Support Denice's Funeral Arrangements & Memorial Service

My name is Lina Novotny. I am Denice's daughter in law. 2025 has been nothing but a rollercoaster for my family. We have had a tough year with many unplanned expenses cropping up - including numerous car repairs, eviction, and a few other things and Denice's terminal diagnosis came to us out of the blue. We were notified that she was sick back in January, but we didn't know it would be terminal till April. She was beacon to those who warred with themselves, and she spent many years not knowing that she was. It weighs on my heart that it took her so many years to find her calling. With hope to offer her a proper service in honor of her overcoming a long life of tribulation and celebrating the freedom she found towards the end, we are needing your help. Denice passed away May 9th at 6:06am. A memorial service date has not been made yet. Without your support it is likely we cannot afford to have her cremated and hold a memorial service. We would also like to offer the ladies at the Lotus House something to have in memory of her.

There may have been many years of astrangement, but the last few months of her life brought a sense of healing, forgiveness, and letting go.

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I can't write anything to fully enlighten you on who Denice was or what she might have meant to you, so I am going to share my experience as her daughter in law, and my value of who she is to me.

I know there's there is a ton about Denice I never got the chance to see. I heard stories about who she was from others that I ever got the chance to experience. I know that in her past she struggled with addiction, made mistakes, and Yada Yada. Without the details, it sounds like everyone else on Earth, right? Yes, even the addiction part. If we each reflected on ourselves, I can guarantee that we can all find something "addictive" -sugar,coffee, alcohol, drugs, dependency, work, it comes in all forms. Sorry, I felt I needed to add that. I saw her has another human being and I looked forward to being able to meet her and form my own story. This is my story.

I met my husband in 2018 and probably started talking to Denice in 2019. She lived in California at the time. I found out quickly she was family to me on a spiritual level. Her spirit was fire to mine. If I was complaining to her and she wasn't complaining to me we'd often be found talking about the connections of the universe. I always knew she could a little more wild than me, but that's just one of the things that was intriguing about her.

I finally got to meet Denice in 2020 - maybe 2021, when she came to NH to visit. I dont remember much about the visit or what we did specifically, however, a few months later Denice decided to leave the hell hole of life she lived in California and move to NH. We liked the Idea of her being close to visit and maybe even help watch our son once in a while. We also explained to her that she needed to secure her own income and place to stay before coming. At that time, my family and I were going through an eviction and couldn't do much to help her in that kind of way even if we wanted to. It wasn't as warm of welcome for her as we would have wanted to give. But we did our best to welcome her into our lives and love her, but it hurt knowing we had to form boundaries. As a result she moved to NH in the same condition as leaving California, homeless. At this time she was still struggling, but so was I, and so we're we.

The day that I really remember connecting with Denice was in December of that year. She came to our house and it was snowing hard. We made twice baked potatoes with her, one of my husbands childhood favorites. (Hers were the best, and I don't think I'll ever be able to make it like she does). We also had tri-tip. A perfect California meal that was my husband's childhood favorite. My husband and her played guitar and sang together and the kitchen filled with music. She stayed the night because the roads were not good. The next day she showed me videos of celestial wonders, guardians of the galaxy type of videos as I drove her around exploring NH. We talked and we talked and we talked. She had the craziest stories, it was exciting for me to listen, to learn, and to share the things I knew about whatever it was we were conspiring on. This is a core memory she made with me and I loved that time with her.

She had terrible knees and wasn't quite limber, but somehow she managed to keep up with our son. She was always, always, always was amazing with our son. Her patience, her childlike self with him, will always be a core memory too. So many of those but yet not enough... I saw her and I saw a mom that I envied and wish I was. I didnt see her troubled self, i saw her motherly actions that I myself lack.

Denice and I talked a lot. Maybe not daily, but a lot evry time we did.

In 2022 my husband and I were going through some hardships together. I chose to be homeless and live in my truck. I felt I needed to be away from everyone and to not be a burden to anyone. Denice, with a car about to blow up, came and met me. She lived in a hotel at the time that was offering rooms for people who were homeless. Anyway, she came to get me and brought me back to her place. She got me a room in the same hotel as her for the night. Fearing a divorce with my husband and the possibility of losing my son, she helped me as I tried to get on my feet and figure out how to rebuild my life from nothing.

Unfortunately, mentally I was already in a very dark place and the accumulation of stress i had led me into psychosis. I think I was with Denice for over a week, coming and going, but for the most part of that time I was crazy and unwell. She kept me safe and she took care of me. Even if she was struggling, she was there. When I got hospitalized, she was there. Every day she was there. She needed to drive? She drove. She didn't care that it may have been the last time her car ever drove again or that she would lose her home (as the hotel was only available for a period of time, she'd soon have to go back to it)

Shortly after I got out of the hospital, Denice ended up back in her car. We had a few visits, but by then Denice was drinking heavily and struggling herself. I was not ready or mentally stable enough at that time to be there for her the way she was for me... then my husband and her had a falling out and as a result so did I. This is sadly where my story with Denice ends.

Now there's a Denice that grew from that. A Denice that others were blessed to see. I havent gotten a story yet from others to write it well, but here is the jest...

Shortly after, Denice decided she had enough. She sought out AA, and this time she sought it out with a desire for change. Her sobriety date is February 2024. It wasn't like the other times that I've heard about where her sobriety just to get something from sombody or forced on her from someone else, it was sobriety for her and only her. We still hadn't reconnected with her at this point and had no idea about it. She went to rehab and following rehab transitioned into sober living in August 2024. It was there at the Lotus house that Denice transformation really took off. She had found a new family, a sober and supportive family. They loved her while she learned to love herself, and once she did she was off to the races.

Unfortunately at sometime in the Fall, she acquired terrible pneumonia that led her to getting hospitalized. This was when the doctors found she had cancer. Shortly after that she went through chemotherapy and it seemed like everything was going decently well and she was hopeful that she would beat it and move on.

With Denice's permission one of her close friends reached out to Jeff and I and told us everything she was going through. Even after going through chemo Denice didnt reach out to us. She didnt want to burden us or think she was trying to guilt us back into her life. We hadn't talked to her in well over a year so we knew none of this. We reached out to her after we heard about her journey after we parted ways. It seemed treatment was going well. This was January of this year. Few months later while having some tests do and checking her progress, they found cancer in her brain. This cancer was terminal. Her doctor told us she maybe had a year. However her health at that point began to rapidly decline. She passed away from her disease on May 9th, 2025.

Our reconnection was short but we are very blessed to have been with her at the end. She struggled with her past most of her life but finally overcame her demons and seemed to be at peace with herself.To see her full of love for the people around her and love for herself was inspiring.

We love you Denice, you will be in our hearts forever.