my friend Ari

I went to the funeral mass and reception for my friend Ari today, who died suddenly and unexpectedly last month.

About nine years ago, I won an award, and they were presenting it to me in Monterey. Ari, along with our friends Henry and Theresa, hopped in the car, drove the five or six hours, and were there to see me receive it.

This was the kind of person she was. Supportive in the extreme. Fun-loving and spontaneous. Someone you wanted around.

She’d often text me out of the blue—and especially on holidays—with well-wishes and cute memojis.

In the early 2010s, I spent about five years having breakfast with her every Thursday with a business group, and I got to know her pretty well. She sold Cookie Lee jewelry at the time. I asked her why she sold Cookie Lee and she said she needed a business to join the group, so she started one. Talk about initiative …

The thing about Ari … she was everyone’s friend. She was involved in quite literally every community organization in our small town. Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Club, Rotary, Soroptimist International, and after reading the program of today, I found out she was in more than I knew about, like the local hospice organization and the gardening club and a sign committee.

This is why she was citizen of the year in 2019. This is why she was elected to our city council. This is why it was standing room only at her memorial.

But what I remember most about her was her impish smile. Her sense of humor. Her skills in bringing people together.

Theresa stood by me at the funeral today and murmured, look at Ari, still bringing people together.

May she continue to do so. And may we learn to live how she did—generous of spirit, community-minded, fun, and always thinking ahead.

I love you, Ari. And I miss you.