Marjorie was my older sister’s friend from college, who became like family to me and my middle sister, too. I remember when all 4 of us ended up living together in California, shortly after Heather and Marjorie graduated college. Lisa and I were still college age, and we were renting a house, and working at the same company, Marjorie as receptionist. I was a junior secretary of sorts, and I remember often having to tiptoe out to this large, cold, echoe-y reception room where Marjorie was plunked in the middle of this huge round mahogany desk and retrieve pink message slips for my boss and others. Marjorie always looked relieved and delighted to see me, as she was quite isolated in this outside area, so I would find many reasons to go “visit” her! We were all fish out of water in a very corporate landscape, and found many good laughs to share later at night. Every night, in fact, my “sisters” and I would find ourselves in tears laughing about the days misadventures, and then plan for our dreamed about weekends that seemed to take forever to arrive as we worked 9-5! We were out in the world for the first time together, sort of becoming grown ups, but we still had the awkward enthusiasm of kids trying to navigate the ups and downs of life. It was like a fun girlfriends sleepover party mixed with counseling sessions and wondering where our lives would take us. I remember we were all animal lovers, but somehow we had inherited as part of our rental agreement, this really large, unfriendly cat named Jenny. We were tasked to feed her several times a day, but it was at our own peril. I think it was Marjorie who probably was brave enough to feed her the most, bracing herself for the dreaded paw swat we received when Jenny was angry she wasn’t being fed whatever was apparently on the menu in her feline mind. We never could figure out the cat’s illogical behavior, but we loved and fed her anyway. The lesson we all learned in unconditional love surely was grounded in that experience. And Marjorie’s sense of universally loving all around her was always like a breath of fresh air, a reminder of the healing power of love and lightness. It has been a great honor this past year to work with Marjorie as a book reviewer, when she offered up this unexpected opportunity to me that has become a true joy. John and family, you must all know what a beacon of light and love you were to her and how she will continue to cherish you all forever! With love, Stefanie