Tarleton Student Shares Special Memories
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 15, 2018
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — This will be Ally Nimrichter’s first Father’s Day without her dad.
He died a couple of months ago, but she made sure she’d have special memories for the holiday.
Ally, a general studies major at Tarleton State University, was in her dorm room in April when she was notified her father, Kory Bryant, had suffered a massive stroke and was being transported to a Fort Worth hospital.
With a grim prognosis, Ally and her fiancé, Taylor, realized their July wedding plans would change dramatically.
Instead of their anticipated ceremony at a rustic venue in Valley View, Texas, they would now become united in the hospital room where her unconscious father was fighting for his life.
“I wanted him there,” she told People Magazine. “It was very, very important for me to have him there and present. It was important for me to be able to tell him that I loved him and tell him the news.”
On the way to the hospital to be married, her mother slipped Ally a small package. It held a pearl necklace that had been handed down through generations of her father’s family. Kory had planned to give it to Ally on their wedding day.
On April 18, Ally, wearing the necklace, and Taylor, also a Tarleton student, recited their vows in front of dozens of family and friends jammed into Kory’s room.
“I was looking at my husband, and, of course, I had tears rolling down my eyes and I knew in every part of me I was doing it right,” Ally said in a post-wedding interview with lovewhatmatters.com. “I needed to do it for my dad.”
It was bittersweet for the newlyweds, however, as Kory never regained consciousness and died four days later, about two months before this weekend’s national celebration of dads.
For Father’s Day, Ally relates a sentiment understood by many at this time each year.
“I wish I could just have one more hug,” she said, “or one more ‘I love you,’ or to just hear him laugh and see him smile. I sure do miss and love you, Daddy.”
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience, marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. Offering degree programs in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, Texas A&M-RELLIS and online to more than 13,000 students, Tarleton engages with communities through real-world learning experiences to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.
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Contact: Phil Riddle, News & Information Specialist
817-484-4415
priddle@tarleton.edu
