Valerie

Well, I have some sad news today. My oldest sister, Valerie, passed away after fighting cancer for two years. She died on Monday and we attended her funeral on Friday in Pendleton, Oregon. When I told Jannika that Aunt Valerie had died, she said, "Mom, remember that if we get married in the temple we can see people again that died?" I just cried and hugged her close to me. I am so thankful for the gospel.
Valerie was a wonderful sister and when her family lived in Castle Dale when I was in High School, we used to talk a lot. We still had a good relationship when they moved but it was a little bit harder because of the distance. But whenever we talked on the phone we could just pick up where we left off. Our family does have a great tradition of writing a family letter every few months and keeping up to date on each other's lives. Valerie not only included news of her family but also her thoughts, feelings and insights, especially about the gospel. It is so wonderful that our family has these writings as a tribute to her life. She had a positive attitude through her treatments and had an ever firm testimony of the gospel. She was a great example to me. My only regret is that I didn't connect with her one-on-one as much as I should have. I guess it is a lesson to me to connect more with the people that mean the most to me. I love you, Valerie, and I will miss you.