Eulogy for Aniene

The other day was one of the most stressful days I have ever had.

I was prepared to give a Eulogy for one of my closest friends, which it turns out, is a lot harder than they (meaning anyone else) make it look.

What happened was, I spent the entire day before sitting around and not writing down anything, but instead making a rather angsty watercolor.

And then, when it came to be my turn to talk, I just kind of sniffled loudly into the microphone, claimed “sorry, that was gross,” and then burst into tears.

I feel really bad about that.

So, I wanted to make up for my inability to speak, and to share my speech here instead.



When everyone talks and remembers Aniene, they remember the stories she used to tell. There were the particularly grand ones, about her father finding gold and bank robbers, and there were those stories that were almost too good to be true, about her best friends who were made for each other but waited until time and circumstance decided it had waited long enough for them to be together.

And although Aniene’s stories were the highlight of my highschool working career, it was the things outside of her memories that I think we should remember. We should remember the little things she did without needing to tell anyone, without asking or needing to be recognized.

Without having been asked twice, Aniene spent hours of her time to make a quilt for battered children, putting aside her valuable time for people she didn’t even know. Aniene took phone calls at two a.m. and could recognize people she hadn’t talked to for thirty years. She invited people into her house and made them feel at home when they had nowhere else to go.

One of the most amazing things that really sticks with me is the time she let Andrew stay on her couch for a week after he had his wisdom teeth taken out. His parents were gone, his house was empty, so Aniene stepped up, compassionate towards someone who was basically a stranger, and took care of him like a son.

This is the image of Aniene that I will always remember:
She was loving, kind, compassionate, and selfless. She loved to make others happy, to sacrifice her time and resources to see others smile.

Aniene would have found a way to spin this into a story, which would have led into a side story, which would have led to another, further removed story, but the things that she did outside of the time she spent working were just as monumental as the things she shared.

And I feel that, although she's gone, we should never forget her attitude towards others, and that she will continue to live on through her loving example.