In Memorium

Today was the funeral of a wonderful person who will be missed on this earth, but who had fulfilled her earthly calling and moved on to a happier place. I know that sounds cheesy, but I 100% believe it's true.

Marie Jeppson was the mother of my friend Olivia and my second mother for a solid 6 years of my life. I'm broken-hearted that I'm in Oklahoma and missed formally saying goodbye, but I'm thinking of her today. She died too young, but I know that she is happy where she is now.

My favorite memories include her waking us up in the morning after sleepovers (when we had somewhere to be) by clapping. I would always die laughing about it, in retrospect. At the time, it scared me to death! I will also never forget the millions of times we went to Taco Bell or McDonald's and she paid for me out of her hard-earned money. She never complained. With all of the day-to-day kindnesses, I could go on for pages. But I'll just mention my most treasured memory of her - and that is the night I had my first kiss. I left Olivia's for a few minutes to walk a boy (that I very much liked) to his house a block away and when I came back, MARIE totally called me out on it! She said, "Oh, you've been kissed!" I'll never forget feeling so excited and chagrined that she could tell! She was so pleased to see me happy and I remember feeling like she loved me.

More recently, Marie had struggled with her health, but she was an angel at heart. She was long-suffering and happy despite all of her ills. She loved her grand-children, and most of all she loved her only daughter, Olivia.

We will miss you, Marie. Thanks for being who you were, and thanks for raising a daughter who parallels you in charity, compassion and service.