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It is with a very heavy heart and deep sadness that we would like to let everbody know that Andrea passed away last night after complications from emergency intestinal surgery. She was a loving mother and wife and touched so many of us in a profound and meaningful way. We will always remember her loving embrace, her beautiful smile, her sunny optimism and her constant support of everyone she knew and loved.
Thank you to all of you who have cherished and loved her over her lifetime. She will be in our hearts and we will love her always.
Jean-Guy, David and Mathieu.
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Rhoda Basil (White)
I join my old classmates in mourning Jill's passing. .At the 50th reunion, what a force of generous, energetic thoughtulness she injected into our too-short visit! We'd looked forward to a future visit in Montreal. She characteristically extended an eager offer to be our tour guide in a city she so obviously loved in her adoptive country. I'm stunned that such a vibrant personality should have left us all so soon. Mes condoleances a toute la famille Rancourt ainsi que la famille Strom.
Shelley Spencer (Gilligan)
I was so terribly said to learn of Jill's death. We had a great visit when she was here after her mom had died.
We had lost touch for many years and it was so much fun to hear about her life, her family and all the places she had traveled. She was still skiing and teaching yoga. She was amazing and I am so grateful that I got to spend some time with her. She was such a good friend all through middle school and high school. Have wonderful memories of being with her up at Tahoe and many overnights at the Strom's. She will be missed.
Beth Rockwell (Barnes)
I am so very shocked and sorry - condolences to her family and friends. George and I enjoyed some crazy silly moments with Jill at the PHS 50th Reunion - she was a free spirit and loved life and those around her for sure. RIP, dear friend.
Susie Landis (Cagen)
So so sad to hear about Jill's passing. Our parents were best friends, our older sisters' were the same age and close friends. Our lives were intertwined for as long as I can remember... birthday parties, vacations...So many memories. I am sorry that we didn't stay in touch but I am sure she would have appreciated knowing how loved she was.Be at peace< Jill. You are on a new journey.
Chris Priday (Huff)
I can't believe Jill's gone and that I won't be able to see her again. We spent a lot of time together from elementary school through high school. I especially remember a slumber party at her family's Park Rd. house, Blue Bird and Camp Fire Girls meetings, sessions at Camp Augusta, spend-the-nights at her family's new house (her mom served white fish in their contemporary diningroom!), times with her family and the Shanes at Tahoe (her dad made blintzs!), Jill as a cheerleader at games, and our walking all the way to each other's houses as if it were nothing. In high school, I remember her as the one with the mature judgement. I was so impressed when she told me that she spoke mostly French with her children and husband in Montreal. I know she helped people in her wellness business because she was always a source of strength for me. And I know she must have been a good mother because her mother always was. I'll remember Jill, and her family, fondly.
Roger Shane
As so many other classmates of Jill have so eloquently stated we all feel a deep and profound loss. Most of you know our families where very close. We had neighboring houses at Tahoe and where luckey enough to spend our summers at the lake. She was one of a kind which she attributes to “Rabbit” ( her dads high school nick name) who wanted a boy but ended up with Jill. She was raised accordingly, no more needs to be said. Rest In Peace Jill.
Ruthie Gasser
Dear Classmates,
I didn't know Jill well, but I just want to share a couple of poems that have been helpful to me when dealing with loss.
“THERE IS NO DEATH”*
Many years ago, I asked a friend
“What is this thing called death?”
My friend answered, “Don’t worry about it.
When the time comes it will be revealed to you.”
This prediction came true in a very simple, Natural and beautiful way.
While walking along the Atlantic Shore, Late in the Fall,
I looked down and There at my feet lay a crab.
I picked it up, turned it over,
But no crab was within.
Just an empty shell.
The only time a crab grows, is after it
Has shed its hard shell.
The crab had outgrown its shell, shed it,
Was growing and swimming happily in the ocean.
As I held this shell in my hand,
The thought came to me “How like death this is!” What we look upon after what seems to be death, The empty, cold and inanimate body or shell,
Is not our loved one, but like the crab
They are going on growing and happy.
Yes, we will miss them, but there is no cause for grief.Grief is often condemnation, or “what might have been”.
We know that our loved one is in the tender care of the Shepherd, and, as the Shunammite woman said,
“All is well.”
*II Kings 4:8-37
(Author unknown)
"There is no death"
Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Pray, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that is always was, let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well.
Harry Scot Holland (1847-1918)
And this verse from a hymn:
O perfect Life, in Thy completeness held,
None can beyond Thy omnipresence stray;
Safe in Thy Love, we live and sing alway
Alleluia! Alleluia!
(Christian Science Hymnal, p. 66:2)
Ruthie
Lucille Lang (Day)
I'm deeply saddened by this news. I enjoyed connecting with Jill at our 50-year reunion.
Gale Harrington (Bitter)
I am so very sad that Jill passed away and as many have noted, Jill was a wonderful person and will be deeply missed. I am glad that I had a chance to reconnect with her at our reunion and was looking forward to seeing her again at our next event. My heart goes out to her loving family and may our fond memories of Jill sustain us all.
Owen Hoskinson
This morning, I was talking with Gale Bitter (Harrington) and she told me of Jill's passing. My reaction was WOW, I cannot believe it! At the reunion, she was the epitome of vitality and the poster girl for healthful living. Additionally, many of her her family members had lived long healthy lives.
Jill was a person I thought would have been one of the last of our class to pass away. In fact, at the reunion, we joked about setting up a "last classmate standing" pool. She was the life of each of our get togethers at the Lafayette Park Hotel during the reunion. She wanted the twenty or so of us staying at the hotel to hire a bus to take us to and from the reunion. Now I wish we had done that as it would have been on more memory. I am so glad that I was able to get to know her better during the reunion. I vividly remember her and Rhoda Basil enjoying themselves at our Sunday breakfast before we all left for home.
It was very clear that Jill enjoyed her life and family immensely. It is such a shock for someone so healthy and full of life to leave us so soon.
We should all remember that there are no guarantees on how many years we have left. If you have friends you want to get together with or places you want to see, don't put it off.
Jill, your classmates will miss you.