Karen Lee’s Story
The Cheshire Inn has been a special part of our family memories. My oldest son attended Westminster University, in Fulton, Missouri, and since our hometown is Little Rock, AR, when his two younger brothers and I would visit him, we liked to stay in nearby St. Louis, as there was much more to do there.
In our traveling, we loved to seek out small, unique hotels that were more interesting than the usual chain hotels. My two younger boys were 9 and 7 years old when their brother started college, and they loved the “castle like” decor of the Inn, the big stuffed bear, the themed rooms, etc. We stayed there frequently during the next 4 years, and I loved being able to stop in at the Fox and Hounds, listen to the pianist, and enjoy the world’s best martini, expertly shaken by Mark, who added interesting conversation to the attraction of the lounge. When my son graduated in the spring of 2006, we promised we would be back soon to stay at the Cheshire Inn.
Tragically, my 12 year old son was diagnosed the next year in 2007 with Osteosarcoma, a kid’s bone cancer. For the next three and a half years, we fought for his life, living for the most part in Houston, TX, where the experts in that particular disease were located. We even traveled all the way to the Philippines, where we stayed for 6 months seeking a cure for him. We lost our Keaton last year and his younger brother and I have been carrying out a list of things Keaton made that he wanted to do when he got better. One of the things on that list was to go back to St. Louis and stay at the Cheshire Inn. Those days were so special to all of us. The place still shines so warm and inviting in my memories: it was such a different world back then. For more information on Keaton’s story, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/keatonlee.
