Photo by Karen Donato
A SECOND CHANCE — Karen Keber and Matt Sutton were joined in marriage, December 29 at the Houlton Wesleyan Church. A union that included six children between them.
By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
HOULTON — On Dec. 29, Karen Keber and Matt Sutton became husband and wife. Their fairy tale ending was witnessed by more than 100 friends and relatives at the Wesleyan Church in Houlton, officiated by the Rev. Wayne Robertson. The wedding united not only a bride and groom, but also six children between them.
Both Karen and Matt had moved to Houlton for different reasons and were in different situations. Their relationship developed unexpectedly after the untimely death of Matt’s wife, Barbara.
In 2008, Karen Keber, owner of Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe on Main Street was living in Lawrence, Mass. with her husband, Wilhelm, who she had met in Germany in 1991 while serving in the National Guard. After their marriage in 1994 she stayed on in Germany as a civilian working for the Moral Welfare and Recreation Department. During that time they became parents of a son, Axel and later, a daughter, Britney.
The United States began to close bases around the world, so in 1995 Karen moved to Dracut, Mass. with the children to seek employment. In order for her husband, who was a German citizen to move here, Karen had to be employed and have insurance. Wilhelm joined them in Dracut as soon as he could and in 1997, their youngest daughter, Caila was born.
As their family grew, the Kebers decided to move to Goffstown, N.H. where the lifestyle was a bit slower and it was a safer area for their young family.
Wilhelm had been diagnosed with high blood pressure in his 20s and as he got older it became worse. After only a few years in New Hampshire, Wilhelm and Karen found out that he had congestive heart failure. Only 11 percent of his heart was working. He was in and out of the hospital and put on a list for a heart transplant. Death is not a topic a young couple thinks about in their 30s. They were just beginning what they hoped would be a long life together raising their family.
Due to the need to be closer to his doctors in the Boston area, the family closed up their house in New Hampshire and relocated to Lawrence. Unfortunately, Wilhelm’s heart gave out before he reached the top of the heart transplant list and Karen was left to raise three young children.
After picking up the pieces and trying to figure out where to go, Karen decided to follow her dream of having a candy shop and residing in a place that was safe for her family. She began searching the Internet and found the former S.L. White Drug Store on Main Street in Houlton with an apartment above the business as part of the package.
Karen packed up their belongings and left the city for a small town and a place to build a new life. Her children Axel and Britney enrolled at Houlton Junior High School and Caila attended Southside School.
Uncle Willie’s opened just before Christmas in 2008 with Karen and the kids filling in the hours to keep it open Tuesday through Saturday. Even with the busy schedule, Karen kept her kids occupied with day trips around the area and kayaking at the local lakes on the weekends in the summer.
Being a single mother and owner of a business did not give her much time for socializing although she did date occasionally, none led to a serious relationship.
The Sutton family moves to Houlton
In 2009, Matt and Barbara Sutton left their oldest son, Justin at college in Colorado and moved to Houlton with their two younger sons, Jared and Joshua from Yuma, Ariz.
Matt would be assuming the position of patrol agent in charge at the Border Patrol’s sector intelligence unit on the North Road.
After moving into their new home on Court Street, Barbara accepted the executive director’s position at the Southern Aroostook Cultural Arts Program. She had worked for a non-profit literacy-based program in Arizona and thought this would be a great way to meet people in the area. She settled into the arts program and was busy learning about the town and promoting the artisans who displayed their crafts in Visions Gallery.
Barbara and her family frequented the candy shop often and discovered that their children were not only similar in age, but Jared and Axel were in the same class and had birthdays close together. The boys had even celebrated together one time by going to Kings Landing in Canada with their mothers.
In the fall of 2010, Barbara was called back to Yuma to attend the funeral of her step-father. While there she began the preparations to move her mother to Houlton. When the plans were in place, Barbara boarded a plane for the trip home, leaving her mother to finalize the details and join the family by Christmas.
Barbara’s flight to Bangor took her through the Philadelphia Airport where she sent Matt a text message that she would see him soon and to have a Starbuck’s tea waiting for her. She also told him that she was feeling very anxious. Matt assumed it was just from the long trip and she would be fine once she arrived.
Matt and his sons, waited at the gate, watching for Barbara to appear, but she wasn’t on the plane.
Matt said, “I couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t on the flight, so we went to the ticket counter to see if they had any information.”
While waiting there, Matt received a call from his mother-in-law, Eva Miller. The news he received was shocking. Barbara had suffered a deep vein thrombosis just as she was boarding the flight for Bangor. She couldn’t get her breath. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but it was too late. When the authorities tried to notify her family, they found Barbara’s mother’s name listed as a contact in case of emergency, since Matt and Barbara usually traveled together she had listed her mom’s name.
In an instant, the Sutton family was thrown into a nightmare and Matt’s wife of 24 years was gone at the age of 44. It was hard to know where to turn. It was unbelievable.
As the news spread, Matt’s Border Patrol family was quick to support their leader and his family, but as in situations like this how does one really know what to do to console a family.
But, a family who did know what Matt and his children were feeling were Karen and her family. As the days went by after the funeral, Karen tried to include the boys in activities that her family was participating in, such as birthdays, school events or just a hot meal.
Through the weeks and months that followed, Matt found himself confiding in Karen and found out that she knew exactly what he was going through.
“I was angry and I was sad,” said Matt. “How was I going to go on? We had been married for 24 years. I had to learn how to be single again. When you get a divorce you still have a connection, but when a spouse dies you do not.” he said.
“Karen talked me through an incredible amount of feelings,” he said. “What she had gone through, helped me and my boys.”
After more than a year of learning to cope with his loss, Matt and Karen began to build a relationship of a different kind. Their time together was filling a gap in both of their lives. They began to take time for themselves, learning more and more about how their roads had led to Houlton.
Matt said, “God had a plan for me and my family. ‘Why did I move here?’ After Barbara’s death I had the answer. ‘What better place to be?’” he said.
Matt said that he was overwhelmed with not only the support of his fellow agents, but also the people of Houlton. He knew that he would never have had the same support if he were in a big city. Since moving here, he doesn’t worry about drive-by shootings and gang related activities. He doesn’t worry about his boys walking home from school.
“Houlton is a special place,” he said.
In the fall of 2012, Matt proposed to Karen and they began to plan a wedding. Friends and relatives filled the church on a brisk winter night to see two families join to be one.
As the church filled with guests, one elderly lady sat in the first pew on the groom’s side. It was Barbara’s mom. She had spent the summer here to be here with her grandsons and had stayed through Christmas so she could attend the wedding. What a trooper she was to share a bittersweet occasion. She was happy for Matt and the boys, but at the same time missing her daughter.
As Matt took Karen as his bride he not only promised to love her every day for the rest of his life, but he would love her children and support them as if he were their real father. As Karen’s daughter, Britney and Matt’s son, Justin toasted the happy couple, they too agreed that through their losses, they were very happy that their parents had found each other and they were looking forward to being a family.
Matt and Karen are very much in love, one can tell by the sparkle in their eyes, their happy smiles and constant hand holding.
Matt said, “We both come from different backgrounds, I grew up in rural Virginia and Karen grew up in the inner city, but we have a lot in common.”
“We both parent in the same way and almost know what the other is going to say. I can tell by the way she looks whether or not she is happy, tired or upset. We even finish each other’s sentences,” said Matt.
They are very much on the same wave length. They have bought cards for each other on various occasions only to find they have selected the same one for each other. They even purchased gifts for each other on Valentine’s Day last year and for their engagement that were similar.
This is truly a sweet ending for Houlton’s candy shop lady and a second chance at love for a couple who have had their share of sadness.
