Memorial for Ellie (formerly Fiona)
Ellie’s forever parents sent this amazing memorial for us to share about their precious little girl:
“Ellie passed away at home on June 19, 2017. We were and are devastated by her loss. We wanted so much more for our little princess—we wanted to share the world with her, and to share her with the world. Ellie was so many things: happy, playful, insistent, funny, mischievous, clever, stubborn, indulgent, but mostly she was love incarnate. All Ellie ever really wanted was to be loved and to love. She gave us unconditional love and endless joy, and we only hope that we made her as happy as she made us, and that she knew how absolutely we adored her.
Ellie’s home with us was in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, but we took her all over the state: to the Coast to visit Grandma V, to Portland to visit Grandma K and to go on Ikea runs; to the Columbia Basin desert to visit great-Grandma M; to the High Desert to visit Aunt M; and all the way down to the California border on a few trips with Daddy for work. We had dreams of taking her so many more places with us. After her passing, we took her on one last trip over the Cascades to Aunt M’s, where we had her cremated and planned to scatter her ashes at the Deschutes River. But then, we didn’t really want that to be her last trip, so we spread a little of her ashes there and brought the rest back home. We plan to take her with us wherever we go, leaving a little of her behind so that she can see the world, and so that the world can know her.
To Ellie’s wonderful foster mom: thank you for giving her such incredible love through such difficult circumstances, and for always believing in her.
To the Village, and everyone who supported and followed Ellie through her journey: thank you for giving her the best chance any little baby in her position could have had, and please know that she loved all of you.
To Ellie: We feel your absence constantly, but we try to fill the empty spaces with your memories—not nearly enough, but each one precious, beautiful, treasured. How you loved sweet potatoes and pumpkin. The way you bounced and hopped with excitement when Daddy got home from work. How you licked the water off our legs when we got out of the shower. Playing tug-of-war and keep-away. Teaching you to sit, lay down, shake, and high-five. How you gave everyone, even strangers, lots of kisses. How your favorite songs for Mommy to sing you to sleep with were “Everlasting Love,” “Walking in Memphis,” and “To Make You Feel My Love”. How you would snuggle with Daddy on the couch and watch musical cartoons. The way people lit up when they saw you. How you always had to sit in our lap in the car. We are trying to honor your memory by working each day to see the world the way you saw it—as a new and exciting adventure to be anticipated and eagerly pursued, not feared—and most of all we are trying to be as good as you thought we were, to be the kind of people who were worthy of the unwavering love and trust that you gave us. Mommy and Daddy love you, princess.
