Tiffany Eulogy (Written by Brett)

-Tiffany – You remember her:

-Tiffany used to play basketball in this Gym, right here, right where I wrestled. Right down there where I flopped like a fish struggling to breath as I got pinned. In fact I never forgave her for recording over my wrestling videos with some useless home cooking videos. she was in this gym, probably is right now, sitting with my Dad with grins on their faces, Like the old guys on the Muppets, popping jokes at those on stage.

-Tiffany was smart. I remember her explaining what she did at Bonneville Power and I didn’t understand a word of it. Something about power and trading and dams. Anyhow, I kept nodding like I knew what she was talking about even though I was oblivious to what she was saying but I thought it to be the polite thing to do. She then asked, “What do you do as a Physical Therapist-Aide” for which I replied, “laundry.” She kept nodding like I was going to say more. “No, really, that’s what I do, laundry.” We laughed pretty hard about that but I’ve always wondered if she was laughing WITH me.

-Tiffany always had more friends than me. She could make friends with anyone and it wasn’t hard for her as her smile and laughter drew people near. Her friends came from all walks of life and the ones I met always seemed to be caring individuals. She trusted people. I could never understand that with this world we live in now, but she could.

-Tiffany was always in style. One time, my wife and I were in Portland and Tiffany wanted to go out dancing. My poor wife had no idea what she was in for when Tiffany had transformed her with a complete makeover. High heels and all. Didn’t even look like my wife after Tiff was done. Thought I was dancing with a stranger.

-She loved to travel. She travelled much of the world. When we were in Gloucester, England on a return visit, Tiffany went into an outside bathroom stall as us Jenks Brothers waited outside. We heard Tiffany screaming for help and I thought something terrible was happening so I ran in the woman’s bathroom and kicked open the stall. I asked her what was going on, she said, “I was afraid, I couldn’t get out.”

-Tiffany loved to run….Boy she loved to run. If Tiffany ever asked you to go running with her you better know how far she plans on going in advance and bring your supplemental oxygen. When I lived with her in Portland, she asked if I wanted to go for a jog. I said, “Sure, let’s go.” About 3 miles into it, I thought she might slow down but she didn’t. At the 6 mile mark, I felt like I was going to vomit but didn’t want to look weak in front of my sister. She asked, nonchalantly, like she just got done brushing her hair, “how are you doing, so far?” I pretended to smile and struggled to talk so I just nodded my head like everything was alright even though things were getting fuzzy. I saw a no crossing light up ahead and was praying for it to stay red but somehow Tiffany made it flash walk. I mean, the woman just kept on going like Forest Gump. After that “jog,” I had trouble walking for 4 days and swore from that day forward I would be very clear about how far we would be going on a jog.

-Tiffany held the record for the 800 and 1500 meter and ranked 1^st in State. She continues to hold the record for the 800 meter. She received the $1000 1996 Excellent in Recycling award and was Crane favorite her senior year for most athletic, most artistic, and apparently, craziest driver.

-In her autobiography I dug up in storage dated 4-12-1992 when Tiffany was just 14 years old: She wrote in one section this:  “I have travelled to over 40 states and spent an entire summer in Washington DC.  I saw the real Kermit the Frog, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, and Fonzy’s jacket.  In the summer of 1989, when I was 11 years old, we moved to 1000 acre ranch in Eastern Oregon in the high dessert.  We had a 1 and ½ mile driveway and there were cattle always in the way.  Almost everyone owned cattle and horses, but I had only been on a horse once before and didn’t know much about cattle.  So, all this was very new to me.  I was used to next door neighbors, noisy roads, and lots of people, and here, there was none of that, but I liked it a lot.  We bought a house that was 7 miles away from a very small town, Buchanan.  We had only 2 dogs, 2 birds, a cat, and 3 gerbils.  I spent my 6^th grade year in a school called Crane.  It seemed like everyone was related.  I liked this school a lot, and my teacher, Mr. Steeves was, to me, the best teacher I had ever had.  I had always thought all teachers were grumpy and mean because every other teach I had was.  But he made me want to go to school, and it seemed like with him, learning was fun.  So, that made both me and my 12 year old brother, Zack, like Crane a lot more.”

-Tiffany was always looking for adventure, she was outgoing looking for the unknown, dancing with the dangerous and sitting on the edge. You’ve heard the story about Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!” That was Tiffany!

-Tiffany felt that she was the champion of her vessel, but somewhere she got lost along the way struggling to keep her lips above the waves. I could see her stepping forward busting her bounded chains and running, she would try to run the past away only to be shackled again and again.  The last time she ran, the track was clear, her voice was sobering, her loved ones forgiven as she forgave, the finish line was there as she closed her eyes one last time into the light.

-When I first found out about my sisters passing, I talked with my Mom on the phone. She said, “Our family is getting smaller, Buck.” I told her, “That wasn’t true. The blessings of Grandchildren makes that difficult to happen.”

-I wish I could have been there with her that night. I wish I could have stopped it. But I can’t stop the past, and I can’t predict the future, but I can hope for good things to come. And I can cherish each and every minute I have with my loved ones now. So look around, hold your loved ones close, take a deep breath, and smile knowing that you can still hold their hand. This life is short and we are all just a heartbeat away from a new beginning.