Category: Grieving

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Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated to remember friends and family that have died. Evelyn embraced her heritage head on and loved every thing about it. She was fluent in Spanish and enjoyed the food, the celebrations, and her family. She loved...

My New Reality … Notice I Did Not Say New Normal 0

My New Reality … Notice I Did Not Say New Normal

It’s been just over two years. My new reality sucks. I don’t really know who’s walked away from our grief, but I know who has stayed. Thank you. We love you. Grieving the loss of someone you share the deepest loving bond with can be difficult to witness. People will...

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Happy Birthday Evelyn

When we are young, if we are lucky, we never have to face the death of someone close to us. My first encounter with death was at 19, still a kid by many standards, but still considered a man. Was serving my country on a ship in the middle of...

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Year One.

It’s been a year since Evelyn was taken from us. I’ve been thinking about what I would write here on this day. I tried, but I don’t have anything left to say that I haven’t already said before. She’s gone and she’s not coming back. We are left to pick...

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Father’s Day

Today is Father’s Day. People all over the world will have dinners with their kids and dinners with their parents. Last year on this day, we went to a friend’s home so we could all celebrate together. Evelyn had invited some friends over to swim, so she didn’t come with...

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Grief and Social Media

When Evelyn died, we did the normal thing, we called family and close friends to tell them of our loss. What about everyone else? Between the family, there were literally hundreds of people who needed to know about Evelyn, about us, and how and when to pay respects. We turned...

Evelyn Courtney 0

Victim Impact Statement

Finally another painful milestone is behind us. Robbie Gillespie was sentenced to 10 years for his role in the death of our daughter. It was an emotional day for everyone. Thank you to everyone who has stood behind us and supported us during this tragedy. What follows is our Victim...

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Forever Safe

I walk by your room every day The door is open I see the bed where you used to lay Now you’re broken You were your own person Always rehearsing For a part that you would never get Now we’re just wailing and cursing You left us here to feel...

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The Story Behind the Picture

Related to the post I made yesterday on the six-month anniversary of my daughter’s death, I was asked what was the story behind the photo that accompanied that story. It was January 2011. I had been shooting seriously as a photographer for just over a year, and Evelyn had been...

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Half a Year Away

It’s been six months since Evelyn left us. Sometimes it seems like it was years ago, and other times it still feels like she will walk through the door at any moment. Six months is a significant milestone for us. It’s half a year, 26 weeks, 182 days since we’ve...