Amanda died on her own battlefield. She was killed in action fighting a civil war. She fought against adversaries that were as real to her as her urn is real to us. They were powerful adversaries. They took toll of her energies and endurance. They exhausted the last vestiges of her courage and her strength. At last these adversaries overwhelmed her. And it appeared that she lost the war. But did she? I see a host of victories that she has won!

For one thing-she has won our admiration-because even if she lost the war, we give her credit for her bravery on the battlefield. And we give her credit for the courage and pride and hope that she used as her weapons as long as she could. We shall remember not her death, but her daily victories gained through her kindnesses and thoughtfulness, through her love for family and friends, for animals and books and music, for all things beautiful, lovely and honorable. We shall remember not her last day of defeat, but we shall remember the many days that she was victorious over overwhelming odds. We shall remember not the years we thought she had left, but the intensity with which she lived the years that she had.