ForeverMissed
Large image
Stories

Share a special moment from Lolly's life.

Write a story

Our family celebration of life

April 23, 2012

Lolly,

Today (Apr 23) is your birthday.  As we discussed, I took our girls and their families to Hawaii to have our family “Celebration of Life” for you.  There have been a few snafus, especially when dealing with two infants and a toddler, but we are having a good time.  I went out to “our beach” this morning at sunrise to, yet again, say goodbye; I appreciate the aurora in the clouds when I finished.  Thanks for 40 wonderful years and the memories.  Amo te, cum toto corde et anima mei. 

Greg.

Bangkok Days

March 8, 2012

We were expatriates in Bangkok with Greg, Lolly, Michelle and Kim. Our Kim was in the same grade as Kim at ISB and Lolly and I volunteered together many days at the school. She was always such a quiet force with a big heart and smile. When the Hoerners moved to Singapore, Lolly passed on her Girl Guide (Girl Scouts) responsibilities to me and and I soon found myself the new Commissioner of Girl Guides. We next met up with the Hoerners unexpectedly in a campground in New Zealand as both families were on holiday traveling the island in opposite directions! Truly it's a small world! We never missed a Christmas card and neither did Lolly as we continued to travel. Our hearts go out to Greg, Michelle, Kim and their lovely families. We all miss you, Lolly.

Choc Chip Cookies

March 1, 2012

I still cannot make chocolate chip cookies like Lolly.  She gave us a plate with the recipe on when we left Greece in 1981.  Lolly gave me a one to one cookery demonstration in my kitchen in England  and still they are not as good as hers!!! Every time we met Lolly there was always a box of chocolate chip cookies for us to take away to eat – even when it was the last thing she wanted to do in October during her treatment -she had made some chocolate chip cookies for us to eat on our holiday.  Thank you Lolly – I will keep trying to make them.

Miss you, Love Sarah xx

Friendship

February 24, 2012

'Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.'
 (George Eliot)

We have known Lolly (and Greg) since we worked for the same company in Athens, Greece in 1979. We have watched our respective families grow up and have visited with each other in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, San Diego, and numerous places and times in Seattle and in England. We have come to love and cherish Lolly over those years. In all that time and all those many visits we have never seen her other than calm and serene, a truly wonderful mother, wife and friend. We loved the joy she had with her grandchildren; it was tangible. Although she has gone to better place nothing can fill the hole she has left or take away the beauty and fun of knowing her.

May She Rest in Peace and Pray for Us.

Mike and Sarah
 

   
  

Memories of Lolly...

February 24, 2012

It was the fall of 1969.  For two quarters I was temporarily “marooned” in Lander Hall at the UW.  My next-door neighbor turned out to be Greg Hoerner, with whom I quickly struck up a friendship.  Soon thereafter I had the privilege and delight of meeting “Miss Lolly.”  I remember the many times Greg and I would drive in his Rambler (?) from Lander Hall to the sorority where Lolly lived.

It became part of our routine that I would get out of the car, usher Lolly in, and then get back into the car.  Greg always touched Lolly on the leg and said, “How’re you doing, Miss Lolly?”  I can still recall the smell of Lolly’s perfume, Shalimar, when she got into the car. 

Even then I knew I had met a special woman and a special couple.  Lolly was beautiful not just on the outside.  She had special qualities that made her beautiful on the inside.  Lolly was warm, caring, loving, and possessed of a great sense of humor. 

Greg and Lolly were married in the summer of 1971.  I would have attended the wedding had I not been heading off to study in the Soviet Union.  Ever since that time I have kept in my collection of special memories a picture from the wedding.  On the back side, Greg wrote:  The quality of this picture isn’t quite up to your quality standards, but the idea is still present.  Lol and I are very happy, and I just hope if and when you decide to join the ranks, you’ll be as fortunate.” 

After the UW, I didn’t see Greg and Lolly again until Thanksgiving of 1977.  They were kind enough to invite me join them for a wonderful holiday.  On this visit I saw yet another dimension of Lolly, the hostess.  It was such a delight to see Lolly and Greg after the passage of so many years.

I did not see Greg and Lolly again for the better part of twenty years.  Greg quickly moved up the corporate ladder at Abbott.  Lolly, his best friend, went with him to Athens, Thailand, and beyond.  I know how much her devotion to Greg and their children meant.  It was not easy living thousands of miles from home and hearth.  Lolly gave form and substance to all of their lives. 

We next met up sometime around the mid-nineties, when my daughter, Ari, and I visited Greg, Lolly and the girls in San Diego.  A few years later we visited them again, this time in Gig Harbor.  Lolly was such a gracious hostess.  Ari still talks about the experience.  We all saw each other a few years ago when Greg and Lolly were in Longmont, Colorado, visiting Greg’s brother.  Lolly looked radiant and she was clearly enjoying the benefits of being an empty nester. 

Words cannot express how much I will miss “Miss Lolly.”  Our friendship has represented an unbroken chain of continuity and warmth for over forty years.   

Locales

February 19, 2012

WE TRAVELLED THE WORLD FOR 30 YEARS IN THE U S Army,as did Lolly & Greg, in their profession ,so we had many neat conversations . May we all appreciate every day  given us,and enjoy family & friends.

February 18, 2012

I met Lolly in 1962 when she moved to Spokane from Chicago and my family moved from Seattle, so we had something in common right away.

We were best friends in seventh and eighth grade when we went to Assumption Catholic School, and we remained good friends throughout our high school years at Marycliff.  I met Greg in 1962 too, but he was one of those (males), and not only did we not know him, we didn’t want to! 

I have included a picture of our 8th grade class so you can have a look at how cute both Lolly and Greg were at that age. (I’m the tall one in the very middle.) I have also included a picture of our grade school graduation with the three friends Lolly and I always hung out with. Mindy, Lolly, Mary, Terry and Kathy, we called ourselves the Fab Five (Beatles reference intended). Those doilies on our heads were from the old days when girls always had to have their heads covered when going into the Catholic Church.

In high school Lolly was pretty busy. She was a cheerleader for the Pep Club (pic) cheering on the team from Gonzaga Prep School, the boys school where Greg went. She was a finalist in the Junior Miss of Spokane pageant (pic) and a model representing Marycliff (pic) at the Crescent (Macy’s).

What else can I tell you? Lolly was a stunning beauty that all the boys had an eye on. My brother absolutely drooled over her! I’ve included a couple of her high school pictures so you can see just how she matured. The colored picture is as a freshman and the other is her senior picture. You can see just how she developed into the beauty she was.

Lolly had the kind of beauty that went way beyond her looks. She was very intelligent, compassionate and a wonderful friend. I’d tell you some of the stories about how we got in trouble, but we were good Catholic girls and didn’t get caught doing much wrong. It wasn’t worth the wrath of our parents or the nuns that taught us.

Once Lolly and Greg got together I heard all the stories about what worked and what didn’t work in their relationship. I also put up with her angst when they briefly broke up, but that didn’t last too long. They were meant for each other, and they knew it.

Once out of high school we didn’t keep up with each other much. I once visited the palatial trailer they lived in and another time to their house in the Seattle area. The house was cute! It was only because Lolly did a great job of hunting me down where I lived that we kept up communication – Christmas cards almost every year. 

Lolly was a gift in my life and I treasure her memory.

 

GD Seafood Dinner 2005

February 18, 2012

At Uncle Mike and Aunt Monya's for the GD Seafood dinner with Grandpa Jack.    Wonderful time with the whole family there...even our family from somewhere over the sea!

 

Pillow forts

February 18, 2012

Mom loved being a Grandma and I loved seeing Mom as a Grandma.  One of my favorite memories of her is building forts out of couch cushions and blankets with Kate.  They were both having a ball, and Mom built some great forts.  She also told Kate stories about how she and Rick (her brother) used to build forts out of pillows and blankets during 'nap-time' when they were little, and how they thought they were so sneaky because they weren't napping.

Share a story

 
Add a document, picture, song, or video
Add an attachment Add a media attachment to your story
You can illustrate your story with a photo, video, song, or PDF document attachment.