Julie Sokley, as everyone, lived her life in chapters and
the chapters I was part of include Iowa State University; Libertyville; Florida
Years; Georgia Years; Dallas Years; and Recent History.
It was at Iowa State,
as Cyclones, that we met. Specifically, it was in my fraternity house and more
specifically it was in Dan’s room soon after the two of them met. She was just about
the most adorable thing, and I knew she made my best friend from high school happy.
Julie graduated a semester after me and as circumstance would have it, she
moved to Libertyville, IL where I had graduated from high school. She rented a
house with another friend of mine and she dove headfirst into becoming the
powerhouse she was destined to be while Dan was in Florida training for his
first job. This gave me some time to get to know Julie and it was obvious from
the beginning watching her set up her first home office that she was going to
be an incredible asset to whatever company she would land with in the future. I
took my college degree and was parking cars, running errands for others, and
doing odd jobs to survive while she hit the ground running with complete authority
and confidence. That confidence would never change.
When Dan was officially assigned to his Florida territory, the time came
for Julie to move there as well. We packed up her Nissan Pulsar and headed
south. It was an easy trip except for the keys we locked in her car at one rest stop!
It tested our patience for sure until we found success with a hanger borrowed
from a long-haul truck driver. That was the beginning of Julie’s Florida years. After that, we were all on separate paths for a few years except for one great trip to
Puerto Rico compliments of Computer Associates. Since both Dan and Julie were successful
stars at CA and earned reward trips, I and my cousin were their “plus ones.” A
fitting happenstance since Julie and Dan met because I was in Dan’s fraternity
and Julie was a sorority sister of my cousin Mary Anne. But it wasn’t until
their move to Atlanta that we started our Thanksgiving Years.
With me living in Chicago and the Sokleys in Atlanta, the opportunities
to get together were few but somehow a Thanksgiving tradition started. I would
regularly make my way to Georgia for the holiday. Occasionally I would get
there early enough to go shopping with Julie at Harry’s Market and those few
days were nothing but laughter, catching up, wine, food, and friends especially
since each year included other Thanksgiving orphans without a place to go.
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t too long after Julie’s jobs took her family to
Dallas that I was transferred to Atlanta. It seemed we were destined to always
be miles apart.
But the Thanksgiving tradition endured at least a couple
more years with me now making the trek from Atlanta to Dallas for the holiday.
It was during these trips where I got to witness the incredible job both Julie
and Dan were doing with their children and how much they loved Caley and Trevor.
Favorite memories include the kids collecting acorns in Dallas so the squirrels
would have their own Thanksgiving bounty only to have one of the guests think
they were for him. They were not, and his reaction to eating them left everyone
in tears. I’ll also always remember one movie night at their home where we were
introducing the kids to Monty Python. Not being sure they
would understand the humor, but realizing they got enough to spend the rest of
my visit pretending to knock coconuts together as we galloped wherever we went.
Julie and I then grew apart for several years, as often
happens. Forget the kids…divorce is hardest on the friends! If not for social
media, we would have been completely isolated. There was the occasional “like”
but not much give and take. There was just enough that we remained aware of
each other only on the edges of our lives. That was until I opened a new
business.
About 4 years ago, I opened a Popcorn business in Atlanta.
Just a local mom and pop shop. As with all new small business, getting started was
a struggle with lots of new lessons to be learned. It was here that Julie saw
the opening to reengage. She saw a chance to help, and she took it by performing the
simple act of buying Popcorn. She bought it for work, for Christmas gifts, and
even for her family’s summer vacation in Okoboji. We then saw each other for
the first time in a long time at a family wedding in Atlanta, and I was so looking
forward to seeing her again this summer at her own son’s nuptials. But life, unfortunately,
had other plans.
I’m generally a silver lining and glass half full kind of a
guy, but I’ll admit it has been tough with Julie’s sudden departure. The solace
I take is that she did lead one hell of a life in the all-too-short amount of
time she spent on this earth, and the legacy of Trevor and Caley is one that
will continue to honor her for many years to come. May you rest in peace. You
will be missed by so many.
