Who Was Chel?

                 Who was Chel, this from Beth, former caregiver, good friend, part of our family:

     Chel was love and light and laughter.

                 Chel was a loving daughter and sister, a doting aunt, a best friend, a thoughtful employer.  She had a vivacious personality, a wonderful sense of humor and a knack for having fun.  She loved to play Monopoly with anyone foolish enough to believe they could beat her and she’d grin ear to ear once all the piles of everyone else’s money and property were inevitably heaped in front of her.  She was a prankster, brimming with sarcastic wit and bearing a smile that wouldn’t quit.  When she aimed that smile at you, you couldn’t help but smile back.

                 Chel had the biggest heart and the most generous spirit.  She was the type of person who would give you the shirt off her back.  But the really special thing about her was that her compassion and generosity were not limited to the people she knew and loved.  It extended to complete strangers, anyone who may be down on their luck.  Chel would bend over backwards to be the hand that reached out to help someone get back on their feet.

                 Chel had hard times, too.  She sometimes struggled with grief over the son she had lost and for her situation in general.  She sometimes questioned her self-worth.  But Chel had an amazingly deep current of inner strength coursing through her.  No matter how many times life threw her to the ground, she’d always pull herself right back into the saddle.  Nothing kept her down for long.

                 Chel was one in a million and everyone who knew her, loved her.  You couldn’t help but.  You couldn’t spend five minutes with her without her having touched your life in some special way.

                Chel touched my life, deeply.  I’ll be grateful every day I draw breath for the privilege of having called her my friend.

Chel was one in a million.