My Eulogy

In my short course for Church/Christian Leadership we were required to write our own eulogy as if we were a loved one that we had left behind when we died at 65. This is written from the perspective of my best friend, Whitney Noel.

 
I can’t even begin to tell you how sad it is to lose my best friend at such a relatively young age of 65. I’ve known Carole-Marie since we were seniors in high school. We met online through a website that our university had set up and decided to become room mates. She has been one of my best friends ever since. Carole-Marie was always an adventure and thrill seeker – she jumped out of her first airplane the day after she completed her sophomore year in college and continued to do so for the rest of her life, climbed mountains so that she could experience the joy of reaching the summit and then rappelling back down, traveled as much as she could and embraced the cultures that she was in. She loved to dance and did so as often as she could. During her life she not only did blues and swing dancing which we learned together, but she also took classes for all styles of ballroom dancing. She loved life. One of the best ways that I can think of to describe Carole-Marie is free spirited.

She also loved her family – From the time I have known her, she and her mom were always extremely close. They were a joy to each other and talked about everything together. She would tell me about when she was younger and all she wanted was to be the Gilmore Girls with her mom, but they hadn’t reached that point yet. From the time that I knew her though, they were. They had one of the closest mother/daughter relationships that I have ever seen…except for the one that Carole-Marie shared with her little girl.

She was crazy about her husband, who she liked to say grounded her free spirit just enough so that she wouldn’t fly away. Carole-Marie always dreamed about the man that she was going to marry and when she introduced him to me I knew that this was the guy that she would spend the rest of her life with. They really were quite a pair. In so many ways they complemented each other with their goals in life. Carole-Marie knew that she could get carried away easily once she got an idea into her head but he encouraged her to rein in at times and in return she encouraged him to try new ideas that she came up with. Together, they saw most of the world and completed one of Carole-Marie’s goals of seeing all 50 states. She confided in me though, that even through the big adventures that they had, her favorite moments were the simpler ones such as dancing in the kitchen, cooking together, the game nights that they had with their kids and the nights that they were able to get rid of their kids.

Carole-Marie loved her two kids dearly and was so proud to see them grow up into the young man and woman that they became. She supported them as they grew, showing up to countless dance recitals, baseball games and swim meets. She encouraged them and supported them through the challenges of childhood and even managed to survive the dreaded teenage years with only a few battle scars. She learned through them the real meaning of patience and began to develop patience of her own while learning to be a mother. She also gave them a bit of her own quirkiness and need for adventure – at the drop of a hat, their entire family could be packed up and going somewhere for the weekend to explore and have fun together.

Carole-Marie was also loved by her friends. Since I have known her, she has been a true and wonderful friend. Always there for me when I needed her and would go over the top for a good time. My birthday is on Christmas and one time she organized a surprise party a few MONTHS early, because at that time we never saw each other on my actual birthday and she wanted it to be special. I can recall countless nights that we spent laughing and dancing the night away with friends. She always had a smile on her face – it gave her joy to laugh and have a good time. Throughout her life, she was always the one that I knew I could count on to be there.

Carole-Marie was also loved by her community. Though she worked in advertising for several years, after the birth of her first child, she decided to go back to a long time passion of hers; photography. She was admired by many for her photography skills and she loved the stories that came with each photoshoot that she did. Her goal was to capture a part of each story into a picture. It was her own personal kind of writing.

There is no question in my mind that Carole-Marie is now in heaven with the Lord. Throughout her life, church wasn’t the most important thing. She went to church, however, she was much more of a relationship person. When asked about her relationship with the Lord she would gladly tell of the ways He was working in her life and what she was learning about Him. When it came to choosing a church home, it didn’t matter to her what denomination of church she went to as long as she felt the Lord was present and helping her to grow while she was there. She also served for most of her life working with youth groups and as a result her house was also a popular hangout house with plenty of activity happening, especially on Friday nights when there would always be a large meal cooked so that family and friends alike could relax, play games, and enjoy time spent together. Her door was always open.

To say that she will be missed is an understatement. Her smile, her love for her family and friends and love for her life are all memories that we each share and will remember for the rest of our lives.

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