Late Friday night, June 6, 2008, my friend Elizabeth "Lisette" Marie Columbo Johnson lost her fight with ovarian cancer. She was only 56 yo. I meet her in the OR where she was a surgical nurse. I loved working with her. She was good -- as a person, at her job, to the patients, to her colleagues. She was beautiful. She was so full of life and shared her passions with us in stories.
She loved that I had named my dog Columbo. "That's my maiden name." She would often ask about him and my other dogs. She had a black Labrador when we first met so we shared many dog stories. At some point a roadrunner took up residency near her home. The bird would visit her deck. She brought in pictures of the roadrunner just sitting on a deck chair for us.
She loved to travel (India, Russia, Africa). I loved her travel stories and pictures. I would have loved to have been a team member with her on "Amazing Race". She would have made me more adventurous.
From her obituary:For more information on ovarian cancer:Lisette was born in Darby, PA and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She spent most of her career as a surgical nurse in Dallas and Little Rock. In Dallas she was active in charity work and was a past Chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Yellow Rose Gala.She was an avid outdoors enthusiast, animal advocate, sporting clay shooter, traveler and mah-jongg player.She touched the lives of many and was an inspiration to us all. She will be dearly missed. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund or the ASPCA.
National Cancer Institute -- Ovarian Cancer Page
Center for Disease Control -- Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Organization
Ovarian Cancer Symptoms --TBTAM
14 comments:
This is so sad Ramona. My sincere condolences.
What a wonderful tribute to your friend. I am so sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry! What a beautiful tribute!
*hugs*
I am so sorry and what a beautiful tribute to a friend.
God Bless.
She looks and sounds like a wonderful person. It's sad. Your tribute was beautiful.
Ramona you have my deepest and most sincere sympathy and I will keep you in my thoughts.
That's a great tribute. I'm very sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss.
Thank you all. She was a wonderful person.
What a beautiful post, Ramona, for a beautiful friend. So sorry for your loss.
I'm sorry for your loss. She's so beautiful. ((hug))
Hi,
Lisette is my stepmom. A friend was googling her name and found your post. Did I meet you at the memorial? I hope so - anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for posting such a nice tribute to her. Another friend and I climbed Pinnacle yesterday as another way to pay tribute to her. When I made it to the top there was no one else there, and there was this amazing cool breeze. If you are anywhere near Pinnacle, I highly recommend getting up early and climbing up. It was weird, but I felt her presence with me.
Yes, Meta, I did get to meet you and your sister, and I think most of the family. I meant every word here. Your stepmother and my friend was a wonderful person. I miss her more than I thought I would.
Oh Ramona, my condolences on the loss of Lisette. Your photo shows her beauty, your story shows her vivaciousness.
Thanks for sharing your memories of Lisette with us.
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