Apr 19, 2023

A Eulogy For My Mom Who Passed Away Unexpectedly

This is the most heartbreaking blog post I've ever written; it's simply hard to write. Just like the obituary & the eulogy for my mom; my dear mom. I'm an only child, only 30 years old, & these are just things I wasn't expecting to have to do at such a young age. But if you find yourself reading this blog post, I truly hope it helps you. Losing a parent is something unimaginable. Losing a loved one is never easy. So as I make my way through this grieving process I expect to be on for the rest of my life, I wanted to share the eulogy I wrote for my mom. She deserves to be honored beyond my one-time speech & I hope you can use my words to inspire your eulogy if you, unfortunately, have to write one, too.

If you find yourself reading this, I truly hope it helps you. Losing a parent is unimaginable. Losing a loved one is never easy. So as I make my way through the grieving process of losing my mom unexpectedly, I wanted to share the eulogy I wrote for my mom when she passed away. She deserves to be honored beyond my one-time speech & I hope you can use my words to inspire your eulogy if you, unfortunately, have to write one, too.

Dear mom,

30 years with you was just not enough, but here we are. Unfortunately, we’re all here.

To sum up the reactions from everyone about hearing you are no longer with us include:

Are you joking?
I have no words.
My heart aches for you.

The last one for me, Dad, Richie, our family, friends, & dogs, is that our hearts are literally shattered.

We know you were not ready to leave us, but we are so thankful you lived such an amazing life while you did.

You were so excited about your new back & we cannot believe this is the outcome of your surgery.

However, we can be thankful to have such amazing final memories with you.

The last embrace… those last words… Wow, did we get lucky.

But, we all know this is truly so unfair. To all of us.

Devastating, heartbreaking, unimaginable, tragic, everything.

There are no words, yet so many to describe how we feel about losing my mom, dad’s wife, Richie’s Momma Kitch, Clancy’s mom, Kallen’s grand-mom, a beloved sister & sister in law, aunt, friend, colleague… all of the amazing titles you held.

Your love of family, friends, dogs, faith, & traveling will be honored forever.

You touched the lives of so many humans & dogs & we are forever thankful.

You are Dad’s high school sweetheart & loving wife, just one day short of 37 years.

Richie & I are so lucky to have your marriage to inspire ours.

You were an amazing wife, family member, friend, mentor, church member, & dog mom.

& of course, while my opinion might be biased as an only child… definitely the best mom ever.

Thank you for raising me to be who I am today.

I am so sorry I was such a terrible teenager 😂 but, you being you, knew that phase wouldn’t last.

Thank you for your motherly instinct of knowing Richie was the one for me before I even knew.

You of course earned the title of best mother-in-law from Richie, too.

You sure picked a good one since he has been & will continue to be our rock. Our Cabo rock to be exact.

You were such an amazing boss & co-worker to so many, too.

Your pharmaceutical sales career at TAP for 22 years was the highlight for sure.

Your USA Mobile Drug Testing career with Dad for the last 12 years was remarkable, too.

You treated your work family like family, & your love for family continued to shine through as you embraced Richie’s family like your own after we got married.

& for those of you that don’t know, Richie’s family has this amazing tradition of honoring one another during birthdays & special occasions, since words shouldn’t be left unsaid until you’re gone.

My mom loved this tradition & we’re so thankful we’ve gotten to honor her before this moment...

Mom, everyone loved you so much & here is just the smallest example of what you mean to everyone:

You had the biggest heart
You were such a light, especially with your smile that would brighten any room
You were such a strong believer in faith
You were so generous, kind, wise, all the things, to everyone.

The list could go on forever & wow, you are so loved.

So honored.

Sooo memorable.

Your life was full of so many accomplishments…

…yet so much is left unaccomplished since you don’t get to retire with Dad later this year.

We don’t know how you did so much in 66 short years, but that is just you. So impressive.

We are forever thankful for you being our light in this moment of darkness.

I hope I am doing you justice with this public speaking thing since this was definitely your strong suit & not mine.

I am currently channeling your first big public speaking event for TAP at the Grand Ole Opry, where you obviously excelled & went on to love public speaking. Further impacting the lives of everyone around you.

So as I get through all of these words, I want to thank you for always believing in me.

I will always honor your loving heart & work ethic.

If I can be half the woman you are by 66… I know you will be so proud.

But 66… what an age to leave us.

Too young.

Too soon.

Too tragic.

We know you think the same, but we can be at peace knowing you are with your dearest sister Jan, your dad, mom & Vic, grandmas, & enjoying dog walks with Tyler, Missy, Mac, & Killian in Heaven.

We had so many unfinished plans with you Mom, but you better believe the quartet is finishing those plans in true Elite fashion with lots of explosion champagne cheers. 🍾🥂😊

We may only be a trio again, like you, me & dad started, but Richie will hold down the Libra fort to bring me & Dad the balance we need.

We promise to keep living the life we know you want us to live.

Big Papi is stuck with us for better or for worse, but for good.

We know everyone here will cherish their memories with you & honor you always.

Thank you for giving Dad & me the opportunity to travel the world & finding the most special place ever in Cabo.

You may not be here physically at home or with us on the next trip to Cabo, but we know you will be watching over us. We promise the quartet will live on.

Please know how loved you are & we will always love you. That comes for everyone here.

You are missed beyond what anyone could ever say & everyone in this room feels that.

Our hearts will forever be broken yet so full.

We feel so loved by all of you here today & by all who have reached out to us during this unimaginable time.

I can’t believe I got through all of this... so thank you Mom for giving me the strength I will always need from you.

I wish I could share more memories but I hope this was enough for now as you know your memories will be shared forever.

We love you to the moon & back, Mom.