Honoring 40 years of foster parenting

Charles and Geraldine Figley have never backed away from hard work.

In fact, it was the Norton couple's passion to work on the broken, abused or neglected that sparked their interest in becoming foster parents.

It seemed like the natural thing to do.

Receiving innocent children who have been harmed or neglected in the worst kind of ways by their own parents has been far from easy.

Even so, the Figleys -- nearly 40 years into their commitment to care for and love other people's children -- have never wavered from their decision.

The Figleys are solid believers in the ``no pain, no gain'' philosophy.

After all, they rescued their house -- one of three grossly neglected structures at Cleveland-Massillon Road and Norton Avenue -- 40 years ago.

The only condition on the $1 purchase price was that the house be moved.

So the Figleys got a loan for $12,000 to buy a lot, build a basement and install a septic system.

They are proud of the labor investment they put into making the home special. They feel the same way about all the discarded furniture they repaired and polished.

So it is with the discarded children who have come through their doors.

The Figleys -- like 200 other foster parents who will be celebrated by Summit County Children Services Board at a dinner Thursday at Guy's Party Centre -- would like to see other adults follow in their footsteps.

``I had an aunt who had foster kids. I just thought it was great,'' said Mrs. Figley, who cited that as her reason to get involved.

``And my mom took in one who had been sexually abused by its mother,'' she added.

The Figleys have worked long and hard to replace the bad bruises with good touches whenever possible.

``Sometimes that's just not possible,'' 72-year-old Charles Figley acknowledged.

``Some of them had to leave us and go into therapeutic homes,'' his 66-year-old wife said.

Those are the ones who needed something extra.

Take the one boy whose stepfather burned him and chopped off two of his fingers for stealing food.

Or the toddler with severe urine burns because her parents insisted she wear her diapers for three days straight.

Sadly, there are many more stories like these.

The Figleys -- married 47 years with two biological children of their own -- have fostered 14 children, most of them long-term.

They adopted one who today owns and operates his own nursery and landscape business.

They're also the legal guardians of a 29-year-old woman who is proof of their dedication.

``We got her when she was 2,'' Mrs. Figley journeyed back in time.

``Then the judge -- against everyone's advice -- ordered her to be placed back at home....

``Two weeks later, she was beaten so badly that they didn't think she would live.... Doctors said she would always be a vegetable, that she would never see, walk or talk.''

But Linda, with the love and support of the Figleys, defied all those predictions.

``When she came back to us, she couldn't even swallow,'' Mrs. Figley recalled.

She still has residual problems: Her left side is weakened like a stroke victim's. She has no peripheral vision.

Yet, she's doing much more than anyone ever expected, her parents said.

She works for United Disability Services and even sings in public.

``She'll be with us until we die,'' Charles Figley said matter-of-factly.

``After that, she'll go to live with our daughter.''

Charles Figley is retired from Midwest Rubber after 35 years' service.

His wife worked various jobs early in their marriage.

Apart from Linda, the Figleys are taking ``a little break'' from foster parenting for a while. Mrs. Figley, who has lupus, has had a flare-up of carpal tunnel syndrome.

But make no mistake, the Figleys vow to keep their hearts and doors open to foster parenting as long as they have breath.

And can do the hard work.