Trish was our friend, and a vital, warm, caring member of several internet communities, including both the Maine Coon Cat fanciers mailing list and the Dave Barry Fan Newsgroup.
Her presence there was always marked by kindness, generosity of soul and humor, and she will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her. Her death was a shock and a sadness to us all, but her life and her spirit will remain in our hearts forever.
Spring has left us
And with Her has gone my friend.
She, who revealed to us the infant green leaf
At the end of the dry twig;
She, who warmed the cold soil
Giving it sanction and allowances,
And tickling to light, silver laughter the seeds beneath,
Opening their sealed eyes
As they reached their slender shoots upward
Through the darkness
Into the bright, new morning;
Spring is gone, again, for a year's space
And my friend is gone with her--
Traversing Time's Chasm and distance
In one graceful, arcing leap
Away.
Swollen with possibility
And ripeness,
Ready to fill the honeycombs
And the vines
With gifts,
But we will not welcome Her--or, rather,
Not all of us will be here to greet Her
As She rolls in
Like waves over the sand.
There is one fewer here.
The space where she was lying
On that gentle slope of tender grass,
Still flattened and warm from her presence.
Summer's ardent wind and rich rain
Will fluff that space like a pillow,
Erasing even this small evidence--
But not yet.
To remove the testimony of my friend;
Though I cannot, and will not, avert Her
Inevitable measured step forever.
I must linger yet a little while, at that empty space
Where my friend lay in the grass.
And I will imagine her, as she retreats into the distance,
Away from me,
But on the heels of Spring
As she follows Her out of my view.
And I will place my hands on that warm spot she left
And try to invoke her again, and again, and again,
Until Summer gently pushes me away.
--Christin Keck
A voice of hope and caring.
A lover of animals and life.
Passed away peacefully June 19, 1999
Following a courageous struggle
She will be missed.
--John Lavalee
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight,
And give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ
Rest your weary ones
Bless your dying ones
Soothe your suffering ones
Pity your afflicted ones
Shield your joyous ones
And for all your love's sake.
Amen
--from TartanCat
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Inc.
1250 24th St. NW
Washington DC 20037