French Toast
I am sitting here at my desk eating delicious French toast with bacon and thinking of the day. I've been in low moods since the funeral last night and doing everything I can to buck up and move on.
The funeral was beautiful, albeit very LDS. I was asleep for a lot of it. I was able to sit with Margaret, my long time best friends Serena and Wayne's Mom, Stephanie and her husband Shawn and Grace. Their support was amazing.
I learned a lot about Raymond. I learned that he was just as kind and gentle with others and he was with us. The fact that I never heard a bad word from his mouth was supported by his speakers and other family members. To everyone, he was just Raymond, a sweet man. He was an accomplished photographer and his photos can be found on www.laughingfatman.com. I learned how much he loved hockey, especially the Grizzlies, and Q4U.
Stephanie almost took my breath away when she told of how Raymond drove to SUU to find her when she failed to call him when she arrived, as she promised. And her comments about him and us sitting in the garage brewing beer and talking and laughing brought tears to my eyes. I thought the roof would cave when she said beer, but it didn't. She's got some bawls, that one.
I lost it when a trio sang "Danny Boy" and when Stephanie's family friend played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. And I laughed when stories were told about Raymond's trampoline (WWF wrestling with cousins, jumping off the roof, etc), jousting on the Graveyard shift using rolling chairs as shields and Raymond's crutches as jousts, and the love that everyone shared for such an amazing man.
I had been feeling so badly that I had lost touch during the worst days for him, that I couldn't be a comfort. But then I realized something. Raymond did something that hadn't been done in a very long time - he united a group of friends that had lost touch for more than 5 years. That is what Raymond would want - for us to continue keeping in touch to remember him the way he was, and to keep laughing.
The funeral was beautiful, albeit very LDS. I was asleep for a lot of it. I was able to sit with Margaret, my long time best friends Serena and Wayne's Mom, Stephanie and her husband Shawn and Grace. Their support was amazing.
I learned a lot about Raymond. I learned that he was just as kind and gentle with others and he was with us. The fact that I never heard a bad word from his mouth was supported by his speakers and other family members. To everyone, he was just Raymond, a sweet man. He was an accomplished photographer and his photos can be found on www.laughingfatman.com. I learned how much he loved hockey, especially the Grizzlies, and Q4U.
Stephanie almost took my breath away when she told of how Raymond drove to SUU to find her when she failed to call him when she arrived, as she promised. And her comments about him and us sitting in the garage brewing beer and talking and laughing brought tears to my eyes. I thought the roof would cave when she said beer, but it didn't. She's got some bawls, that one.
I lost it when a trio sang "Danny Boy" and when Stephanie's family friend played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. And I laughed when stories were told about Raymond's trampoline (WWF wrestling with cousins, jumping off the roof, etc), jousting on the Graveyard shift using rolling chairs as shields and Raymond's crutches as jousts, and the love that everyone shared for such an amazing man.
I had been feeling so badly that I had lost touch during the worst days for him, that I couldn't be a comfort. But then I realized something. Raymond did something that hadn't been done in a very long time - he united a group of friends that had lost touch for more than 5 years. That is what Raymond would want - for us to continue keeping in touch to remember him the way he was, and to keep laughing.
Raymond Lamar Brown passed away peacefully Sunday March 25, 2007 after a long hard battle with multiple physical problems.
Kathy Worthington 1950 ~ 2007 Kathy Worthington was born Oct. 20, 1950 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She died at her home in Taylorsville on February 22, 2007. The fourth child of six, Kathy grew up in Utah, Arizona and California. Kathy loved school and loved to learn about the world. She discovered her love of languages at the University of Utah. Never one to do anything halfway, Kathy went to Mexico in 1972 to study Spanish. While there, she met and married Rudy Juarez (later divorced) and had two girls: Rita Lucia (Lucy) and Sonia Cristina (Cristy). Kathy also busied herself helping to build a community for the poor, and taught English for three years. Upon her return to the U.S., Kathy's hands were full raising two children and working full time. In 1989 Kathy came out as a lesbian. She immediately immersed herself in the gay community and soon gained celebrity status via her prominent role as a gay rights activist. She organized women's social and support groups, planned political rallies and was on the board of the Utah Stonewall Center in its early days. She founded the Womyn's Community Newsletter in April of 1991, which was published for four years. This influential publication played a pivotal role in creating a cohesive lesbian community in Utah. In 1992 Kathy's heart was utterly won over by Sara Hamblin, the woman whom Kathy described as her "wife, life partner and best friend." The two participated in political rallies, marched in Washington, and were married at "The Wedding," the huge group union ceremony performed at the 1993 March on Washington for gay rights. Kathy and Sara were legally married in Canada in 2003. In their 14 years together they traveled widely, visiting 17 countries as well as much of the U.S. Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. They immediately became experts on the disease. Through their studies and determination, they successfully fought off the disease for 11 years. 
