The sister that is now free

Hello,

My name is Lydia Stoutt. I am the youngest of 3 siblings born to Tonya Blair. There is Klarissa, the oldest, Tamara, the middle, and then myself. We were all born within three years of each other. Our childhood was not one made of sunshine and rainbows, white picket fences, or fairy tales. It is littered with the things that make for great therapy sessions where the counselor gets to explore all the modalities of treatment for trauma they learned about in school. The only thing that kept us going most of the time was the fact that we always had each other. Tamara took especially hard to the things we were subjected to and always seemed to be a little extra lost. She took things a little harder, seemed to be affected longer, went to greater extremes to get relief. Klarissa was always the momma and her hugs healed the wounds. I was the baby who was always somehow shielded from the worst of it. As we grew older the trauma took over and we unfortunately continued with the example that was shown to us. Lives filled with drugs, incarcerations, and rehabs. Throughout all of that again we still had each other. The oldest, Klarissa, and myself managed to escape from that life and we are now living productive lives and are both committed to providing the life for our children that we never got.

On Wednesday morning I got the call that as the loved one of a using addict we all fear. In retrospect it seems so fitting that I was in the kitchen with my oldest sister when we got the confirmation that Tamara is free from all her pain. All the terrible things that happened to her no longer plague her. Her sadness is gone and she is free.

Now me and Klarissa, along with the help of our step sister Lacy, are trying to figure out how to bring our beautiful sister Tamara home from Michigan to Eastern Kentucky. Where she can finally rest. Of course with the life she was living there is no life insurance, there is no family to fall back on, there is just me and my sisters.

My sisters and I were not prepared for the high cost of a funeral, and during this difficult time, we are reaching out to the community for help.

Please consider donating if you can, as any amount will truly help.

You are also welcome to make donations directly to Cumberland Valley Funeral Home located in Cumberland Kentucky under the name Tamara Gilliam.

Tamara,

We love you.