Karla Frizler

Devon, I know Thursday, January 28th would've been your 30th birthday. It breaks my heart to think that you left this world at such a young age. But I want to thank you for being such an important part of my life. I am a better person for having known you. Sending much love and aloha out to the cosmos ... and hoping you are at peace.

Diana

Thank you all very much for remembering my daughter. I miss her every single day. I tell my little students lots of stories about her and that helps me keep her ever so much with me. We have very different traditions now for the holidays. Thanksgiving we ate at a restaurant. My wonderful husband, Alan, and I are going away again this year for the Dec. holidays-this time to Cancun and Belize. Poppy is going to be with my brothers, Rick and Dave, in Denver. Missing my mom and Devon is a part of the "new normal" I guess. Sometimes I feel them both with me, encouraging me to be strong and get on with my life. Devon would want all of us to enjoy life to the fullest and treat each other as we would want to be treated. That was her philosophy of life. She expected people to be good to her and they usually were. She loved her friends. I thank you all for being there for her through the good times and the difficult ones. You were all so wonderful when the times got rough. She was so lucky to have such devoted friends.

Hope the holidays are great and you find peace, hope and love.

Carlee Barnes

today a marks a year since she passed. she is still in my thoughts and i still have a good cry at least once a month thinking of her. whenever i see a good sale i flinch to call her...whenever i miss her i go to her blog and read some of her first posts and crack up.

when i think over this year and think about how her life and death have influenced me i realize that it is immeasurable. i feel like i have learned a lot about friendship and the value in it and the value in the celebration of friends, like Devon liked to celebrate - any time she could - any reason she could - it was all a party...one that she couldn't wait to plan! when bryson was first born she was so supportive - she organized all our friends to get gift certificates to restaurants and take-out places and included menus and everything! it was such a help during those first months...she also babysat and helped out any way she could... i missed that with Bodie being born. i also felt a little guilty that here i was with 2 little ones experiencing something she was robbed of.

i have many funny memories of Devon and they pop up in my mind here and there and cause simultaneous waves of joy and sorrow. i miss her because she is no longer here, but without sounding too cheese...she helped change a part of me that needed changing. she helped spawn a lot of change in my life - she influenced me a lot more than she will ever know and i will always remember her for that and always thank her and always remember this day.

i included this last pic because it was such a funny night out - everyone was complaining because we couldn't get into the Sky Room - i just tried to get everyone a drink so they would stop complaining...that night my old band director from high school was playing at this place...anyway - sounds silly but ruthie and devon and i would crack up for many days to come about this night....look at my purse on the table...i still use that purse - and this is from 2006...oh dear...Devon was always trying to get the girls together for a girls night - again any reason to celebrate and any reason to plan something!

i miss my friend. i miss her laugh and her friendship and her planning and her knack for sales and menus and knowing where to go in long beach for anything! i miss her humor and her love for people and her generosity - of herself - her time, her anything you might need without ever asking anything in return. i will continue to honor her and remember her and cry for her and hope that we do meet again someday for a big girls night out!

One Year

Today mark's a year. Every day the treasure box of love and memories gets smaller and easier to carry. But I will carry it for the rest of my life with pride. Today I also think of all of you who love Devon as I do and hope you are surviving the journey. I am with all of you in this day of remembering and honoring Devon.

Sarah Carrade

My fellow wanderlust, Devon.

In the past few months, I have often turned to Devon's blog to remember my dear friend and it has brought me great comfort to see how she touched our lives. In each of the entries, my friendship with Devon was reflected in others' stories. She touched my life in many of the same ways that she touched others.

In Devon, I had friend who shared the same passion for travel and interest in the world. When I first met Devon in Santa Barbara, we were immediately connected by our attempt to learn Spanish (she succeeded!) and our desire to travel. Two girls from the Central Valley, ready to conquer the world! We joked that we were both racing to get European Union passports so we could "live the European life". When she told me she was engaged to Noureddin, I joked with her that she must have been sleeping in our Global Studies classes at UCSB because Morocco wasn't in the European Union! And later, when I emailed her to say I was marrying a Scotsman, her reply was "You won!!".

Over the years and despite thousands of miles in between us, we remained good friends, sharing stories or silly pieces of information. Countless times over the past few months, while adjusting to my new life in Russia, I've stopped to think "Devon would find this hilarious!"

As we begin a new year and Devon's birthday approaches, we can all remember the passion and light Devon brought to our lives. What she taught us about true friendship and living life to the fullest, is something I will never forget about my fellow wanderlust.

The Last Ride

It has been three months now since we lost Devon. I have been unable to put into words anything remotely close to how I've been feeling. This weekend, however, inspired by the Red Devon Daffodils that Julie planted in her honor and are now sprouting up on my balcony, I was inspired to try to describe (with some poetic license and a few miss-sequencing of events!) my experience during Devon's last days. I've posted this on my blog and hope it speaks somewhat for you, too. Ironically, since Devon set this blog up for me and showed me how to use it, I feel guilty for not using it lately. The muse just hasn't been speaking to me. At least I've found the words to give her a little to smile about here at the end of this most horrible of years.

http://tambourineman7.blogspot.com/

We all are seeking our own way to get our arms around the meaning of Devon's loss and move on with it, ever so slowly and carefully. one of my ways is to write about it. My next effort will be to move into a "garden," again an inspiration given to me by Julie. Two days after Devon died, Julie, Jen, Cory, Asako and I went to Descanso Gardens in Pasadena. We found freh air, sunlight, ponds, fish, many beautiful flowers and plants. Jen took a picture of a poem engraved on a bronze plaque. It has been lingering in my mind ever since Julie emailed it to me. I think I can form some feelings around this.

Meanwhile, Asako and I wish you all a Good New Year. We keep talking of all the love and support you've shown for Devon this past year and a half and are permanently grateful. Can't say it enough! Asako will be working in Tokyo January 13 through the 27th. I'll be busy with classes, keeping the house dusted, playing at golf, and growing stronger in mind, body and spirit...I hope!

Love to All,

Lou

Anathea Gordon

Ruthie, thank you so much for the opportunity to express our thoughts and feelings about Devon. If all the people who knew and loved Devon took the opportunity to share their feelings and memories at “the celebration of her life”, we would be there for hours-laughing and crying. I have been blessed to have known Devon since she was a baby, really. Our mothers met when her older brother Cory and I were newborn infants. My earliest memory of Devon was on a trip my family took to visit her family in Clovis. We were hanging out in their apartment, having dinner one night. She must have been pretty young, because, during the dinner preparation she asked “what’s for ‘zert’ mommy”. Chantal and I still talk about how cute that was.
The next time I remember seeing her was on a trip I took up to Santa Barbara for a visit one weekend, it was before her trip to Europe, we had a fun time hanging out at one of the local bars. It was amazing b/c we had such a great time that weekend. It was as if it had only been a week or so (versus the years it had actually been).

I can remember when I got the news about the cancer diagnosis. I was in total shock! I took a trip to Long Beach w/my mom to visit her in the hospital. I think it was the 1st day after her 1st surgery. I had spoken to her on the phone and had asked her if she liked sushi (which she had). When my mom and I entered the hospital room (she had been out of the room at the time for PT or OT) neither one of us knew what to expect. About 10 min later, she walked in (with minimal assistance) w/her walker w/a HUGE smile on her face. We asked how she was feeling, she said “pretty well”. We dined on sushi and Snapple, and painted her finger nails. It was a good visit.

I came out several times to visit her at her Long Beach place (the apt they moved into after the fire). On one occasion, (after the 2nd surgery), we walked across the street to the restaurant for lunch. I remember asking her how she was feeling-physically. She said “pretty well, my balance is off a bit, but ok”. She always had a smile on her face. In typical-strong willed Devon style-she refused any help offered, and we walked across the street for lunch. I think that was the same visit we hung out and watched “American Idol” on the DVR. She was SO excited about the show, she LOVED it. ; ) (which was fun for me to see b/c I wasn’t all that into it). No matter what she was going through (between the cancer and the apartment issues) her spirits were ALWAYS high. Several times I was able to help her out (at least she was nice enough to say I helped J) with her diagnosis. She would ask me about medication regimens or experimental treatment the doctors were looking at and the results of her frequent lab work. Only once did I ever see the effects of the cancer hit her emotionally. On one of my visits in Long Beach (as she worked on her laptop-getting herself back to work so that she could maintain a level of normalcy and her medical insurance), she spoke with her neurologist, who gave her the results of the most recent MRI. Devon cried for just a bit, and then shook it off.

The last time I saw Devon was about 1.5 months or so ago. I went out to Long Beach for one of our lunches, we went to some “Teriaki place” she said was good. The thing that NEVER ceased to amaze me was how GREAT her memory was-even after several brain surgeries. She directed us directly to the restaurant as I drove and got us back, I (half) joked that her memory was better than mine was, and I didn’t even have an excuse. We had a good time talking about our families and the stresses of life. I still can’t believe she’s gone, I’m going to miss her regular blogs and our lunches, her spirit and her smile and her enthusiasm for life and American Idol.

God Bless.