Our family's world changed forever on Friday, February 20.
My sister, my only sibling, Michele, was involved in a devastating car accident when a pickup truck ran a red light at high speed. She suffered catastrophic brain injuries. Despite every prayer for different news, she did not survive. She was only 42 years old.
I am comforted in believing it happened so quickly that she did not know what occurred and did not suffer. For that, I am grateful. But her absence will be felt deeply and permanently within our family.
She leaves behind her two beautiful daughters, Olivia and Sofia, ages 14 and 13, who were her entire world.
Michele loved her girls fiercely. She was a single mom who did it all on her own, working as a regional manager for Salon Centric, leading her team the way she led everything in life: not as a typical corporate leader, but like a familiar friend. She had a gift for people. She could read you, understand you, and make you feel seen in a way that was rare. The day before the accident, she had just returned home from Arizona after winning an award for her work. She came home to her girls. That was always where she wanted to be.
As a mom, she never stopped trying to get it right. She asked for advice, she made hard decisions when she had to, and she was both the loving and the disciplinarian parent because she had to be both. She just wanted Olivia and Sofia to have the world.
My sister and I had a hypothetical conversation not long ago. We promised each other that if anything were to happen to either of us, we would help the other's babies live their best and fullest lives possible, to have the kind of future we would want for them. Yesterday, God called me to the task.
This fund is being created entirely for Olivia and Sofia, to provide stability, security, and opportunity as they move forward without their mom. Every dollar raised will go toward protecting their future and ensuring they have the support, resources, and opportunities Michele would have worked tirelessly to give them.
Funds will help cover the immediate costs of losing their mom, ongoing health insurance and daily stability, their future educational expenses, and the counseling they will need to find their footing without her and to help us navigate this along side them. Every dollar goes directly to Olivia and Sofia.
In the midst of our grief, we have also found a moment of grace. Michele was an organ donor, and in her final act she will give the gift of life to others, sparing their families from having to walk the road we are now on. That is who she was, to the very end.
No child should have to lose a parent this young. While we cannot take away their pain, we can stand beside them and help carry forward the life Michele envisioned for her babies.
If you feel led to contribute, we are deeply and eternally grateful. If you are unable to give financially, please consider sharing this page and keeping Olivia and Sofia in your prayers and thoughts.
Thank you for standing with them and showing them love during this time.
With gratitude,
Marissa Guarino