Remember when u were little, eating was crazy, u spent many times falling asleep, too damn stubborn. I'd give anything to have one minute with u again, to hug, and love. I love and miss u more each day. I remember the day u were born, my little monkey. I pray u r at peace, and r happy. Love forever and always, Mom
So many stories, some good, some not so much. I know Brandy loved and loved hard. Since she was little, she always brought some injured animal, sometimes hungry people, born caretaker. I like to think that rolls downhill and came from me. This is very hard and I want to make sense. Born smiling, she had her professional and natural smile, both could light u up. When she fought, she did that just as hard, again like her mother. She was crazy about her hair, which I was completely jealous of, beautiful, thick tresses, she was always changing it, until she found Locks of Love, started growing, then donating, many times, in honor of her daughter who passed. She loved all animals probably more than some people. But, she loved her husband, Chad and their 4 boys more than life itself, this I guarantee u. Everything was for them. I love u Brandy, miss u, always in my heart.
She started out as our baby and little girl and was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, niece, cousin, and friend. Brandy Marie Slattery Whitaker had many roles to play and juggle. She was a mother to four boys…. Keith Daniel, Chad Michael, Christopher, and Christian Moose. She was a life partner and wife to Chad. When you saw one, you saw the other too. Through much joy and happiness, and trials and tribulations, she was the best person she could be in filling those roles.
I have so many fond memories of her as a little girl…………. playing with her brother Shawn and her cousins, swimming in the backyard pool, going trick or treating together, birthday parties. As she got older, she became accomplished at many crafts and we could always count on a beautiful handmade gift for a birthday or Christmas. I remember her happiness and joy when she married Chad…we laughed and danced and she had all her girls……her mom, her aunts, her girl cousins do a rendition of that Shania Twain song………Any man of mine…. that memory makes us all smile.
Oh the joy she could bring. She had a bit of an Irish temper but she also had a smile that would light up a room. Her laugh was infectious and a Brandy bear hug felt so good. She had a great love for animals and the outdoors and nature. She was what I call a natural woman…she had real beauty that was not painted on.
She experienced sorrows in life that some of us have never known…. the loss of her baby girl broke her heart. The birth of three of her sons afterwards was a blessing for her and her faith that her baby girl was in Heaven with God was unwavering. She was active in the boys’ activities at school as well as their exploits with sports. She loved watching them play baseball and basketball. She loved her sons and wanted more than anything for them to be successful in life.
She had a very big heart and always tried to help others. While having a husband and boys to care for, she made time to assist with the care of her grandmother in her grandma’s illness. She would come from Cold Brook every Friday to care for her grandmother for the day and this was greatly appreciated by her uncles, aunt, and her mom who were given respite on those Fridays. She was a welcome companion during her mom’s weekly chemo trips to Syracuse. She knew how to lighten the mood and make us laugh during those stressful days. She was eager and happy to spend the day at Relay for Life in Whitesboro with her mom selling raffles to help fight her mom’s cancer. She would bring her whole family and enjoyed knowing she was pleasing her mom. She was always right by her husband’s side in both happy and sad times and we know she is with him still as he regains his health. Her generosity and sharing of self with others is well remembered by those who knew her best.
Although we did not plan for Brandy to leave us yet, God had other plans. As we have talked and cried over Brandy the last few days, we picture her with her relatives who have gone before her, especially her father in law Bill and her grandma Mary as Brandy holds her baby girl Brianne once more. I close my eyes and I see her flitting back and forth like a butterfly…..she is busy, busy doing many things. The words I want to say to her now she hears and she says “Oh Aunt Vickie…….I know.”
She left us at God’s calling to her.
Her parents will take comfort surrounded by their other children and her brothers and sister will comfort each other. But you can’t replace one child with another, nor a brother for another, or a sister for another, or a mother for another. Each person is unique as God has made and we know how unique our Brandy was.
Now family and friends need to share all the good memories we have until we get to hug her again. The pain of life for Brandy is gone and only happiness, joy, and peace are with her now.
