Page 24 - Senior Link Magazine Spring 2020- Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS
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Senior Senior

Tom & Barbara Mandry

Living Up to

the Legacy

by Mandry Cox

ot air balloon pilots and and honesty, faith and family. Tom after graduating from Texas Tech
Harley Davidson riders! My and Barbara Mandry are not only University. Barbara was working
Hgrandparents are a dynamic devoted to one another and their for a law firm as a receptionist. They
duo! And when considering a senior family, but they are also passionate were committed to putting down
whom I admire most, I can’t help but about our community and the people roots in this city. They felt like it
think of these two - my Grandma in it. was a great place to raise a family;
and Grandpa. This Valentine’s Day, they were ready to start living the
they celebrated 50 years of marriage. Tom and Barbara moved to Lubbock “American Dream” together.
50 years of life experiences, ups and right after marrying in 1970. Tom
downs, support and love, integrity worked as a journeyman electrician A couple of months after their move,
Tom and Barbara found themselves
in the path of the May 11 tornado
that took 26 lives in Lubbock. Tom
narrowly escaped being a casualty of
the tornado by seconds as he came
in the door after moving their car
to protect it from what he thought
might be hail damage. They saw
almost everything around them
destroyed. The U-shaped apartment
complex on 10th and University
Avenue was right in the path of the
tornado! It blew down half of the
apartments. A church shielded their
side of the complex and ultimately
saved their lives.
Tom reported to work the morning
after the devastating tornado. It

24 Lubbock Senior Link