To the editor:

To all the dear souls attending Monday’s groundbreaking for the Comfort Neighborhood on Walnut Street, these are the thoughts I had wanted to share with you before amnesia set in!

Despite the chilly air, the spirit of “Habitat” would keep us warm. I know how pleased and excited Clay would be to see this project of 16 homes under way. It’s a dream come true! That you have named it “The Comfort Neighborhood” is an extra big bonus for me and my family on our journey through grief. I hope the name Comfort is prophetic throughout the years to this neighborhood.

I thank all of you at Habitat for your persistence and attention to detail to make this project a reality. “Persistence” and “Attention to Detail” would have been good middle names for Clay. Those names and the old axiom, “measure twice, cut once” saw Clay through Kansas University and a degree in architectural engineering, 34 years in U.S. Marine Corps aviation, a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, Vietnam and a Mediterranean deployment during the October 1973 conflict.

I am grateful to Clay’s friends who have stepped in to serve on the steering committee to help Habitat see this neighborhood into existence! Thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

Ardis Comfort,

Lawrence