Antonia M Gomer's Memorial Service

"Toni died today." Those were the words my sister said to me when I got on the phone. 3 simple little words that sounded like an alien language. I could not have heard what I did. I made her repeat it. "Toni died today." Then I argued with her because that could NOT be true.

Unfortunately, that is the truth. Our Toni-girl, our lady bug, is gone. I asked my big sister what happened. Toni was simply driving on a road she's driven thousands of times. Only this time she hit a patch of ice. This time she couldn't make the car obey. This time was her last time.

They say she was not on her phone. They say she was wearing her seatbelt. They say she died on impact. They say she didn't suffer. They say she's never coming home.

Toni was 19. Her  birthday would have been this March 21.  She was in college. She was in love. She was a sister. She was a daughter. She was a niece. She was a cousin. She was an aunt. She was a granddaughter and a great-granddaughter. She was vibrant. She was full of life. She was kind. She was giving. She was passionate. She was intelligent. She was beautiful. She was fun. She was happy. She was loving. And now she is simply...gone.

As much pain as I feel at this moment, I know it does not compare to what my sister and my brother-in-law are going through. For those of you who don't know, my sister has taken care of our grandmother, who is bed-ridden, for over 6 years now. My sister is a stay-at-home mom. My brother-in-law works for the state. They have never had extras in the way of money but their house has always overflowed with love and kindness. My sister would give the shirt off her back for someone in need. My brother-in-law would lend a hand & his mechanical expertise to everyone who asked. They have taken in friends & family members over the years who needed help. They have raised more than their own 4 biological children over the years. My sister has baked for every bake sale & birthday Triopia has had since her kids first started school there. Anyone who has stepped into their home has felt loved and accepted and listened to.

Now this has happened. They were not prepared. They never expected anything like this. They didn't have the ability to invest in life insurance for their kids as they were too busy investing in their lives every moment of every day, leaning on faith that they would never need it. And now they do.

I set up this account to help my sister and brother-in-law be able to have a memorial service for my beautiful niece, Antonia Marie Gomer. Toni had learned that it was now possible to turn someone into a tree after they died and she let us know that being turned into a tree was what she wanted for herself. That is what they are trying to do, to fulfill their daughter's wish. We will be using all funds raised here to make that happen.

I am not one to ask others for help. Asking for money is something I am extremely uncomfortable doing. But this is for Toni. And, in turn, it is for Rosalie and Jay and Samantha and Jessica and Jayson and all the rest of us who love Toni to be able to still have her here in some way. So I am asking. I am asking you, the person reading this right now, to give to this fund. I am asking that you help us do this for my beautiful niece who was taken without warning and left without being able to saying goodbye.

Your kindness will forever be appreciated. Words cannot express how much as they are simply so inadequate right now. This started with 3 simple words and I will finish with just a few more:

Thank you very much.