Shannon Hope was the youngest of five & she is survived by one brother, three sisters, her husband, & two daughters: Katelyn & Erin.
She is also survived by her parents Ronald & Beverly.
Beverly (a.k.a. Aunt Bevy), is my grandfather's younger sister-- my late maternal grandfather, Dr. Francis Rosner (a.k.a. Poppy Freddy).
Poppy Freddy is actually the link to that very unique gene in our family.
I had a dream about Poppy Freddy last night & I do not remember the last time I had such a vivid dream about him. It was so unbelievably real & it was a very happy dream, even though I somehow knew that he wouldn't be there when I woke up.
The dream-- to loosely summarize, as bits & pieces were extremely odd the way dreams can be-- was about all of us spending a long weekend together. We were staying at a place that my grandparents owned, which looked nothing like any of the places they actually owned in real life. During some parts of the same dream I was a young child & in other parts I was an adult. The "scene" I remember most was the first morning of the long weekend & in this portion of the dream I was a child. Poppy Freddy just finished brushing his teeth & smiled a bright, beaming smile in my direction. Quite strangely, in my dream I remember thinking we should take a selfie. We didn't, but I can clearly recall that very specific, odd detail.
I have no idea what the dream meant but Shannon had one of those incredible beaming smiles, too. She also had very beautiful auburn hair like Jenna's. Her daughter's carry similar stunning features like their mom & their grandmother (my Great Aunt Bevy). Sadly I have never met Shannon's daughters who are now 13 & 11, but I have seen many pictures.
I was connected with Shannon on Facebook but we didn't interact much. Then last year she sent me a short albeit beautiful message, when Grandma Gert passed away (Poppy Freddy's Gert).
The next time we exchanged messages was not until early last month. Jenna mentioned that she had recently reached out to her, which sort of gave me the courage to do the same. At that time the family knew that the cancer had spread & it's my understanding she was primarily on comfort care from that point forward.
So I wrote Shannon a message to say that we were sending our love... & that I wish we had kept in touch over the years... & I wish we lived closer... & all of the things we might tend to say.
Then I shared a memory from when we were children & the "Alabama clan" were up in NJ for some sort of occasion. I can still recall the restaurant & other small details, which I shared with her as well.
I told her that she is never far from our thoughts & we were sending lots of love her way.
The next day she messaged me a very heartfelt reply. She recalled the last time we saw one another-- which was more than a couple of decades ago-- when we all happened to be in Israel at the same time when she was still in college. I remember the trip but sadly I do not remember seeing her-- it was December of 1991 & I was a junior in high school. She continued on to say, "I've never been good at fb but when I'm on I love reading your posts & feeling connected with you & your journey. Love you so much & that is something distance & time does not change. Xoxoxo"
I will always deeply cherish our brief exchange.
Earlier today her husband Kerry eloquently shared (outside of social media): "With the most peace she's known in years, Hope has passed."
He quoted a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay:
"My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-
It gives a lovely light!"
...to which Aunt Bevy & Uncle Ron added:
"Shoshana Chaya, our youngest daughter
Shannon Hope, made such a Lovely Light-
didn't she?"
I did not know Shannon well, although she was very close in age to me, Jenna, & 2 of our (5) first cousins on the same side of the family. But I do remember her & still love her... & to quote her, that too is something which distance & time will never change.
She is survived by a large, loving family that is second to none. May peace we welcomed in knowing she is eternally comfortable now.
And may she watch over her loved ones the way they carefully watched over her.
Our thoughts & hearts are with you. xoxoxo
(Just a side note, when I opened my blogger to create this post I noticed my last entry was titled "hope for the best". Completely unrelated, that was a follow up to Hayden's Spring concert, but I had forgotten the title. It gave me chills because many of the people closest to Shannon, called her Hope.)
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