Eulogy by Rio

Written by: Meghan Nadorff, sister of Ashley

"We are here today to remember and honor my sister, Ashley. To try to sum up who she was in only a few words seems impossible because she was so much. So full of life and energy. So ready to at any moment throw you a curveball. She had a spark of chaos inside of her in sometimes the best way.

As a child, Ashley was nothing short of a whirlwind. She was silly, hyperactive and only had one setting: fullspeed ahead. She could turn the most ordinary of moments into something funny -- even when she shouldn't. And when she would land herself in trouble part of you could only shake your head and laugh because that's how she was. Who she was. She had a light about her that made life a little more unpredictable but we all knew it was going to be a lot more interesting.

Life was not always kind to her and she faced struggles that many of us could not know or understand. Addiction took hold of her and despite all the love and support in the world it was not a battle she could win. And yet, that battle does not define her. As we both grieve and celebrate her today, let us remember her kindness. Let us remember the ways that she cared, with such fire in her soul. She had enormous compassion for others, even when she was not capable of holding any aside for herself.

She was strong. She faced many obstacles in her life but when they were things she truly wanted to overcome, she would conquer it like a challenge. It was no longer simply a hurdle she had to overcome. She would burn down all things in her path to be free of it. She had a unique, fiery resilience that was all her own.

She reminds me of the weather, sometimes. Trying to predict what she may or may not do was just not reasonable. She marched to the beat of an entirely different instrument. She wasn't perfect. None of us are. But what she was -- what she will *always* be -- is loved. By me. By all those who knew her and those lives she touched in ways both big and small. Her story ended much too soon, but I believe she is at peace now, free of all the pain and struggles that weighed her down.

I will miss her dimpled smile. Her sweet laugh. Her wild ideas and the slightly helterskelter way she saw the world. I will miss the deep way she loved the people who loved her and the easy way she loved and connected with people and animals alike. I will miss the way she could make any situation a little less heavy. I will miss her creative spirit and poetic soul. Most of all, I will miss her. I am sure all of us will. All of us, in our love and memories of her will carry her with us until we meet again.

Rest easy now, Ashley. You are and always will be so very loved."