Kermit Rowe
It was three days before the funeral of their wife and mother, but the South family was at a middle school basketball game — just like they always had been.
“The boys wanted to get right back in the saddle. They said that they knew that was what their mom would want,” explained Mike South Jr., who had just lost his wife and mother of his four children, Angel South, in a car accident on Monday of last week in Jackson Township.
Two days later, the South family was quietly honoring their quintessential sport mom the best way they knew how.
“They said their basketball team is their other family,” said Mike. “So with a bleeding heart, I went ahead and let them play. And their hearts were bleeding, too. But like troopers, they went out and gave a good performance.
“It can help keep your mind off things.”
Angel, 36, left behind four children who are heavily involved in sports and the South Charleston community — 18-year-old Mike III; his brothers James, 16; Luke, 14; and their sister Angel, 11. That’s not to mention the local racing community in which Mike and his father both have been long involved.
“We’re starting the healing process,” said Mike Jr. “We’ve got a strong family and a lot of support.”
Mike said his wife was “the behind-the-scenes supporter” of all her family loved and did.
“She liked to go to all of their activities, that’s for sure,” he said. “She’d run them back and forth to all the practices. When you’ve got four kids, that’s a lot of practices.”
Now that quiet backbone is gone, but never to be forgotten.
“My youngest and oldest are doing pretty good,” said Mike. “They understand the joy of remembering the good things. Our two middle sons, they don’t understand why such a good woman was chosen to go away.
“We’ve had a lot of sleepless nights.”
But they are doing their best to move on.
“The community of South Charleston we consider our big family, and we wanted to be with our family,” he said. “We couldn’t have asked for more support. It’s just a wonderful community.”
One which both Mike and Angel have been a part their entire lives.
“We went to school in South Charleston, met here at school in South Charleston, raised our family in South Charleston,” he said.
“My heart goes out to everyone who showed support for my kids. It’s been overwhelming, the joy they’ve brought us. It has helped all of us.”
Mike said what will be remembered most about Angel was “her smiling cheer.
“No matter if we were up or down, wrecked or in first place, she had a smile on her face rooting us on. Even if you had a rough day, she was there encouraging you. ‘You done great,’ she’d said, no matter how bad you did.”
The South family knows they have an Angel with them always, one who’ll never be forgotten.
“There will be a few “in memory of” stickers floating around,” said Mike.
And those memories of the quiet, unassuming sports mom whose life revolved around her family will fuel her family’s healing and future accomplishments.
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