Editor’s note: The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter and a photographer throw a dart at a map and find a story where it lands.

NATCHEZ — Diane Forrest’s house is filled with memories of Dave Forrest —  her husband and best friend.

From the Coca Cola memorabilia hanging on the walls reminding her of his longtime career with the company to his four-legged companion, Snoopy, who quickly earned a place in her heart as well, Diane doesn’t have to look far to remember Dave.

The memories she’s reminded of are all happy ones but still manage to bring a tear to her eye the closer Nov. 10 nears — the three-year anniversary of Dave’s death.

Dave died in 2010 following complications from a work-related injury where he ruptured a disk in his spine, which eventually paralyzed him and forced him to be bed ridden for three years.

When The Dart found Diane Saturday afternoon on Edgewood Road, she was happy to recount countless stories about Dave and the 18 happiest years of her life they spent as husband and wife.

“He was the nicest person you’d ever meet, and I loved him so much,” Diane said as she wiped away tears with her hand streaming down her check. “He left me with a lot of great memories, though.”

Some of those memories are found in the items Dave collected during his time working for the Coca Cola bottling factory in McComb, which are hanging on the walls of her house or sitting on the shelves of a wooden entertainment center in her living room.

An aged green bottle of a lemon-lime soft drink called Bubble Up sits tucked away in the back of one of the shelves with the soda’s tag line, “A kiss of lemon, a kiss of lime,” peering out in between other Coke items.

The bottle, Diane said, was Dave’s second favorite item from the vast collection.

The first is a quilt made by Dave’s family members containing his father’s, the Rev. John David Forrest, old Coke uniform, which is a pinstripe pattern with a classic logo in the center.

“They worked together all the time and were very close,” Diane said. “When his father died, he left his uniform to my husband and then his aunt or grandmother made this for him.”

A large wooden box Dave made for Diane with a heart on top sits on the living room table. The box, at one time, was where the quilt was stored, but is now overflowing with love letters, notes and cards Dave wrote to Diane over the years.

“He would always write me little notes all the time and would always joke that I would always find notes from him,” Diane said. “I still find some every now and then and put them in the box.”

Other than the material possessions, Snoopy is Diane’s most treasured keepsake of her husband.

Growing up in a house where no animals were allowed inside, Diane wasn’t crazy about welcoming Snoopy into their home at first.

“I eventually said, ‘OK he can come in the house, but not in the bed,’” Diane said. “And now I have to tell him to move over because he hogs the bed.”

Slowly but surely, Diane warmed up to the dog and now more than ever couldn’t imagine life without her furry friend.

“I don’t know what I would do without Snoopy in the house,” Diane said. “He saves me all the time by barking whenever someone is outside at the door.”

For the three years Dave was bed ridden, Diane, who is a nurse, took care of him at their house until he died.

“He was the best patient I ever had,” she said. “He never fussed, complained or anything. He was the best.”

As the anniversary of Dave’s death nears, Diane said she will continue the tradition she started of visiting the cemetery where he is buried and placing flowers on his grave.

“It’s always sad,” Diane said. “I’ll sit the flowers or some pictures out there and just visit.

“I always miss him.”