On November 2nd of 1995 I met a girl named Lisa Seymour with whom I would very soon find myself completely and totally in love. Becoming engaged and married soon thereafter were some of the best and brightest moments of my life.  

Many things about Lisa attracted me (or better said, grabbed me) at the depths of my soul. One of these magic traits was her complete and total devotion to her family. The way she talked about her parents and brothers, the experiences they shared, the respect they had for each other, made me want to sign-up. The life she had growing up -- I wanted this for OUR children. The love she experienced was what I envisioned when starting a family. 

Lisa is her own person, for sure, but much of what makes her special is due in some part to her amazing mother’s influence. Sharon had the native ability to nurture her children (and ours) with compassion and love. She always treated them as people first, deserving the full respect that any person deserves. She also knew how to show those she met courtesy, grace and an attention that made them feel they were the only one in the room. She knew how to entertain like the best of them, kings and queens and CEOs, as if she was Emily Post and Julia Child combined. By her careful attention to the utmost level and use of civility and manners, she showed those around her that she respected them with courtesy and kindness. It was these and many more traits Sharon passed down to Lisa. 

In all of these things, living with my beloved bride every day, I will continually be reminded of the powerful and loving influence of Sharon Rose Seymour. Her impact on my wife, and our children likewise, will live on. She has made her mark and it will continue, powerfully and lovingly day after day for the rest of our days. I will always love you, Sharon. You and Stephen are a huge driver of my happiness on this earth, and I’m forever grateful to you for that. Please rest in peace, but also hurry back soon. 

Sending you all my love, Michael

I thought of you with love today,
but that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday,
and days before that too.
I think of you in silence
I often speak your name.
All I have are memories,
and your picture in a frame.
Your memory is my keepsake,
with which I'll never part.
God has you in his keeping,
I have you in my heart. 

They say there is a reason,
They say that time will heal,
But neither time nor reason,
Will change the way I feel,
For no-one knows the heartache,
That lies behind our smiles,
No-one knows how many times,
We have broken down and cried.
We want to tell you something
So there won't be any doubt,
You are so wonderful to think of,
But so hard to live without.

 

 You can shed tears that she is gone
 or you can smile because she has lived.



You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back
 or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.



Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
 or you can be full of the love you shared.



You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
 or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.



You can remember her and only that she's gone 
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.



You can cry and close your mind,
 be empty and turn your back

 or you can do what she'd want:
 smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

By Henry Scott-Holland

Death is nothing at all. 
It does not count. 
I have only slipped away into the next room. 
Nothing has happened. 

Everything remains exactly as it was. 
I am I, and you are you, 
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. 
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. 

Call me by the old familiar name. 
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. 
Put no difference into your tone. 
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. 

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. 
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. 
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. 

Life means all that it ever meant. 
It is the same as it ever was. 
There is absolute and unbroken continuity. 
What is this death but a negligible accident? 

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? 
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, 
somewhere very near, 
just round the corner. 

All is well. 
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. 
One brief moment and all will be as it was before. 
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!