Aunt Jan

This is a picture of my mom and two aunts. They are so beautiful! My Aunt Jan is the one on the right, in the red. She had been fighting cancer since last July and passed away last Thursday. She was ready to go and I am so glad her suffering is over.

I wanted to share the memories of Jan that I told my family about on the day of her funeral. She was such a fun-loving lady!

Every year in August, all the girls on my mom's side of the family has a "Girls Night Out", either in Salt Lake or Park City where we go shopping for the weekend and all stay together in a hotel or condo. It's a very important and special tradition that we all look forward to. Once, when I was probably around 11, we were hanging out at the hotel before leaving to go to dinner and I heard Jan calling for me. "Julia! Come here, I need you!" So, I went to find her and there she was... going to the bathroom on the toilet. I was disgusted and ran out and she just laughed and laughed. She didn't need a dang thing, she just knew I would think she was gross.

Another time, my family and hers went camping up in Sun Valley, Idaho. This was my first and only memory of going fishing. My old stepdad, Rick, took me out on a little boat. I don't even remember if we caught anything, but I remember I painted a picture on a rock of us fishing. ANYWAY, my other memory of this trip was walking out of my tent in the morning and finding the most gigantic potato I've ever seen in my life, waiting for me with a note on it that said it was "From the Potato Fairy". (Most people who know me know I've always LOVED potatoes. And Jan knew it, too.)

I hope I can always remember the lessons I learned from Jan: to have fun, to laugh, to make others laugh, and to live your life doing the things you really love. She was such a wonderful aunt and I'll miss my "Potato Fairy".