Woman made a promise on the last call with husband martyred in the Iraq War—at 41, took first step to fulfill it
It might never be too late to fulfill a promise. A 41-year-old woman who went to college to fulfill a promise made to her late husband bears testimony to that. The woman, Tiffany Eckert, had barely finished high school and couldn't go to college back when she was younger because she had gotten busy raising her three children. Finally, around 2020, when all of her children had grown up, the woman got a chance to fulfill her promise and took it, per CBS News.
Tiffany's husband, Andy Eckert, died while fighting in the Iraq War. They had a call a few hours before the man was martyred and he made his wife promise him something very important. "Just a few hours before my husband was killed, he called home from Iraq and he said no matter how long it took, I had to get an education. He made me promise I would. And then he told me, 'I love you more than anything else in this world - I'll call you tomorrow,'" the woman recounted. They couldn't talk to each other again after that and the promise the woman had made lingered in her mind for the longest time. It was the last promise she had made and only one she hadn't kept until she finally joined Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Tiffany also became a part of the Sigma Kappa Sorority and got along well with everyone, even though she was older than most of her peers. In 2023, the woman had been in university for around three years and gave her all to get a full-fledged college experience. "You can't focus on the negative, because you'll always be in the pit. It's easier to claw your way up when you're reaching for the sunshine. That's how you get out of the hole," the mom of three remarked. Her courage and strength also became an example for her sorority sisters. "She has helped me so much and she has inspired me a lot and I know she has inspired a lot of other girls in the chapter," one of her sorority sisters pointed out.
The mom was set to graduate in the spring of 2023 and felt that her husband would have been really proud of her. "I go back to that last phone call and I think he's really proud of me." People applauded the woman for completing her education in the comments section of the video. @michaellockhart6632 wrote, "That got me a little bit. After she had raised three kids on her own, she went and got her education. That's some serious strength and dedication. It seems to run in her family. Nothing but respect for them."
@biscuitbuilder27 commented, "I'm 31 and she gives me so much hope to move forward with my goals for school... and to think we can still join a sorority? All I wanted as a little girl was to experience that campus life and get an education, but those plans got cut short when I was put into foster care and eventually lost both my parents due to heart and kidney disease. I worked through high school and never stopped. At some point, I'd love to have a college degree and friends and a life again. I'm so happy she's doing this." @jefff9210 remarked, "He is most definitely proud of you. You are a woman of class and honor. I'm thankful for your husband and your family. Thank God for people like you all."