Peace, Cindy

It was a beautiful day in the Gorge. Life went on as usual for most people. We got up, read our papers and drank our coffee, went to work, walked our dogs, went to meetings. But at a certain house up on Strawberry Mountain, life will never be the same. Especially for her husband Bill, and her devoted Australian Shepherd, Gus. This is a picture Cindy with Lexi, who was waiting for her on the 'other side'.

Cindy died last night. She was diagnosed with liver cancer June 1st. And now she's gone. She went in for surgery, and they closed her back up. She made her peace with the world, loved her life, and knew it would be hardest on those she left behind.

I met Cindy through Klickitat Dems. She was a force to be reckoned with. She wanted to do things that would make our world better. Even though she'd struggled with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for years, she had the energy to work on our Dem platform, became our rep to the State Platform Committee, and was an ardent supporter of Obama from the get go.

I, of course, was not a big Obama supporter from the get go. We worked on organizing our county caucus, and she was always respectful of both candidates and their supporters. But she was an Obama Girl all the way. With Cindy, you could always 'discuss'. I admired that in her. And look for that quality in others. It's usually lacking. She was always willing to carpool to things. And when I drove to a meeting in Dallesport, picking up a full load in the Subaru, she insisted on giving me gas money. This was before $4.39 a gallon gas.

She love the gorge, she loved animals. She was a fellow Aussie owner. She was a veternarian, and we all consulted her about our four legged family members. In fact, she called me the night of the day she got the bad news (I had no idea until the next week). She wanted me to know that a person she'd been cultivating to run for County Commission was not going to do it and wouldn't be at our meeting the next night. I asked her a doggie med question, which she happily answered, between coughs. I told her to take care of herself, and get herself well so we could get through this election! Little did I know.

Cindy was brave. She emailed all of us when she got her act together, days after her diagnosis. She asked for space, and snail mail. She had no energy for visits, calls, email. I felt helpless. I sent a card. It all happened so fast. She wanted to establish residency in Oregon, where they have death with dignity law. But it was too late. She suffered terrible pain. Finally, she stopped eating, and a greater power finally saw fit to take her from her misery.

Washington is going to have a death with dignity vote on our ballot this fall. Those of us who knew Cindy, most a lot longer than I, will support that initative, because she can't. And we hope she will watch over us all, and see her dream of an Obama presidency come true.

We'll miss you, Cindy. Peace.