USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Cecilia Abbott,
My name is Tina Crawford. I lost my love, Brent Patrick Crawford, a loving, kind-hearted, God-loving
man, was taken away by heroin laced with fentanyl on July 24, 2021, at the young age of 31. His smile
was as big as Texas and as bright as the morning sunrise. He loved to laugh and make others laugh as
much as he loved to help others in need.
Brent and I met when he asked me for a part time job. One of the first days he was working as I
taught him how to plant flowers we started talking and that started our friendship. As our friendship
grew closer, he shared his past with me a past that included years of opioid and drug use that started
with marijuana and oxy in his early teens. His part-time job quickly turned into a full-time job as he
worked hard and was eager to learn. As time went on our friendship blossomed into more and we
started dating so as we spent all our time together, I suspected he had started using drugs again and
he was. In May 2016 I found the drugs and confronted him about it expecting that to be the end of
our relationship, but it was the true beginning as he fell into my arms and asked for help. That day his
journey through sobriety began a journey where he fought hard to stay sober himself and to inspire
others to do the same.
For over 5 years I watched Brent transform from a drugged-out lost man into an extremely
hardworking loving, caring & compassionate man. He was a loving devoted husband and was never
out actively using while we together although he had 3 or 4 relapses and then he would jump right
back in and start fighting his addiction through recovery each time coming back stronger than before.
During this time, he helped restore and rebuild the business that had suffered greatly after a flood,
and he also helped grow the business by helping build a yurt for overnight rentals. He learned how to
be a Chef, landscaper, server, bartender, manager and took on the marketing for the overnight
rental. Even though he had his hands full here at work he started another side business renting photo
back drops & props and was always researching new business ventures as he had dreams of owning
his own business a dream that became a reality just before he lost his battle with addiction as he
started a landscape and irrigation company.
The only thing Brent loved more than me was the Lord and I know that is true, so I know he is smiling
that amazing smile as he walks on streets of gold with our Lord and savior now. He would pray all day
every day, so pretty much everywhere on the property at some point he was on his knees praying. I
would be meeting with a bride, and they would say “what is that guy doing” I would look outside and
see Brent with his straw hat on his knees with his hands held high in the air and my response would
be he is praying over something he just planted. If he was asked to pray for someone, he would not
just do it once he would do it again and again and again, often at night during our prayer time
together, I would hear him say names of people I had asked him to pray for months before as he
would never forget who still needed prayer. He wouldn’t just pray behind the scenes if someone was
around us that needed prayer whether he knew them or not he would pray with them. He also
prayed over me every night something I will cherish and miss every day for the rest of my life. He
would start the prayer by saying “Dear Lord please protect my angel, your child Tina”.
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