FAIRFIELD TWP., Ohio — In college, the first gift Kyle Sterling ever bought his girlfriend was a pair of tennis shoes. When Veronica Sterling opened it, she thought it was a joke. She shook them, hoping something else would fall out.
It was Valentine’s Day.
“What is this?” she remembers asking.
Veronica worked as a waitress, and she sometimes complained that her back hurt after long shifts. Kyle explained to her that the shoes would help.
They were Dr. Scholl’s.
“He’s very practical,” Veronica said.
She tells me this sitting inside a 1984 Airstream motor home in their garage. This was a way to explain why they bought this camper off Craigslist in 2018 and dedicated years of their lives to fixing it up.
Take a ride in the RV in the video below:
Veronica is the CEO of Hospice of Southwest Ohio.
“When I tell people that, sometimes they actually cringe and turn away,” Sterling said.
It’s part of the stigma surrounding death and dying she’s desperately fighting to change. Because, yes, she knows a lot about dying. But the lessons she’s learned from work are almost all about living.
“I’ve spent time with people who are 85, 90 and 105 years old. And they always have the same lesson: Find a purpose in your life. Don’t wait to pursue it,” Veronica said. “I didn’t always listen.”
She's listening now.
In the garage behind their home, Veronica smacks the outside of that camper. They call her Charlie.
“This big Airstream is like a 14,000-pound metaphor for how I try to live my life,” Veronica said.
Because life is hard.
After they bought it, the camper broke down on the drive home. It took them three years to get it ready for a real trip. But since then, they’ve traveled more than 40,000 miles in it.
“I just want to put the message out there — even if people are cringing and turning away from it,” Sterling said. “That’s why it’s important to me.”
Want to see the camper?
Veronica Sterling is speaking at a fundraiser for the Hospice of Southwest Ohio Foundation on Aug. 13. She says the RV will be there. Here are the details:
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025
MadTree Parks & Rec in Blue Ash
4321 Glendale Milford Road
5 - 7 p.m.
