One of Ellie’s best friends from Pennsylvania, Deanna Junod, intended to speak at her service but was worried she wouldn’t be able to get through it. She sent Darcie and I what she had written, and wanted to share it. Thank you Deanna for sharing.
Ellie and I met in 3rd grade after a small conflict turned into a lifelong friendship. Without going into details about our 3rd grade drama, we ended up in the guidance counselor’s office together. I remember sitting there with Ellie next to me and we both started crying and we both apologized to each other. We hugged each other and decided at that moment that we didn’t want to hurt each other. We wanted to be best friends, and we were. We built a connection that I have never shared with anyone else before.
Ellie gifted me with so many qualities. She gave me confidence. Even though we were weird and would laugh at everything when nothing was funny, I was never embarrassed of who was watching when I was with her. Ellie never let me feel embarrassed even when I should have. I was never embarrassed of stuffing our cow onesies with pillows to make us fat and then rolling around down the hill on her front lawn making a music video to cow noises because we did it together. I knew I didn’t care about losing anything when I would do it with her because we would do it together and it comforted me to have her with me. I knew how many people judged us for talking in high pitched voices, and the instagram videos we posted doing gymnastics, or for collecting dum dum wrappers just so we could fold them together and build a really long rope. She taught me not to care what other people think.
I promise, I would never be seen with anyone else doing the crazy things I did with her. Ellie brings out the happiest, best version of me. She brings out the best in everyone. She always makes people smile. She is sweet and makes everyone feel comfortable around her and not judged. She makes you feel welcome and loved. Everyone who knew her loved her. She brought so much joy into everyone's life. Everytime I would introduce Ellie to someone new, everyone wanted to be bestfriends with ellie.
Our friendship quickly turned into a sisterhood. Ellie and I have matching scars on our wrists and ankles. We turned the treadmill up to the highest setting and after I fell and scraped my skin off, she did the same so I wouldn’t hurt alone.
I remember hearing that Ellie was moving to Seattle, and I thought it was the hardest thing I would ever have to hear about. Ellie let me practically live with her. I remember my mom bought me a separate tooth brush that I could leave at her house so that it was easier for when I slept over.
She came home for 2 weeks the summer after she moved. Just 2 weeks, but those were the 2 best weeks in my year. Those 2 weeks were full of spontaneous adventures that she motivated. We had chicken fights in the pool, lit doritos on fire, we jumped in a moonbounce and made weird shadows with our hands from the flashlights on our phones. One day, we even walked across the entire town from Kaitlin’s house to my house, just because. There was rarely ever a reason for our stunts but everything was enjoyable. Ellie has the biggest imagination. Her mind was filled with so many brilliant ideas. She could always come up with a way to turn anything into an adventure. She filled our friend group with love and she brought us together.
Last time I was here, we went out to eat right after She and Miss. Darcie picked me up from the airport. I remember Ellie and I laughing about something that was probably so completely unfunny. Miss. Darcie said she loved to see us speak as if we had our own language. She said she loved that we could practically read each other's minds and we could turn anything into a new inside joke. I remembered this moment because it made me realize how lucky I am to have Ellie. Having Ellie in my life is the best thing. I always convinced myself I had a twin sister. Ellie taught me how to make fun out of anything. She showed me how to smile
when there was absolutely nothing to smile about and laugh at things we probably shouldn’t have. When we were bored because my parents forced us to go to church, we sat and laughed at a pamphlet to pass the time. Nothing was funny about that pamphlet, but our laughs would just bounce off each other and get progressively louder. Everyone thought we were crazy because it was impossible to understand what was even funny. Just her mere presence was enough to make something so boring be the most fun thing in the world.
I hated doing school, but in middle school we had one class together. It was an engineering class that only came 2 periods a week. It was the only class I would ever look forward to. We would cut up triangles out of cardboard and call them “acute” triangles because we thought they were “cute.” I remember one day in her art class, her ceramic art project blew up in the kiln. She was the only person in the grade to have her piece blown up and the teacher used her as an example for what not to do. She had to go to art class during lunch everyday to recreate her project. She was never upset about it though. She would laugh to me about how she was the special one who got to spend extra time with the art teacher. She said she was excited to be the one remembered in the art class and how she was becoming a historic figure.
Ellie has always been the most creative person. That is one of my favorite qualities of hers. When we hangout, she always had something planned, whether it was a craft, an unusual quest, or some spontaneous activity that would never fail to entertain us. We could be entertained by anything. One time, we found stuffed animals outside at a shopping center. We brought them home and did surgery on them so that they each swapped limbs. She could turn anything and everything into something to do. I always took after Ellie. I looked up to her, not as if she was older than me, but in a way where I admired everything she did and I was captivated by how brilliant she was. I knew she was there for me and that I could count on her for anything.
Ellie could do anything she put her mind to. She would look at videos of girls tumbling on instagram and say “I want to do that.” She would go outside and practice everyday until she learned. Ellie was an impeccable gymnast and became exactly who I wanted to be. Ellie is tough. I remember when Ellie fell on her hand when we were doing gymnastics. She complained about how it was swelling and turning purple and it hurt really bad. It was not until after we spent the whole day at the mall before she went to the doctors to find out she had a broken hand.
Ellie is the most caring. She always puts others first and spread happiness. She was always loved for being kind and having a beautiful big smile. Ellie is the most tender person I know. She would do anything for someone else. She would give up anything for someone she didn’t know. She was always the most present person in my mind. She could make anyone else invisible. She lit up a room with her bubbly energy.
I wish I could describe how beautiful Ellie is. But no matter how much I say about her, nothing will ever truly represent the depth of my love for her and our friendship. I can not put our entire relationship into a few words and I can not express how much she is loved. To express what I have in memory can not be expressed in reality because it is deeper in my heart. Ellie will forever be in my heart.
8
Share with others
