I was Colleen’s nephew and also her Godson, which means we shared an extra special bond. She was always there if I needed to talk to her and she let me know that I could tell her anything, even things I could not tell my own parents. Although she was my godmother, the same can be said for my siblings. We each loved Colleen and had our own special relationship with her. We knew she loved us as much as we loved her because she was a constant in our lives for longer than I can remember. She was thoughtful, an example of which was her gifting each of us with a special token of her love for us when we came of age, a watch or a ring, something we could look at and think of her and know how proud she was of us.
Colleen always remembered those that mattered to her and showed them that she cared. She stood proud with me when I graduated high school and then again when I graduated from college. She traveled all the way down to Georgia to be at my wedding and cried tears of happiness for my wife and me. If she couldn’t be there for birthdays and life events, she always remembered to send a card, even while she was on vacation. I was married in 2008 and not a year passed that she did not send me a postcard from Hawaii wishing me happy anniversary.
Though she officially met my young daughter, I am deeply saddened that my daughter will never know the wonderful woman that had been a big part of my journey here on this earth. I will share pictures and stories about her, of course, and I will try to instill in her the same values I saw Colleen put forth. I will tell her to be kind to people. To put family first. And to always let the people you care about know that you love them. I will tell her to show the world these values through her actions, just as her Great Aunt Colleen did.
leoarsenault 