Turning Tragedy Into A Blessing
CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman traveled to Ekalaka Mountana to find a woman who turned a tragedy into a blessing for one lucky girl and managed to gain a family in return.
Sometimes it can be quite enthralling just to see what people do all day, says Hartman.
And sometimes, to be frank, it's not so much. That was the case with Gloria Preuss.
When she isn't making apple pies or solving crosswords, you'll find her babysitting the phone at the local propane store where she works three hours a day just to keep busy — if you want to call it that. And yet, inside the unassuming, 71-year-old widow there's an extraordinary tale.
Her story began shortly after she and Vernon were married. They had a brand new baby. They named him Phillip. They all lived in a farmhouse when one day Phillip had taken a nap when Gloria went over to see a neighbor, completely unaware that the stove was on.
It's a memory Preuss has played over in her mind a million times.
"I thought 'I'll just run down for a second,'" says Preuss. "It wasn't the thing to do."
Preuss returned to find the house billowing smoke. She immediately went to the bedroom where her son was sleeping. She flung open a door and heard Phillip take his last breath. After 50 years, Preuss says she can't remember much after that and can't forget it either.
She says she prayed for forgiveness, and believes it was given her.
"I come to accept the fact that the Lord needed him more than I did," says Preuss. "And I've got to hang on to that. It's the only comfort I really get."
After the funeral and the failed attempts at another child, Preuss resigned herself to a life without a second chance.
Until one day, she says, she came to the most important realization of her life.
"A child is a precious thing no matter where it comes from," says Preuss.
She adopted a baby girl eight years after the fire. Preuss says Lisa is a joy.
"I always knew I was loved. Always. Always," says Lisa.
Gloria now also has three very spoiled grandchildren, which explains the apple pie and the smile over her face when she thinks how it all turned out.
And now, that's enthralling.