- Sallie Sears was the much much younger sister of a dear friend Debbie Sears. (ends up being 2 years). She was always the little sister that hung around the "big" kids.
- At some point in the past 10 years with the advent of facebook becoming cool, we re-connected. Sallie reached out and I reached back.
- We had been ships in the night and had spent time in the same city, never quiet seeing each other. She returned to North Idaho and Spokane and worked at Sacred Heart in the pediatric cancer floor and was an advanced nurse practitioner. She was a great friend of Dr. Flemehagen, Meb's Spokane doctor.
Sallie was a part of the trunk from the Sears Tree. She sent Mary-Elizabeth a waiver for application fee for Gonzaga. She helped me connect to medical professionals in Spokane. She took Mary-E to appointments and shopping and just was there for her in a way few could be. Sallie had lupus. She understood hard and frustrating and prednisone and lose of trust in your body. She knew and understood what ME went through.
She really did what she could to enjoy her life in every way possible. She did not shy away from the things that "could" be a problem. She traveled and explored and sought warmth. It was all a good thing.
She cared in any way she could. When I mentioned the Wishing Rock Guild, she sent me Starbucks gift cards for the bags. Just one example. She always did what she could.
There is an empty place in the physical universe right now. Maybe what happens when someone like Sallie leaves we all step up a bit to fill the void.
Her final gift will be to gather many together for her service. We will tell stories and remember and laugh and cry. We will be sad she is gone. Glad she is not suffering. We will be selfish about her loss. We will think about what we will do to replace the void. We will peer into the future and know it is not the same sort of place it would have been with her gone.
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