Team D Mourns the Loss of an Essential Member

Readers note:  This post has many links to earlier posts in our Brain Cancer is... blog.

Life is...

...for dancing.

Hello Everyone,

Life has been eventful in the past couple weeks.  This is the first in a series of a few posts to capture our recent events. Thank you for reading.

We hope you are well!

Darrell and Andi

 

We Miss You Already, Ro! 

 

Our hearts hurt to share the news with you that on Tuesday, March 30, our dear aunt Roene Cammack passed away following complications after open heart surgery.

 

No one expected it, and family members are still reeling.  She and LuAnn (her younger sister and fellow dancer, above) had another epic sister trip planned...for right now.

As Roene's far flung family grapples with her loss, we're contributing photos of Roene's adventures to a shared e-album.  In enjoying the photos, Darrell and I are struck by how many places Roene's been and how many people love her.  We see her in birthday party pics, at graduations, out for meals, always surrounded by loved ones.  Always up for an adventure.

We're also struck by how many photos we have of Roene dancing. Above you see her dancing with Alex and Zachary at family weddings.

We hope that one good thing that may come from Roene's loss, for us, is that we'll dance more--on camera.  Not just in the backyard or kitchen.  Life is for dancing.

Roene's Contributions to Our Piece of the World

When I was a child, Roene taught me to crochet and to embroider.  Having two sons of her own, Roene relished our boys.  She and I shared mixed media work--including mailing an art journal back and forth--until the end.

 

A few years ago, Roene invited me on a trip to the Navajo Nation to work with their teachers.  What an amazing trip.  And I will never forget chasing a rainbow across the Arizona sky in Roene's Prius.  Canyon de Chelle is on my list of sacred spaces because of Roene.

Team D and Roene

With Darrell's GBM diagnosis, Roene jumped onto Team D with both feet.   

In the early days, when Darrell decided to live on a shrimp diet, Roene water colored an entire set of "fresh shrimp."

She read the blog daily, conversing with us regularly via email over the topics we raised and contributing her ideas, research, and photos until the blog ended.  She was always insightful, appreciative, and funny.

For long-term blog readers, do you feel like you know Roene?  Here are some of Roene's many contributions to our lives, captured in the blog.  She lifted us up always as we faced Darrell's cancer.

• Roene sent the annual blue cheese that caused LuAnn and Darrell's Cheese Wars.
• She frequently (LuAnn might say "constantly"?) suggested recipes, like for popovers and our now-staple fried meatloaf sandwich.
• Roene served as ace Team D researcher, investigating topics such as the object that turned out to be a juicer and helping us identify plants.
• She loved Christmas as much as we do, contributing pilfered ornaments to our virtual collection.
  
• When we learned that our Fawnskin jays cached peanuts, Roene taught us about her caching squirrels.
•  She suited up for our skunk wars by suggesting coffee grounds into their holes.
  
• When Darrell was subjected to the indignity of puffy pants for his MRI, Roene suggested pairing them with pointy shoes for a truly elvish ensemble.
• Roene served as a connection to our history.  Recently we checked her memory on the number of generations enjoying our family recipe for "panks."  We are already facing that emptiness of one fewer person to ask about the past. 

Roene cherished her large family, and she had more friends than literally anyone we know.  What a loss for us all, and what a huge difference Roene made on this earth.

Roene was one Team D member who chose a word of the year with us every January.  Her Word of the Year for 2021 was "forward."  

 

Thanks for the advice, Aunt Roene.  We'll try.  And we'll keep dancing. We love you.

Today's Bloom

Roene often contributed blooms of the day for the blog.  Her Chinese ground orchid (posted last spring) makes us feel close to her.