked in the kitchen for a while, spent time as a dedicated paraprofessional, and even stepped in as a substitute teacher. Wherever she was needed, Tressa was there, always looking out for the kids.
As our own children grew and started playing sports, Tressa found another passion: coaching. Drawing on her own background as an All-Conference athlete in high school, she fell absolutely in love with it. Over the years, she coached just about everything—baseball for Devon, plus softball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer.
When Cadence was eight years old, she wanted to try travel softball. She had developed into a pretty talented little pitcher who could consistently throw strikes, which was a massive deal at that age level. That season introduced us to the Midland Lady Explorers—an organization that would become a huge part of our lives for the next decade. Halfway through that very first season, the team’s head coach had to step down. Because the roster included a few players from Beaverton who already knew Tressa as a trusted coach from home, she agreed to step up and finish out the year. What was meant to be a temporary, one-season favor turned into a ten-year legacy. It wasn’t until a decade later that Tressa finally hung up her travel clipboard, leaving behind a profound impact on countless young athletes.
Traveling the Country and Expanding Our Hearts: 2012–2020
Those years of travel softball were an absolute joy, filled with lifelong memories, meeting wonderful families, and playing all over the country. Beyond sports, Tressa always made sure to plan beautiful family vacations, intentionally taking the kids to special places to create lasting bonds. With four unique children, each one has a completely different favorite vacation memory. Tressa was a truly gifted planner, always orchestrating the perfect moments for us—something I miss deeply.
In the beginning of 2019, after nearly 25 years with AT&T; and spending the last seven as an engineer, my position was surplussed. April 1, 2019, was my final day. True to her resilient and family-first fashion, Tressa refused to let the stress steal our joy. She had already planned our spring trip to Florida and firmly told me, “We are going. We all need some family time.” She reminded me that jobs come and go, but family time and memories last forever.
I landed a new job right away, but it didn’t feel like the right fit. While I navigated that career transition, Tressa felt the call for a new family adventure. In August of 2019, we made the exciting decision to host an exchange student, and along came our bonus daughter, Judith Sommerer from Germany. Just like the rest of the kids, Judith fit into our hearts perfectly.
That winter, Tressa planned another spectacular Christmas vacation for us. We spent a week in Florida with Tressa’s mom and then headed out on a cruise. With Devon already moved out and starting his own adult life, the trip consisted of just Tressa, myself, and all four of our girls. It was another flawless, unforgettable vacation. Judith was only scheduled to stay for the first semester, so she returned to Germany in January of 2020. However, the bond she formed with us was permanent. She made multiple trips back to Michigan to visit, even bringing her entire family once so we could show them around our beautiful state. Her most recent visit was in the summer of 2025, arriving in late June and heading home on July 3.
New Beginnings and an Angel’s Call: 2020
In February of 2020, I started a brand-new job that I have truly come to enjoy, though I had no way of knowing then just how vital and supportive this position would soon become for our family.
Around this same time, with two of our four children already grown and graduated, Tressa felt the pull toward her next professional chapter. She decided it was time to step back into her original field of technology. In the fall of 2020, she made the bittersweet and heartbreaking decision to leave her beloved school family. That November, she began working as a contractor for PG&E; out of California. She was put in charge of tracking their massive pipeline of projects, ensuring every single one moved smoothly through the process and crossed the finish line on time. Her brilliant, organized mind thrived in the role, and she absolutely loved the work.
She excelled at everything she did, mastering the corporate world just as beautifully as she had mastered motherhood, coaching, and fostering. But once again, God had other plans—and He needed an angel.
The Fiercest Fight and a Legacy of Love: 2023–2025
In the late summer of 2023, Tressa began facing some health problems. True to her stubborn determination, she refused to let it stop her from celebrating her mom’s birthday, traveling to Florida that September. After spending four days in a Florida hospital, she returned to Michigan, navigating an exhausting month of being in and out of the hospital. Just before Thanksgiving, doctors performed exploratory surgery, removing a large tumor and six inches of her small intestine. For a few weeks, she felt good again. But while we were out Christmas shopping, the call came: the tumor was cancerous, and we needed to see a specialist.
In February of 2024, we went to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where we were dealt a devastating blow. The doctors told us to get her affairs in order, giving her ten months to a year, and said there was nothing they could do. But Tressa didn’t give up that easily. It was time to go somewhere else. We went to the University of Michigan Cancer Center, where scans gave us hope that treatments could shrink the disease enough for a curative surgery.
For the next year and a half, Tressa gave it absolutely everything she had, all while continuing to live life to the absolute fullest. Cadence was playing college softball at Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, and Tressa loved making road trips to watch her favorite player. Together, we traveled to Chicago, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, and Indiana. Through it all, Tressa fought to keep a smile on her face.
In September of 2024, doctors believed the tumor had shrunk enough to attempt the surgery. We prayed things would go our way. But after only two hours of what was supposed to be a nine-hour procedure, my pager went off. The surgeon delivered the heartbreaking news that the cancer had spread further than the scans had shown. They removed a couple of the larger tumors but could not finish the procedure; she would need to heal before restarting chemotherapy.
Refusing to be brought down, in December of 2024, we took a beautiful trip to Branson, Missouri, for the Christmas lights and shows, joined by wonderful lifelong friends we had met through our travel softball days. By the spring of 2025, we traveled to a few more of Cadence’s games, but the toll was becoming too much. Seeing her mother watching from the stands in so much pain broke Cadence’s heart. After twelve years of playing softball year-round, Cadence selflessly hung up her cleats, choosing instead to travel home every single weekend to be with her mom. Devon, Kayla, Cadence, and Andrea were all incredibly strong throughout this entire process, showing a level of love and maturity that made us so proud.
Even as her health declined, Tressa’s adventurous spirit wasn’t done traveling. We made one final spring trip to Florida, where she fulfilled a long-held wish: taking her niece to Disney World. Sharing that magical experience with her niece, just as we had done with our own kids so many times, brought Tressa immense joy. After that week, Tressa stayed behind in Florida for one last adventure with her best friend, Kristen, while the kids and I returned to Michigan. Though she ended up back in the hospital for a few days during the trip, she and Kristen still cherished their precious time together. Not long after, we took one more family trip to Mexico with the girls.
The outpouring of support we received over this entire two-and-a-half-year battle was nothing short of incredible. The Midland Lady Explorers family was outstanding, our friends and community stepped up beautifully, and my workplace was a godsend—never letting me fall short on hours and providing healthcare benefits that carried us through the heaviest financial burdens.
Tressa’s final hospital visit came during our anniversary in June. When the doctors gently explained that they had run out of treatments to try, Tressa made the brave, peaceful decision to stop fighting the disease and come home. On June 14th, we brought her home, surrounded by the love, the walls, and the family that she had spent her beautiful life building.
Eternal Love and a Lasting Legacy: June 2025–Present
Once we returned home on June 14th, our house was filled with a beautiful, constant stream of visitors who loved Tressa deeply—including our bonus daughter Judith, who came all the way from Germany to share those precious final days. My workplace gave us an incredible gift, paying me to stay home so that I could completely focus on enjoying and cherishing every remaining moment by her side.
Around June 29th, Tressa made a characteristically brave and thoughtful decision. She decided she was done with visitors. She didn’t want anyone’s final memory of her to be of her laying in a hospital bed; she wanted everyone to remember her for the vibrant, joyful life she had lived. On the 4th of July, the kids came over for a small, quiet family cookout. That evening, as I put Tressa to bed, I gave her a kiss. We looked at each other and said, “I love you.” In that quiet moment, I knew our days were short.
That night, I woke up every hour or two to check on her, noticing her breaths were growing further and further apart. Yet, she looked entirely at peace, almost as if God was already gently speaking to her soul. At around 5:45 AM, I woke up and watched over her as her breaths stretched out, with minutes seeming to pass between them. Finally, at around 6:30 AM, she peacefully crossed over. God got His angel back on July 5th, 2025, and life has simply not been the same since.
But Tressa’s immense impact on this world could never be contained. As we began navigating the painful road of moving forward, our family established the Tressa Augustine Memorial Foundation. Through the incredible support of fundraisers, we honored her passion for youth and education by awarding two \$500 scholarships to a deserving boy and girl in the graduating high school class of 2026.
In tandem, the Midland Lady Explorers paid tribute to the coach who gave them a decade of her life by renaming their annual tournament the Tressa Augustine Summer Smasher, where our foundation was proud to present two additional \$500 scholarships.
From a college campus in Grand Rapids to a forever home in Beaverton, from the crowded dugouts of travel softball to the quiet peace of her final morning, hers was a life of absolute devotion. Her laughter will always echo in our memories, her strength will always guide our children, and her legacy will live on forever.
I love you forever, Tressa.
Your husband,
Rob