Julie Pinkston

I clicked on Devon's blog last weekend---just checking, hopefully, to see if she had posted one last entry since her poignant entry "500 Miles". I couldn't believe what I saw instead: an incredible bouquet of loving tributes from her friends, colleagues, and students! It was as if the seeds of friendship Devon had sown in so many hearts had sprouted overnight from all the tears shed for her and blossomed into a beautiful garden!

As someone who likes to garden, I have observed this phenomenon after a good soaking rain and it confirms my belief that much goes on unseen that we have little control over. I remembered how after her second surgery last summer I tried to help Devon start a garden, bringing her a pot, soil and seeds for radishes, nasturtiums and sunflowers. I see now how much she already knew about planting seeds---in human hearts and minds.

Devon is just a few months younger than my older daughter, Jennifer, and they played together often as young children. She was the youngest and smallest cousin for a few years, but it was evident very early that Devon was a force to be reckoned with! The strong wills of both her grandmothers showed up in Devon! I would watch her playing in the crowd of cousins as a small child. Tiny Devon would focus her blue eyes intently on finding an opening, then launch herself into the the midst of things with fierce determination, laughing with gusto at being part of the action.

We were disappointed when Devon and her family moved away to Fresno, but when the girls were in their early teens, I took a job transfer to Fresno so my family also moved there. It isn't easy when you are a teenager needing your own space, but I never heard Devon complain about having to share her house with me and my two girls for a few months. (Maybe it helped that once in a while Aunt Julie would cook a somewhat edible meal!)

As a teen, Devon showed the same focus and determination I had seen in her as a small child, exceeding expectations in school and sports---in spite of life being often rearranged at home. Although she otherwise seemed quite independent and self-confident, the social acceptance and comaraderie of her close circle of friends was very important to her, providing a much needed balance of youthful fun and establishing connections she would rely on for years to come.

Devon graduated and left Fresno and I didn't see her much for a few years, but had news of her college success, her stay in Spain, and her marriage to Noureddin.

After I moved back "home" to So Cal in 2004, I saw Devon more frequently--at family birthdays and holidays usually. One family Christmas 2 years ago, I watched this poised and lovely young woman across the room, enthusiastically playing games with her younger cousins and laughing uproariously (her infectious laugh!) It struck me that not only had Devon become a mature adult member of society with a responsible job, a college degree, and loving husband, but she seemed to have selected the best attributes of various family members and role models--parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, etc, and incorporated them along with her own unique personality into someone who gave back her very best in full measure to the people she was with, young and old. Her grandmothers would both have been proud of her---getting together with family, playing games, talking, laughing, taking pictures... just enjoying life to the fullest! I was very happy for my young niece, who had done so much in so few years. Devon was so many things to so many people: a rising star, an angel, a precious flower, bright, beautiful, courageous, determined, devoted, loving wife, daughter, granddaughter, friend, teacher.

We could list all the adjectives and all the nouns and then start on the verbs in talking of Devon. I am more of an observer, but Devon was definitely a person of action. I can hear her saying---not sure if I remember or if I'm projecting what I need to hear---"Just Do It, Don't worry whether you have it right or what people will think, Just Say It!" Definitely Devon would tell us: "Go, See the World, Reach Out to people, Smile, Laugh, Love life, Love each other every day you are given, for you don't know how many days you will have.

One can not comprehend why someone young, healthy and vibrant like Devon should get brain cancer or why our medical system couldn't come up with a cure for her. She fought the tumor with such amazing courage and determination. It was unthinkable that our Devon couldn't persuade the experts to do what needed to be done to help her. We all wanted to believe if anyone could beat the odds, Devon would. I watched her fight back from three surgeries, chemo, radiation and more chemo, wanting to do more, wishing I knew more that might help her. But we ran out of time and her body just couldn't come back anymore. It is so very hard to say goodbye when it seems you've just barely said hello. But I knew I had to be there to witness her leaving us last Friday nite.

Devon has done her 500 miles, and left us to carry her spirit forward in our lives. Thank you, Ruthie and all of you for thinking of this way to honor Devon and keep her memory alive. It is especially appropriate for someone who embraced technology and lived connectedness!

Thank you, dear Devon, for all you gave to each of us. My heart is with Noureddin, Diana, Lou, Cory, Poppy, Asako, Alan, Marla, Jason and all of Devon's family and friends as you grieve her loss. We will miss you.
With all my love,

Aunt Julie