They say that life is loss, and while that’s true, sometimes the loss comes too soon, too fast, and too tragically.

Colleen and John, decades-long Norco residents, were packing up their newly-retired lives to move with their three beautiful horses to their dream acreage in Arizona; a home were all of their horses could run free while they watched across the desert landscape as the sun rose and set. Having recently lost Colleen’s mother Johanna to the evils of the coronavirus, the whole family was still reeling and wandering through cherished memorabilia of military stories and family history, photos, and documents from across the world.

In the midst of this monumental transition, Colleen and John woke up one morning with a cold. Within just 72 hours they were hospitalized with Covid, and within short weeks …. They were both gone. Inexplicably, unbelievably, gone.

So very many of us have been left behind missing them, heartbroken, in shock, and angry at this pandemic. We are suddenly tearful day after day as we mourn our loss … our loss of Colleen and John and our memories together that we should’ve had, the conversations left unfinished, the trail rides never taken, the texts and phone calls that will remain forever unanswered, and the time we thought we had for more hugs, more laughs, more tears, for more of everything.

If you knew them, I don’t need to tell you how amazing these two people were and how giving they were of their spirit, their time, and their knowledge. I personally will cherish all the visits to the Cormar Ranch (their house in Norco) where my two boys learned to love horses, care for them, and ride them due to Colleen and John’s patience and care. I’ll remember the night Colleen’s mother, my aunt, was sick in the hospital with the virus and we stood outside - so close, but so far from her - and we hugged and hugged each other, wishing there was anything we could do.

Never in that moment did I think that just months later, we would be crying without Colleen, wishing there was anything we could do.

Colleen and John loved their town and the beautiful and unique relationship Norco has with horses. Their care and concern for horses and other animals was not just lip service, but existed in their every day lives. That’s why the family chose the Norco Animal Rescue Team as the recipient for all memorial donations in Colleen and John’s memory. These donations will be something we can all do to help animals live healthier, happier, and longer, being loved and cared for, just as Colleen and John would have continued to do were they still here. With this, we can help their memories mean even more.

Thank you to everyone who loved them, to everyone who shared friendship and family with them. They were blessed to have all of you. Just as we were blessed to have them.

Love,

Rachael Frost - Colleen and John’s cousin on behalf of the Cornett and Martin family and friends