Hi, friends.

As most of you know, we lost our friend Karyn Valentine to a very brief and wholly unexpected battle with cancer on March 27th, 2025.

Karyn can only be described as one of the funniest, kindest, and quirkiest people I've even known. She had a quick wit, and was well known and loved in our community. For me, there's always going to be an emptiness, in a place she used to hold court at every engagement, late night call, or whispered conversation I've ever had with her. She could talk about anything, with a fair amount of passion and knowledge.

When she was diagnosed in February, she was given three months, but the cancer had other plans. She thought she'd have more time to make lists, and meticulously plan (her forte), but the end came so swiftly that the rug was pulled out from under all of us, and we find ourselves at loose ends, trying to make sense of the tapestry.

Her wish was to be cremated, which we've done, but with paperwork still being processed, we need to pay for her cremains, to have her released from the funeral home, and give her son Spencer Hill a little bit of a buffer for a memorial. Like I said, the tapestry has come undone, and we're trying to reweave it in the best way we know how.

Thank for your time in reading this, and I will keep everyone updated on memorial plans.

Edit- you can also donate directly by calling Simply Cremation of Colorado Springs (Gofundme keeps redacting the phone number), and saying it's for Karyn Valentine.