On Tanglewood Drive in Owensboro, there is a red-bricked house with a white roof, a canopy of oak trees and a blanket of fallen leaves. At first glance Wednesday, you wouldn't think anything happened there.
Bonnie Herman will tell you differently.
"I was hoping she wasn't in there but I figured she was," said Herman.
It would be Herman's long time neighbor and friend Joan Payne. Payne's friends simply and fondly called her Joanne.
Herman saw her friend's house fill with smoke Wednesday morning. Herman watched the repeated attempts by paramedics that proved unsuccessful as Payne was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 82 year old died in her home from smoke inhalation. She died in a place she always took care of.
"She always was such a go-getter, busy doing things," said Herman. "I'm not going to be able to see her in her yard and feel guilty I'm not out there. Usually, I'd go out there and do something in mine because she did."
"She did everything she could herself... up until the very last."
The yard will still need mowing and the gutters will still need cleaning. The days will pass as will the holidays.
"She would come to my door first with her goodies," said Herman. "I'd have her gift ready. It'll be sad for me. I know there are others hurting worse than me but it will be sad."
Herman and Payne share more than a street or the first three digits on a mailbox. They shared their twilight years together.
"I lost my husband first and she helped me through that," said Herman. "She then lost her husband and we got through that. When you live near someone for so long, you become more than friends. There's something that grows between you, a bond."
Losing that bond is hard enough let alone being reminded with every look across the street. But maybe, that way, Herman will always remember.
"I will, we all will," said Herman. "I just don't know what we'll do. I just don't know. Twenty-five years is a long time. It will be hard."
Funeral services for Joanne Payne are pending. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Bonnie Herman will tell you differently.
"I was hoping she wasn't in there but I figured she was," said Herman.
It would be Herman's long time neighbor and friend Joan Payne. Payne's friends simply and fondly called her Joanne.
Herman saw her friend's house fill with smoke Wednesday morning. Herman watched the repeated attempts by paramedics that proved unsuccessful as Payne was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 82 year old died in her home from smoke inhalation. She died in a place she always took care of.
"She always was such a go-getter, busy doing things," said Herman. "I'm not going to be able to see her in her yard and feel guilty I'm not out there. Usually, I'd go out there and do something in mine because she did."
"She did everything she could herself... up until the very last."
The yard will still need mowing and the gutters will still need cleaning. The days will pass as will the holidays.
"She would come to my door first with her goodies," said Herman. "I'd have her gift ready. It'll be sad for me. I know there are others hurting worse than me but it will be sad."
Herman and Payne share more than a street or the first three digits on a mailbox. They shared their twilight years together.
"I lost my husband first and she helped me through that," said Herman. "She then lost her husband and we got through that. When you live near someone for so long, you become more than friends. There's something that grows between you, a bond."
Losing that bond is hard enough let alone being reminded with every look across the street. But maybe, that way, Herman will always remember.
"I will, we all will," said Herman. "I just don't know what we'll do. I just don't know. Twenty-five years is a long time. It will be hard."
Funeral services for Joanne Payne are pending. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
