There is so much to celebrate about Kelly that it's impossible to encapsulate it all, so I will share a couple of snippets from our friendship, which began over 35 years ago.
I met Kelly in the fall of 1988. We were freshman at Miami, and our dorm rooms were directly across the hall from each other. Kel had arrived equipped with several friends from home and the built-in social life that came with that, but she quickly invited me to start hanging out with her. Kel was radiantly friendly and fun, and so of course, I felt honored to be included. It didn't take long for us to become besties. At parties, our goal was to convince as many people as we could that we were twins (fraternal of course, because we didn't look THAT much alike). We carefully constructed our back story, which combined Kelly's mom's maiden name, my birthday, one of our hometowns (don't remember which one), the name of our high school, etc. Soon, everyone on our hallway started referring to us as "the twins." Kel would come home with me to Cincinnati on the occassional weekend. When she first met my parents, she won them over by immediately greeting them with a big hug and an enthusiastic "Hey, Mom and Dad!" I don't remember why, but she and my mom started calling each other "Schweetie," and it became their thing. There are too many memories to put here, but suffice it to say that I have always considered myself blessed to have had such a dynamically positive, unwaveringly loyal friend in Kelly.
After college, Kel and I stayed in touch with the occassional phone call, but mostly through long, hand-written letters. Per technology, the letters became long emails (true "scrollers," as they say), where we kept each other up to date on work, family, kids, and life's general ups and downs. I have spent the last couple of weeks rereading them all, and my heart is so full.
Despite the geographic distance (I've been in Dallas for over 20 years), Kelly remained one of my most closest and most steadfast friends. In 2005, when the unthinkable happened - my huband and I lost our 7-month-old son to cancer - Kelly would call just to sit with me on the phone. She knew that there were no useful words that could actually comfort me, but she wanted to walk with me through that dark time. It takes an immense amount of courage and compassion to do that. During a time when close friends and even some immediate family members were avoiding me - too afraid to face that pain - Kelly was there. I will treasure that gift forever.
What a precious blessing we have all been given to have been in Kelly's circle!
Kel, I love you. I miss you already. May your beautiful soul rest in peace.