Karen Parkinson
Cary and family -- sending you my love and sympathy. Elizabeth was a dear friend growing up who made a profound impact on my life. She encouraged me as I learned to do handwork, we spent countless hours in orchestra and on orchestra tour buses, she gave me the chicken pox and was there when I fell off my bike and got the huge scar on my elbow. Her quick wit and positive attitude made her always fun to be around. She instituted "TDN" - Talent Development Nights - where we worked on handwork projects, baked and delivered cookies, did aerobic workouts, made up silly poems, and perfected our movie watching skills.
The strongest tribute I can give is the memory of a day as teenagers when I was making a joke about someone and encouraged her to join in. She gently said, "I think laughing at other people may seem funny to us, but it is actually not very kind. Karen, I think we can be better than that. Let's try to be funny without putting other people down." And that sums up my life experience with Elizabeth - being in her presence always made me want to be a better, kinder person -- having plenty of fun in the process.
How grateful I am for such an amazing friend!