Ride on, Judi!

What a perfect day as family, friends and colleagues gathered to share memories, anecdotes, laughter and fond thoughts of a wonderful person, sadly missed. Judi (Parks) Stiles died last November and left a huge hole in the lives of so many.

After her death many words of condolence were put on her Facebook page. I captured most of them (I think) and combined them into a book that I gave to Jerry, her husband of 47+ years, to read at his leisure when he was ready. For those who’d like to see the book, just click on the following link. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fgaCG7-xiBkbOoywgA3oeftaQCEszHiO/view?usp=sharing

Judi’s horse, Murphy, lives at Dan and Kelly Northrup’s stable where he is being cared for and, of course, loved by his companion Kathleen Arrowsmith (now DVM). Kelly and a crew of volunteers organized Judi’s Celebration of Life, consulting with Jerry throughout, and they did a wonderful job. The location reflected Judi and Jerry’s shared passion for salmon fishing, while the photo arrays in vignettes around the room spoke to her life, laughter and friends, especially in the world of all things horsey.

Did I mention the food? Lots of sandwiches and sweets for everyone to munch on.

People came in waves – her ‘barn’ friends from years of sharing riding experiences, colleagues, neighbours, friends and family. There was no shortage of conversation as old friends and new made new connections while sharing their love of one of the most generous people I’ve ever known. If you were her friend it was a very good thing.

Jerry held court while one after another everyone stopped by to offer their condolences on his loss and to share stories and laughter about Judi’s life. Jerry’s sister, Judy, and niece Kim came from Edmonton, AB, to share in the celebration.

Yesterday was the hottest day (so far) this year, peaking at 33ºC/91ºF. While conversations flowed inside the building and on the verandah overlooking the Hammond River, others were out enjoying the day in other ways – kayaking on the water and dropping a line to fish.

Judi’s was a life worth celebrating. Ride on, Judi, ride on!