With profound sadness and a heavy heart that I am saying good-bye to you, Laura, right now only sorrow fills my heart …..
To this day, I still could not comprehend the news of your sudden passing. At times, I almost felt that I heard your flip-flopping down the hallway to the copier, your quiet singing of whatever melodies you were in the mood for, or you would just drop in my cube and said “let’s talk”… also remembering our celebrating your birthday Taco Tuesday lunch (rare for you) and you drank Margarita (rare for you) and we had your favorite Lemon Meringue Pie on Thursday in consideration that you were not supposed to work on Friday …….
When I knew you so many years ago, I would never have realized how connected we would be, knew you best after we moved to Lake Forest. Your loyalty to SimSci was unparalleled and it reflected in your passion and quality of work and the respect from people worked with you around the globe. I was not a fan at the beginning but I became a convert after we worked closely together and knew you as a friend. You certainly set me straight and kept me on my toes on many occasions. Well, in turn, you also came into my way of thinking; as you often said, you finance people; we compromised and agreed to disagree. For the ups & downs throughout the many years we remained with the SimSci group, you were one of the constant, our corner stone and the glue. Now we have a void …..
You were the one excel with words, not me …. Now I am just speechless …. No, No, No, No, No. I forgot your exact explanation why “No” to be repeated so many times, remembered only that we sat at Karen’s cube and it did not mean NO for 5 times. Maybe I’ll remember eventually. I heard Tobias said No, No, No the other day. I chuckled and was in tears, thinking that this is your legacy to all of us. You would always be remembered, always …..
You would be greatly missed – your wealth of knowledge, your random wisdom, your quirky sense of humor, your life lesson, your brutal honesty, your fearless outspokenness, your motherly advice, your compassion, the coffee break, the kitchen chat, the long & odd hours online “green” bubble, your singing, and even your mini lecture, your argumentativeness, your sarcasm, your prediction of doom on everything ……
Some of your famous words
It is what it is
This is how it is going to be/work
I am old; I am entitled to say things
WhatSoEver, WhatEver
Don’t get me wrong
Just kidding
Kiddo
It is a joke……
I feel blessed that our paths had crossed for the last 21 years. We shared joy, laughter, fun, happiness, sadness, sorrow, tears, good times, bad times, dance, comradeship, friendship …. You will forever have a place in my heart, right next to Michele ….
Your little Missy, Amy