Thank you all for gathering here today to remember my mom and celebrate her life. I am her younger daughter Brooklyn and I want to share just a tip of the iceberg into who she was and what she meant to me.

From a young age, I knew I won the mom lottery — when she baked my whole class cupcakes shaped like mini hamburgers for April Fools Day, or when she helped me dye parts of my hair lime green when I was in fourth grade. When I was in middle school she even gave me permission to say “the occasional hell, shit, or damn” because that’s what her mom let her do.

I thought my mom was the coolest and that she could do anything. She was my favorite cook, singer, and artist. She could build things and play video games with me. I don’t think there was anything I thought she couldn’t do.

One day I learned that sea turtles lay their eggs on the shore of beaches and then go back go the ocean, which meant that baby sea turtles never get to meet their mom. I cried and cried so hard because ... Read morethe thought of never knowing a mom, was a terrible fate.

As I grew up, I realized I was even luckier than I thought for having my mom. She was my best friend and role model. She did everything she could for me and my sister, often being selfless to a fault. Every day, she showed me how much she loved me by letting me be myself and making safe spaces for my friends to be themselves. She loved being a mom to anyone who needed it. She loved every one and every one loved her.

She was the kind of person that strangers at the grocery store would just walk up to her and start telling her about their life. She would always come home with funny stories of random people and wonder what about her made people do that.

But it’s because she couldn’t help but exuding her warm, genuine, and joyful energy that anyone could sense. Me and my mom share the middle name “Joy” and I strive to emulate all the wonderful qualities in my her that I admire.

She taught me so much and showed me there’s nothing I can’t do. I’m not sure how I’m going live without her and all her terrible jokes and the advice that only moms can give. I miss her so much, but I’ll see her every day. In lady bugs and spring robins. In polka dots and snowman decorations. And in the good kind of ice that crunches in your mouth when you chew it.

I hope you all hold memories of my mom close to your heart as well and cherish them as much as I do. Read less

Thank you all for gathering here today to remember my mom and celebrate her life. I am her younger daughter Brooklyn and I want to share just a tip of the iceberg into who she was and what she meant to me.

From a young age, I knew I won the mom lottery — when she baked my whole class cupcakes shaped like mini hamburgers for April Fools Day, or when she helped me dye parts of my hair lime green when I was in fourth grade. When I was in middle school she even gave me permission to say “the occasional... Read more hell, shit, or damn” because that’s what her mom let her do.

I thought my mom was the coolest and that she could do anything. She was my favorite cook, singer, and artist. She could build things and play video games with me. I don’t think there was anything I thought she couldn’t do.

One day I learned that sea turtles lay their eggs on the shore of beaches and then go back go the ocean, which meant that baby sea turtles never get to meet their mom. I cried and cried so hard because the thought of never knowing a mom, was a terrible fate.

As I grew up, I realized I was even luckier than I thought for having my mom. She was my best friend and role model. She did everything she could for me and my sister, often being selfless to a fault. Every day, she showed me how much she loved me by letting me be myself and making safe spaces for my friends to be themselves. She loved being a mom to anyone who needed it. She loved every one and every one loved her.

She was the kind of person that strangers at the grocery store would just walk up to her and start telling her about their life. She would always come home with funny stories of random people and wonder what about her made people do that.

But it’s because she couldn’t help but exuding her warm, genuine, and joyful energy that anyone could sense. Me and my mom share the middle name “Joy” and I strive to emulate all the wonderful qualities in my her that I admire.

She taught me so much and showed me there’s nothing I can’t do. I’m not sure how I’m going live without her and all her terrible jokes and the advice that only moms can give. I miss her so much, but I’ll see her every day. In lady bugs and spring robins. In polka dots and snowman decorations. And in the good kind of ice that crunches in your mouth when you chew it.

I hope you all hold memories of my mom close to your heart as well and cherish them as much as I do. Read less