When I think of Wendy, boisterous laughter and animated conversation bring a smile to my lips. She loved life and was happiest sharing her life. She gave to everyone she knew and took very little in return. She fought for the underdog and was always sticking up for the disenfranchised.

I have so many memories of our friendship that it is difficult to choose the ones that best show the breadth and depth of our relationship. We laughed hysterically in our cars, in our homes, in church, in theaters, in restaurants; we laughed just about everywhere. We talked until we were both hoarse. We talked about everything. We talked right up to bed time and resumed the moment we saw each other in the morning. We screamed with joy, in anger and frustration. We spent most of our relationship figuring out how we could spend more time with each other.

We would plan to slip out and have breakfast and go straight back home. Breakfasts ended up lasting hours and to extend it we would get a coffee and find some private spot that would allow us to say what we wanted as loud as we wanted. After coffee was done we’d go for a drive just to finish off our conversations…needless to say we’d return hours and hours after we planned. You’d think we would have had enough but we just wanted more.

When Wendy was recovering from surgery and undergoing radiation I was with her. We spent every waking hour together and never ever tired of each other. When there wasn’t a lot to laugh about we sat side by side in silence. Those days of sitting in silence taught me a valuable lesson. When “gratitude” was overrated and the pain was at a 9, I could listen instead of rally. She allowed me to be her voice and to see her at her most vulnerable. Love can take you down roads that you would never imagine. There aren’t any perfect human beings but there are exceptional ones…Wendy was an exceptional human being and I am so proud to call her “sister.”