I am deeply honoured and humbled to be standing here before you today speaking on behalf of my family and sharing a few memories of our granddaughter, niece and cousin. I am Lindsay’s Uncle Doug and the beautiful woman beside me is Lindsay’s cousin Brianne.
The family gathered over the week and one thing we did was to write down words which embodied who Lindsay was to us Some of these words were
Loving
Kind
Caring
Dedicated
Intelligent (definitely in books, most certainly in life)
Adventurous
Generous
Playful
Athletic
Reliable
Dependable
Hard working and
Beautiful inside and out
Over the years I witnessed her generosity, kindness and caring with her cousins. I watched her teaching her brothers and cousins and I saw Lindsay excelling at everything she did. Once she set her mind on something there was no stopping her. I knew these traits were needed to be a great doctor. “Lindsay, you really should go to medical school.” That statement was included in almost every conversation we had from the time she was a teenager. I would take every opportunity to ask her when she was going to apply for med school. At one point I even resorted to trying to guilt her into going. My argument was that she had to do something with the smarts she had been blessed with, that the world needed her and being a doctor would be a good use of this gift. I don’t know what eventually made her decide to go but I’d like to think a bit of my nagging helped.
You can only imagine how proud I was when I heard she decided that medicine was for her and when she then received 99.7 percentile on her MCATs and was eventually accepted into U of C I was just bursting with pride. I knew she had made a decision that would give her many opportunities in life and would be very rewarding. My niece Brianne can attest to the fact that I have also been nagging her to become a doctor as I see many of Lindsay’s traits in her I am sure she knows I am not done nagging yet.
I knew her as my idol. Every family gathering I could be seen trailing Lindsay like a miniature shadow almost stepping on her heels. I looked up to her in so many ways, she was everything I wanted to be when I grew up and I still feel that way. Talented, fun, compassionate beyond belief she was the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. I remember sitting with her at the piano wishing I could play as well as she could – her fingers touching so gracefully on the keys. I remember wanting to stand next to her in any pictures that were taken so that people would know we were friends. I remember our combined birthdays and each having our own different cakes. It’s hard to think now that we will never blow out our candles together again.
I know I speak on behalf of her cousins when I say that Lindsay was full of incredible kindness and love. Even though she was eight years older than me and obviously into different things she always made time to play with me and I always felt that I could relate to her.
Lindsay was the ultimate role model. Doug has already mentioned a few of her amazing qualities and some words that describe her and I’ve tried my best to fill in some gaps but it would not be a hard task to fill pages and pages with the things we didn’t have time to say .
As a family we had observed Lindsay blossoming into this confident, caring human being. She was happy. An accomplished young woman was emerging before our eyes, one who was real and was comfortable in her own skin. She was truly coming into her own
Lindsay and I shared a love for the group U2. A U2 song that comes to mind is Stuck in the Moment. Lindsay would not have wanted us to be stuck in this moment of grief. Lindsay would want us to enjoy each and every beautiful day and not let them get away just like she did in her life. You can’t make it on your own was a favorite quote on Lindsay’s Facebook site. I don’t believe any of us can get through this tragedy on our own. As Lindsay already knew we need family and friends to walk with and carry us through.
Lindsay we love you, we always will. You will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Kelly, Dianne, Taylor and Reid we are committed to supporting you in any way we can. You will be in our hearts and thoughts Lindsa’ys legacy will never be forgotten.
