Young, pregnant widow finds healing, comfort in keeping husband’s dream business going


Working to continue what Greg started: Morgan Spoor, now six months pregnant with twins, uses a nail gun to secure boards to a wooden flag for a custom order she was working on last week. Morgan decided recently to reopen the business her husband, Greg, had started before his tragic and unexpected death in a car crash Nov. 29.

The Spoor family: This photo of Greg, Morgan and Avery Spoor, taken last year at a Thanksgiving lunch at Avery’s school, was one of the last photos taken of their family before Greg’s death.

Handmade with heart: Morgan Spoor stands next to a completed flag she was ready to ship to a customer last week. The custom-built flags, one of the more popular items at their business, His Dream Creations, can be built with a hidden gun compartment. They can also be customized to feature traditional colors, a blue line in support of law enforcement, military logos or other modfications and emblems. After Morgan’s twins are born, the items will again be available for order at www.etsy.com/HisDreamCreations.

Devoted outdoorsman: Greg Spoor was known as a “typical country boy,” his widow Morgan Spoor told the Times. Morgan said Greg loved to hunt, fish, shoot his bow, ride four-wheelers and just be outside, most of the time with Morgan and their 5-year-old daughter, Avery.

Editor’s note: Search for “His Dream Creations” on Facebook and Instagram to view the wooden flags and other items made by Morgan Spoor that are available for order. In the future, orders can be placed through the Etsy shop atwww.etsy.com/shop/HisDreamCreations; however, the shop is currently in “vacation mode” while Morgan is in the hospital with pregnancy-related complications. She  urges customers to keep checking the site in the coming months. “I am determined to get started back up as soon as I can,” she said Monday in a message to theTimes.

 

Former Gainesville resident Morgan Amyx Spoor has endured a lot of joy and a lot of heartache in her life, but the unexpected and tragic car crash death of her 30-year-old husband Greg three months ago has been the most devastating tragedy  she’s ever faced. 

Now six months pregnant with twins and raising the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, Avery, Morgan says she’s still trying to find her new normal as she continues to mourn the death of Greg and think about what lies ahead for her future. Friday evening, even that tough situation worsened as she was hospitalized for pregnancy-related issues. Doctors say she’ll need to remain in the hospital for the rest of her pregnancy – as long as 12 more weeks or until the babies are born.

“Everyone always tells me how strong I am, but I don’t have a choice,“ Morgan said Friday night, shortly before her condition changed and she headed to the hospital. “The healing process is going to be a long one, and I don’t think we will ever completely heal from this.”

Part of her healing process has recently included continuing Greg’s dream, a woodworking and craft business he began in 2016.  

 

A true-life fairy tale

Morgan’s first meeting with her Prince Charming wasn’t your typical fairy tale beginning. It was at a nightclub in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

After chatting with some friends, Morgan decided to do what she’d come there to do, dance. While on the dance floor, a man came up and started showing off his moves – or lack of them.  

“He had no rhythm. It made me laugh to watch him try so hard to dance,” Morgan said, smiling.

When the song was over, he kissed her – then turned and walked away. Stunned, Morgan stood there trying to process what had happened. 

“I was just kissed by a guy I didn’t know. I didn’t even know his name!” she said. 

Morgan left the club that night still unsure of who the man was, but the mystery was solved the next morning when she logged into her social media account and found that Greg Spoor had messaged her, identifying himself as the daring man who had kissed her. The two messaged and called each other for some time before Greg worked up the nerve to ask Morgan out on a date. And that was that.

“That’s how our fairy tale started,” she said. 

Greg asked Morgan to marry him the next Christmas, and Morgan enthusiastically accepted. Committed to each other, they weren’t in a rush for the wedding and waited four years to officially tie the knot. Their wedding took place on a deck overlooking Greg’s parents’ pond in Peace Valley. Morgan wore a dress, and Greg wore his signature outfit: blue jeans, white T-shirt and boots. Morgan said, after that, the fairy tale only got better. 

“God had blessed us in many ways. We bought our first house together in West Plains and had a sweet baby girl. We both worked, but Greg worked the hardest. He was always trying hard to provide for our family so we could have everything we wanted,” Morgan said.

When a good job opportunity presented itself in Florida, Greg decided to take it. Morgan said she and Avery were sad to see Greg leave to work so far from them, but she trusted that it was best for their family. After two weeks, the girls decided to pack up the car and head down to visit him.

“It was around Christmastime, and we just missed him so much,” she said. 

 

Losing a house but finding a forever home

While Morgan was driving to meet Greg in Florida, a neighbor called and told her their house back in West Plains had burned to the ground. The family had lost everything.

“I was in complete shock,” she said.

But, always the rock, Greg was there to hold their family together through the stress. The Spoors spent the rest of the year in Florida as Greg finished out his contracted job as an iron worker. When the job was over, they decided to move back to West Plains, buying their “forever home.” Greg worked hard to find a way to spend as much time as possible with his family and still have enough money to cover their bills, leading him through a range of entrepreneurial pursuits.

“Fencing, raising saltwater fish, back to fencing, welding ... he was always coming up with something,” Morgan said. “Then last year he came up with the idea of making and selling crafts. We started small with some shelves and other wooden projects. Then someone asked us to make them a wooden flag.”

That’s where Country Boy Craftin’ began – with that first wooden flag. Greg was excited at the prospects for the little venture, but, pregnant with another child, Morgan was a little nervous about relying on a business of handcrafted items to support the family. Despite her concern, it was soon apparent that there was no need for the worry. Orders were pouring in.

 

Losing Marley

“In March we had a doctor’s appointment to check in on our little jelly bean. I was 20 weeks along. We were both so excited to get to see our new blessing,” Morgan said. But about 45 seconds after the technician put the ultrasound probe to Morgan’s belly, she quietly excused herself from the room. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and delivered the heartbreaking news: the baby had no heartbeat. 

“We both held each other and cried. In the many years we had been together, this was the first time I’d ever seen Greg cry. It broke my heart even more,” Morgan said. 

She was admitted to the hospital the next day, and labor was induced. After six hours, at 6:43 p.m. March, 29, 2017, Morgan and Greg were able to hold their sweet baby, whom they’d named Marley. She was 9.5 ounces and 9 inches long.

“She was perfect,” Morgan said. “We were broken. We got to hold her for three hours before saying our final goodbyes. We gave her a kiss, and they took her away. At that point in our lives, it was the hardest day we’d ever been through.”

 

A growing business – and belly

Morgan and Greg leaned on each other through the grief of losing their daughter. The business started picking up, and by the summer Country Boy Craftin’ was highly successful. Greg had transitioned to working full-time and even hired additional staff members to help keep up with the demand.

“This was exactly what Greg envisioned. His dream was coming true,” Morgan said. 

Then one day last fall, out of the blue, Morgan felt the need to take a pregnancy test. It was positive! They went in for an ultrasound. With the pain of the loss of Marley still fresh, they were both nervous.

“I lay there and Greg sat next to me, holding my hand as the ultrasound tech started. After a few seconds, she looked at us and said, ‘You ready for the news?’” Morgan said. They nodded, unsure of what “the news” was going to be. 

“Looks like you will be having two babies,” she said.

Morgan threw herself into Greg’s arms, and they both cried happy tears. 

“We couldn’t believe we were going to have two miracles,” she said. 

 

Losing Greg

Life continued, with Morgan and Greg excited about the twins and busy with the business. But fate took another hard turn one day last fall. 

Nov. 29 started like any other day, Morgan said. She sat down with Greg to have coffee that morning. They discussed what needed to be done that day and then began a productive, full day of working. Morgan picked Avery up from school that afternoon, and when she returned, Greg told her they’d run out of shipping boxes, and he was headed to the store to pick up some more. 

“He couldn’t find his wallet, like always, so I found it for him. Then I gave him a kiss goodbye. I told him to be careful and that I loved him. Then I watched as he walked out the door,” Morgan said. “Little did I know that was the last time I’d see, talk or touch him.” 

After about an hour, there was a knock at the door. Morgan opened it to find a Missouri State Highway Patrolman solemnly staring back at her. He asked if this was Greg Spoor’s residence. Morgan nodded. The officer told her that Greg had been killed in a car accident about a quarter-mile from the family’s home. 

“I fell to my knees and screamed. Avery came outside to see what was wrong, and we both just sat there crying,” Morgan said. “The only think I could think of was, ‘How am I going to raise our babies by myself?’ I needed him.”

Morgan went to bed that night hoping it was just a dream. But it wasn’t.

“Half of me died that day too,” she said. “He was my best friend and soulmate. Our lives together were just getting started. I wanted to give up and just stop living, but I can’t. I have my babies that need me.”

 

Babies and a business named after Greg

The day after Greg died, Morgan visited her doctor to ensure that the added stress hadn’t harmed the babies, and she found out that she was having a boy and a girl – the very pair Greg had been hoping for. 

“We’d already picked out the names Amelia and Beckett, but I wanted their names to mean more,” she said. “So I gave them each a part of Greg’s name. The girl’s name is Amelia Lee – Lee being Greg’s middle name. The boy’s name is Gregory Beckett.”

After some time, Morgan began to think about Greg’s dream business and what would happen without him there to run it. 

“I heard Greg’s voice in my head, saying, ‘Don’t give up. Keep it going. Trust me,’” Morgan said. 

So she opened the shop back up and began taking orders, making the products they had spent the last year making together. She continues to make the flags, cabinets and other items that Country Boy Craftin’ was known for, but she’s made one change – the company’s new name is His Dream Creations in honor of Greg’s vision for their future. 

Morgan says working on the projects has been an emotional but therapeutic process for her, bringing her a little closer to Greg every time she sands a board or stains a  new piece.

“I have so many memories that flood my thoughts. Most days they make me smile and sometimes even laugh,” she said. “Then, on my bad days, the memories make me cry because I don’t get to make any more. But I have to keep going. I am still waiting to see what God’s plan is for me. Until then, I will just raise our babies and make Greg’s dreams come true.”

Ozark County Times

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