Over the last few years I’ve made it a habit to memorialize the friends and family I’ve lost.
Donna was an extended family member, married to a second cousin or first cousin once removed, something like that. I attended her wedding. We attended a few funerals together. I doubt if we exchanged a dozen words. The occasions we were together were big gatherings where it was impossible to talk to everyone. 
But she was dearly loved by people I dearly love. I can only imagine the depth of their pain and grief at her loss. She leaves behind a husband and three young children.
Corinne wasn’t a family member, but she was something maybe even better- she loved us just because. She was a friend and neighbor from our years in Southern California. We lived two doors down from Corinne and her husband Larry. They were dear people who loved on our girls like grandparents. Their actual grandparents lived several hundred miles away but Corinne and Larry could be counted on to cheer for the girls’ accomplishments as enthusiastically as the most loving grandparents.
We kept in touch after we moved away, although it has been a couple of years since our last visit.
Both Donna and Corinne are Christians and I know they are safe and happy and out of pain. Their lives touched many people and we are the better for it.
Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family 