This morning, my daughter, Megan (7 yrs.) said to me:
"Dad, last night I asked Heavenly Father to wish Georgia a Merry Christmas for me."
Merry Christmas, Georgia. We love you.
Cannon
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
With Love from Brittany
Sometimes I find myself wondering how it could possibly be that Georgia considered me a friend; I mean, she meant so much to so many people. It always seemed like I was running into people who not only knew her, but had some kind of special connection or relationship with her. I remember that before I even met her, I knew so much about this friendly, bubbly, sparkly girl that it made me want so badly to somehow be included in her circle. Boy was I lucky when she decided to join our string quartet The Quarter Notes--I will forever be indebted to Cami and Haleigh for bringing this lovely person into my life.
And even now, six years after her passing, I find myself second guessing myself. Did Georgia really think of me as a friend? I mean, how could there possibly be room for me in her large circle of extraordinary people she called friends!
I've found, though, that when I begin questioning myself, she sends little reminders to me to reassure me that I am her friend and that our friendship is as special to her as it is to me.
One reminder came the week she passed away. I flew home to Salt Lake for her funeral, and was able to hold a newborn niece for the first time. As I held that little bundle, so recently sent from the place Georgia now was, I felt Georgia's love. I came to realize that life is made of meetings and partings, and it's up to us what we do with them. Do we wallow in grief when someone parts from us, or do we rejoice in the time they were allowed to touch our lives?
Another reminder came from Georgia two months after her passing. A new guy appeared in my singles' branch in Cleveland and I heard from a friend of mine he had served with Georgia in Nauvoo. I went up to him after sacrament meeting, stuck out my hand, and blurted out, "you knew Georgia???" before I even introduced myself, taking him quite off guard. We hit it off immediately, because we started our conversation with reminiscences of our dear friend. And five years of marriage and two children later, I call this guy my husband. We are so grateful for the tiny way in which Georgia brought us together. We've often imagined her smiling down on that first meeting of ours, laughing at the whole impossibility of it.
This summer I held auditions for some chamber groups I coach and, as I was preparing to teach these young students, I was filled with wonderful memories of my time making music together with Georgia and our other friends. As I began again to doubt that I really could have been special to Georgia, who should walk in but her sister Paige with her daughter. We looked at each other with complete shock--and then complete joy. As my life was again reconnected to Georgia and her family, here was another reminder that my friendship with her was as true as I had remembered.
And last but not least is the reminder that came this Fall: I gave birth to my second daughter about five days after the anniversary of Georgia's passing. Matt and I decided to give her the middle name of Georgia not only to honor our friend, but to give our daughter the namesake of someone so lovely, and pure, and noble so that she can have that example to look to as she grows. And I find that every time I hold my new baby and think of her full name, I feel Georgia smiling on us both.
One of the great lessons I learned from Georgia's passing is that grief is a natural byproduct of love. My grief at her passing was so great because my love for her is so great. And I'm ok with the fact that sometimes I miss her so much it hurts, because it has expanded my capacity to love in a way nothing else could.
Ah, Chacha, I'm so grateful to have been counted among your many friends. I look forward to sharing stories and memories of you with my girls as they grow, so that they can be inspired and bettered by your life even as I have been.
Happy Birthday, friend.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Georgia On My Mind"
In October of this year, I sat down to write a short entry about Georgia on my family's blog, and ended up writing this instead. I had an overwhelming response to it. Perfect strangers were moved to tears at her story. Thanks for letting me post this.
Each year as summer draws to a close and the weather turns cool, I start to reminisce a little about my life: back to school, birthdays, and holiday traditions all come to mind quite often. But nearly every September with the changing season, my mind turns to my dear friend, Georgia Marriott.
Sweet, spiritual, talented, wonderful Georgia! The first time I met this sparkly, bubbly spirit was in a 9th grade community orchestra in Salt Lake City. She was going on about why she needed braces (to close the gap between her front teeth, naturally), and how it would only be a few more months until they were off. Then she gave me this radiating smile and I thought – her smile is just perfect the way it is!
Happy, friendly Georgia! There were no groups or “cliques” with Georgia. Everyone was always invited, included, and loved. We naturally became fast friends. She joined the string quartet I played in, and we made many wonderful memories playing music together all over the Salt Lake valley. But more importantly, we loved playing the hymns out of the church hymnbook together. Georgia’s sweet testimony always shined as she played her violin. I remember looking up often at the violin section during orchestra to see Georgia’s enormous grin: so happy to be there making music with her friends.
The time came to decide where to go to college. I had narrowed down my choices, and one of them was the same as Georgia’s – and it was also halfway across the country. We vowed not to speak to each other about college until we had both decided where we were going, so as not to sway the other. And we both decided on that same school – Indiana University.
We were elated! After being officially accepted there, we made arrangements to be roommates in the freshman dorms. We were just excited to be roommates. We didn’t realize then how important the common ground of the gospel would be. So much of what I learned from her that year has shaped who I am today. With eleven children in her family, all with shining testimonies of the gospel, I often wondered how her parents raised all of them to be so strong in the church. When I think of them, I think of the scripture in Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation…” Georgia was not ashamed of the Gospel, and seemed to carry that power with her wherever she went.
As much as she loved playing her violin, I think she loved to sing just as much. She literally had the voice of an angel, and I have never heard anything like it before or since. She’d sing everywhere, too: doing her homework, blow-drying her hair, walking to class…
She also seemed to always be balancing something on her head. Mostly it was her water bottle, but occasionally I’d notice she was balancing a book, or something edible, like an apple. It was always the oddest thing to see her walking toward me at the music school balancing something – anything – on her head. But somehow, it just seemed so natural I didn’t even need to ask her why she did it. It was just – Georgia.
We slept in bunk beds. I slept on the bottom, and some nights I’d fall asleep to crinkling paper. In the morning I’d wake up to notes with varying messages, mostly: “GOOD MORNING HAY! HOPE YOU SLEPT WELL!”
One day she said to me, “I have a goal. I am going to bear my testimony to someone I don’t know every single day!” I found myself mutter “good luck” under my breath, thinking how that would look around the music school. But Georgia not only had courage, she was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. She knew how to handle people, how to talk to them, how to get into their hearts and souls and genuinely love them. She made so many friends doing this, and some even took the missionary discussions because of it. I found myself reaching for that same courage and trying to follow her example.
It was like rooming with a sister you hardly ever fought with. I think the only time we had any kind of frustration was when a pile of her clothes had begun to stack up in the center of the room for a couple of weeks. One evening I was sitting on my bed and I said to her, “Um, Georgia?” Brief pause. Then her classic response: “Yeah, I know I know! I’ll clean it up tomorrow!”
She was a little bit of a mess. She’d fall asleep doing her music theory homework and wake up the next morning to realize she hadn’t finished those chord progressions from the night before. She’d panic for a moment, then finish them in record time, proceed to run to the music school, splashing through the rain in her flip flops and pajamas to hand in the assignment before the lecture began!
I’d walk into our room some days to hear Georgia playing my favorite CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She would often sing along. She also kept three different journals: a gratitude journal, a scripture journal, and a journal where she recorded her daily activities. Our room was at the end of the hall and often we had to walk through a hallway of foul language and degrading music to open our door and be filled with the Holy Ghost. The habits we kept together – attending church and Institute every week, daily scripture reading, and daily prayers – kept us both close to the Lord during our time together in such worldly conditions.
We had a wonderful year. I was all set to return to school the following fall, but I found myself so very fortunate to be getting married instead – to a wonderful man I got to know through Georgia and her family while at college. And who took two days off of school to fly out to Utah for our wedding? None other than Georgia. She even sang and played her violin and my reception, reuniting our string quartet once again.
A couple of years went by, and my husband and I moved to the east coast. Georgia and I stayed in touch with emails and letters. But I know we both felt that we had unintentionally grown apart a little, so we played phone tag for a couple of months. Then she left for Vienna, Austria, for a summer abroad. It was one Sunday evening in late September, after her summer in Europe, that my husband had an idea on a whim to call Georgia again. She was never at home, but it was worth a try.
The phone rang a few times, and then her roommate Shanna, also a dear friend, picked up. She wasn’t sure where Georgia was or when she’d be back, but we had a very nice conversation with her. Then – click – we heard Georgia pick up on the other end. It was so wonderful to talk to her, finally, after so many months. We had an amazing conversation. She seemed closer to the Lord than ever before. My husband and I commented afterwards how remarkable she sounded. It was like the Holy Ghost was on the phone with her. It was truly an incredible conversation.
Two days later I got a call from that same roommate. It was a much different call than the last one. Georgia – hit by a dump truck while riding her bike on campus – in the hospital – fractured skull – might be okay after a few weeks. The tears came. They didn’t stop all day. I found out her siblings were all on planes, flying to her side as we spoke. Her wonderful parents were mission presidents in Brazil at that time. Her mom was on a plane right then, too. My husband started pacing – worried about our friend, worried about the grief stricken mother on the plane, both of us worried, worried, worried…
Another phone call. Everything should be fine. The doctors think she’ll be out of there in a few days if she can gain consciousness.
Yet another phone call from Shanna. “Haleigh, are you alone?”
“No, my mother-in-law is here.”
“You need to sit down.”
I sat, bracing myself. “Okay.”
“Georgia passed away. Just a little while ago. There was a blood clot in her brain. It just…stopped everything.”
Silence.
“Are you okay?”
“When is the funeral?” I asked, between sobs.
“There will be two – one in Indiana, and one in Salt Lake.”
She gave me the dates. We cried for a while together on the phone. And then I stayed up all night searching for and booking a ticket to her funeral in Utah.
Her parents received permission from the First Presidency to come home and bury their child. At the funeral in Indiana, her siblings put 300 Books of Mormon together with Georgia’s testimony in it, and gave out all 300 with people asking for more. I later learned that several of our “anti-Mormon” friends attended that funeral, and ended up taking the discussions because of Georgia’s death. They had over 900 people attend the funeral.
The family learned I was flying out. I was also 8 months pregnant, and bringing our 12-month-old son with me. They asked me to arrange prelude string quartet music and play in it. I was so honored.
I attended her viewing the night before the funeral. I got there early, but still ended up standing in a two hour line. Georgia was everywhere in that church: slideshows, pictures – so many of us together too. We got “camera happy” that year as roommates. It was so silly at the time, but now – I was so thankful for that.
I later learned that President Gordon B. Hinckley attended the viewing. The following day over one thousand people came to her funeral in Salt Lake City. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and President Thomas S. Monson both spoke. Her family all sang and played instruments, and nearly all of them spoke too. The spirit was so strong there.
Her family lived the gospel to its fullest during this difficult time. They showed love and comfort to not only Georgia’s friends and professors, but to the devastated truck driver who had hit her. Many people said that they tried to comfort her family, only to find the family comforting them. They realized that this family had something very special if they could be so strong in such a time.
I had found myself so devastated about her death. And even though I still miss her deeply to this day, I found myself healing as I sat in that chapel and felt the Holy Ghost wash over me and put the pieces of my broken heart back together. I began to see the big picture, with Georgia in it. I saw how the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had placed Georgia on earth at this time to touch the souls of people that no one else could. She came as a missionary, bearing her shining testimony to the world through her music and with her spoken word. And she left this earth an even greater missionary, causing many souls to wonder about life and death, only to find it in her testimony: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ!” How blessed I was to have her in my life! I have thanked the Lord many times for my association with her.
So when the leaves start to turn and I smell “back to school” in the air, I’ll turn to my roommate days with Georgia. I laugh to myself about how much fun we had together, and occasionally I’ll cry a little when I think of her death, but mostly when I feel the crisp, cool, autumn air, I have “Georgia on my mind.”
Each year as summer draws to a close and the weather turns cool, I start to reminisce a little about my life: back to school, birthdays, and holiday traditions all come to mind quite often. But nearly every September with the changing season, my mind turns to my dear friend, Georgia Marriott.
Sweet, spiritual, talented, wonderful Georgia! The first time I met this sparkly, bubbly spirit was in a 9th grade community orchestra in Salt Lake City. She was going on about why she needed braces (to close the gap between her front teeth, naturally), and how it would only be a few more months until they were off. Then she gave me this radiating smile and I thought – her smile is just perfect the way it is!
Happy, friendly Georgia! There were no groups or “cliques” with Georgia. Everyone was always invited, included, and loved. We naturally became fast friends. She joined the string quartet I played in, and we made many wonderful memories playing music together all over the Salt Lake valley. But more importantly, we loved playing the hymns out of the church hymnbook together. Georgia’s sweet testimony always shined as she played her violin. I remember looking up often at the violin section during orchestra to see Georgia’s enormous grin: so happy to be there making music with her friends.
The time came to decide where to go to college. I had narrowed down my choices, and one of them was the same as Georgia’s – and it was also halfway across the country. We vowed not to speak to each other about college until we had both decided where we were going, so as not to sway the other. And we both decided on that same school – Indiana University.
We were elated! After being officially accepted there, we made arrangements to be roommates in the freshman dorms. We were just excited to be roommates. We didn’t realize then how important the common ground of the gospel would be. So much of what I learned from her that year has shaped who I am today. With eleven children in her family, all with shining testimonies of the gospel, I often wondered how her parents raised all of them to be so strong in the church. When I think of them, I think of the scripture in Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation…” Georgia was not ashamed of the Gospel, and seemed to carry that power with her wherever she went.
As much as she loved playing her violin, I think she loved to sing just as much. She literally had the voice of an angel, and I have never heard anything like it before or since. She’d sing everywhere, too: doing her homework, blow-drying her hair, walking to class…
She also seemed to always be balancing something on her head. Mostly it was her water bottle, but occasionally I’d notice she was balancing a book, or something edible, like an apple. It was always the oddest thing to see her walking toward me at the music school balancing something – anything – on her head. But somehow, it just seemed so natural I didn’t even need to ask her why she did it. It was just – Georgia.
We slept in bunk beds. I slept on the bottom, and some nights I’d fall asleep to crinkling paper. In the morning I’d wake up to notes with varying messages, mostly: “GOOD MORNING HAY! HOPE YOU SLEPT WELL!”
One day she said to me, “I have a goal. I am going to bear my testimony to someone I don’t know every single day!” I found myself mutter “good luck” under my breath, thinking how that would look around the music school. But Georgia not only had courage, she was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. She knew how to handle people, how to talk to them, how to get into their hearts and souls and genuinely love them. She made so many friends doing this, and some even took the missionary discussions because of it. I found myself reaching for that same courage and trying to follow her example.
It was like rooming with a sister you hardly ever fought with. I think the only time we had any kind of frustration was when a pile of her clothes had begun to stack up in the center of the room for a couple of weeks. One evening I was sitting on my bed and I said to her, “Um, Georgia?” Brief pause. Then her classic response: “Yeah, I know I know! I’ll clean it up tomorrow!”
She was a little bit of a mess. She’d fall asleep doing her music theory homework and wake up the next morning to realize she hadn’t finished those chord progressions from the night before. She’d panic for a moment, then finish them in record time, proceed to run to the music school, splashing through the rain in her flip flops and pajamas to hand in the assignment before the lecture began!
I’d walk into our room some days to hear Georgia playing my favorite CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She would often sing along. She also kept three different journals: a gratitude journal, a scripture journal, and a journal where she recorded her daily activities. Our room was at the end of the hall and often we had to walk through a hallway of foul language and degrading music to open our door and be filled with the Holy Ghost. The habits we kept together – attending church and Institute every week, daily scripture reading, and daily prayers – kept us both close to the Lord during our time together in such worldly conditions.
We had a wonderful year. I was all set to return to school the following fall, but I found myself so very fortunate to be getting married instead – to a wonderful man I got to know through Georgia and her family while at college. And who took two days off of school to fly out to Utah for our wedding? None other than Georgia. She even sang and played her violin and my reception, reuniting our string quartet once again.
A couple of years went by, and my husband and I moved to the east coast. Georgia and I stayed in touch with emails and letters. But I know we both felt that we had unintentionally grown apart a little, so we played phone tag for a couple of months. Then she left for Vienna, Austria, for a summer abroad. It was one Sunday evening in late September, after her summer in Europe, that my husband had an idea on a whim to call Georgia again. She was never at home, but it was worth a try.
The phone rang a few times, and then her roommate Shanna, also a dear friend, picked up. She wasn’t sure where Georgia was or when she’d be back, but we had a very nice conversation with her. Then – click – we heard Georgia pick up on the other end. It was so wonderful to talk to her, finally, after so many months. We had an amazing conversation. She seemed closer to the Lord than ever before. My husband and I commented afterwards how remarkable she sounded. It was like the Holy Ghost was on the phone with her. It was truly an incredible conversation.
Two days later I got a call from that same roommate. It was a much different call than the last one. Georgia – hit by a dump truck while riding her bike on campus – in the hospital – fractured skull – might be okay after a few weeks. The tears came. They didn’t stop all day. I found out her siblings were all on planes, flying to her side as we spoke. Her wonderful parents were mission presidents in Brazil at that time. Her mom was on a plane right then, too. My husband started pacing – worried about our friend, worried about the grief stricken mother on the plane, both of us worried, worried, worried…
Another phone call. Everything should be fine. The doctors think she’ll be out of there in a few days if she can gain consciousness.
Yet another phone call from Shanna. “Haleigh, are you alone?”
“No, my mother-in-law is here.”
“You need to sit down.”
I sat, bracing myself. “Okay.”
“Georgia passed away. Just a little while ago. There was a blood clot in her brain. It just…stopped everything.”
Silence.
“Are you okay?”
“When is the funeral?” I asked, between sobs.
“There will be two – one in Indiana, and one in Salt Lake.”
She gave me the dates. We cried for a while together on the phone. And then I stayed up all night searching for and booking a ticket to her funeral in Utah.
Her parents received permission from the First Presidency to come home and bury their child. At the funeral in Indiana, her siblings put 300 Books of Mormon together with Georgia’s testimony in it, and gave out all 300 with people asking for more. I later learned that several of our “anti-Mormon” friends attended that funeral, and ended up taking the discussions because of Georgia’s death. They had over 900 people attend the funeral.
The family learned I was flying out. I was also 8 months pregnant, and bringing our 12-month-old son with me. They asked me to arrange prelude string quartet music and play in it. I was so honored.
I attended her viewing the night before the funeral. I got there early, but still ended up standing in a two hour line. Georgia was everywhere in that church: slideshows, pictures – so many of us together too. We got “camera happy” that year as roommates. It was so silly at the time, but now – I was so thankful for that.
I later learned that President Gordon B. Hinckley attended the viewing. The following day over one thousand people came to her funeral in Salt Lake City. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and President Thomas S. Monson both spoke. Her family all sang and played instruments, and nearly all of them spoke too. The spirit was so strong there.
Her family lived the gospel to its fullest during this difficult time. They showed love and comfort to not only Georgia’s friends and professors, but to the devastated truck driver who had hit her. Many people said that they tried to comfort her family, only to find the family comforting them. They realized that this family had something very special if they could be so strong in such a time.
I had found myself so devastated about her death. And even though I still miss her deeply to this day, I found myself healing as I sat in that chapel and felt the Holy Ghost wash over me and put the pieces of my broken heart back together. I began to see the big picture, with Georgia in it. I saw how the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had placed Georgia on earth at this time to touch the souls of people that no one else could. She came as a missionary, bearing her shining testimony to the world through her music and with her spoken word. And she left this earth an even greater missionary, causing many souls to wonder about life and death, only to find it in her testimony: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ!” How blessed I was to have her in my life! I have thanked the Lord many times for my association with her.
So when the leaves start to turn and I smell “back to school” in the air, I’ll turn to my roommate days with Georgia. I laugh to myself about how much fun we had together, and occasionally I’ll cry a little when I think of her death, but mostly when I feel the crisp, cool, autumn air, I have “Georgia on my mind.”
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Filled with light
Georgia's birth brought light to the world. She continued to nurture that light during her life and left the world brighter.
Thank you, Georgia, for sharing that light with me. Thank you for bringing me closer to God, for helping me feel deeply the miracle of Christ's sacrifice and triumph over death. Thank you for so living that we can believe in life after death.
All of this light and this hope comes from Jesus Christ and our Eternal Father in Heaven. She came with their light and she continued in that light. May we all do the same.
Why do I feel connected to the world beyond death? My dear Georgia lives there. She lives on!
A part of me has gone there. This part of me rekindles the whole with peace, hope, and joy in the everlasting Gospel of the Lamb.
I love you, Georgia
your eternal brother through Christ,
Cannon
Thank you, Georgia, for sharing that light with me. Thank you for bringing me closer to God, for helping me feel deeply the miracle of Christ's sacrifice and triumph over death. Thank you for so living that we can believe in life after death.
All of this light and this hope comes from Jesus Christ and our Eternal Father in Heaven. She came with their light and she continued in that light. May we all do the same.
Why do I feel connected to the world beyond death? My dear Georgia lives there. She lives on!
A part of me has gone there. This part of me rekindles the whole with peace, hope, and joy in the everlasting Gospel of the Lamb.
I love you, Georgia
your eternal brother through Christ,
Cannon
Monday, November 17, 2008
On Her Birthday
This is a post my mom wrote as a comment, but I thought I'd save her the trouble of learning how to do a post and do it for her.
Happy Birthday, Georgia!!Today, Sunday November 16, was a beautiful day in Holladay; especially to Dad, Trace, and me as we visited Georgia's grave. Trace carried the scissors for trimming around her gravestone, Dad had the broom for sweeping it clean, and I brought three pale pink lilies for the graveside vase. Cannon had given them to me and his gift looked perfect for Georgia's birthday. We trimmed and swept then talked about our Georgia memories. Trace remembered jumping on the trampoline with her. I remembered her cheery, goofy, funny way of flitting around the house. Dad spoke of her singing. We agreed that she doesn't want us to grieve but is surely happy that she is remembered so well and so often. How could we forget such a treasure as Georgia? We can't. She is an angel who is often 'round about us."
Happy Birthday, Georgia!!Today, Sunday November 16, was a beautiful day in Holladay; especially to Dad, Trace, and me as we visited Georgia's grave. Trace carried the scissors for trimming around her gravestone, Dad had the broom for sweeping it clean, and I brought three pale pink lilies for the graveside vase. Cannon had given them to me and his gift looked perfect for Georgia's birthday. We trimmed and swept then talked about our Georgia memories. Trace remembered jumping on the trampoline with her. I remembered her cheery, goofy, funny way of flitting around the house. Dad spoke of her singing. We agreed that she doesn't want us to grieve but is surely happy that she is remembered so well and so often. How could we forget such a treasure as Georgia? We can't. She is an angel who is often 'round about us."
Georgia's Day - Hooray!
Even though this is a day late - I spent her day looking through pictures of her and the family, laughing and remembering, writing in my journal about her and her impact on my life, and rereading the obituary and her testimony- I want to pay tribute to her, Cami's words really touched me, thanks Cami. I am once again astounded at her writing, her presence, and her desire to always do good.
I remember her saying to me, before she went back to IU her senior year, that she was "the quiet one of the family". I just said that I wish I could be more quiet and more like her. She laughed and said something to the effect "we wouldn't want to be a boring family though". She always saw the good in others.
I loved her imitations of songs, movies, etc. (hands together in pose, singing "Doe A Deer" and of course "what you think, I'm dumb or somethin'?") and her in the middle of the bunch hugging and laughing.
I was touched by her words in her testimony that rang true to me again yesterday.
"Because Jesus Christ is with me, I forget myself because I know I am okay and I am secure on His rock, and then I can focus on others, on the gospel, on exerting myself to good, and building on Him."
Isn't that her life's theme? If we follow her example and even better teach our children that, our wills would be the Lords, just like Georgia's is.
I love Georgia. I will always be thankful for her part in my life and continue to be blessed by her presence at times.
Love - Paige
I remember her saying to me, before she went back to IU her senior year, that she was "the quiet one of the family". I just said that I wish I could be more quiet and more like her. She laughed and said something to the effect "we wouldn't want to be a boring family though". She always saw the good in others.
I loved her imitations of songs, movies, etc. (hands together in pose, singing "Doe A Deer" and of course "what you think, I'm dumb or somethin'?") and her in the middle of the bunch hugging and laughing.
I was touched by her words in her testimony that rang true to me again yesterday.
"Because Jesus Christ is with me, I forget myself because I know I am okay and I am secure on His rock, and then I can focus on others, on the gospel, on exerting myself to good, and building on Him."
Isn't that her life's theme? If we follow her example and even better teach our children that, our wills would be the Lords, just like Georgia's is.
I love Georgia. I will always be thankful for her part in my life and continue to be blessed by her presence at times.
Love - Paige
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A Tribute from Cami Heywood Austin
Happy Birthday Georgia! One of my first memories of Georgia was when we played a Mozart Concerto together in a small Suzuki group. After our performance, a jazz band played "Georgia on My Mind." We danced in the back so no one could see us, but that changed when they asked us to come up front. I went up with hesitation, but Georgia had no fear. This was her song and she had no problem dancing with an old man in front of a crowd. I feel so blessed to have had Georgia as my friend. She has confidence in herself, knows who she is and helps others to see their own eternal potential. Being around her not only would I feel joy and love, but I had a desire to be better and serve others. There is no doubt that Georgia is sharing the joy in the spirit world right now. I received the tragic news of Georgia's passing while serving my mission in the Canary Islands. It was hard for me to go out and knock doors after I received the news, but I felt a push, as if Georgia were there getting me out of the door. With tear stains on my cheeks I went out and began to search for someone to teach. My companion found a kind woman who let us in, and as we shared the message with her I felt strongly to share with her my loss of my friend. I testified of the truth of seeing our loved ones again. She began to cry and share with me that she had lost two daughters in a car accident. Her heart was touched and we knelt in a very emotional prayer as we both grieved. She later joined the church. Georgia is on my mind. She continues to be an inspiration to me. I love you Georgia! You are my friend for eternity.
Pictures of Georgia With Family
With Adam in High School
With Caroline on a visit to Washington, DC in college
Family picture in Nauvoo, IL while Georgia was serving as a performing missionary there.
Wow. The Marriotts at bedtime. Georgia is far right with a wild pigtail and happy smile!
Hats from a trip to Phoenix. Georgia is third from the right.
With little brother, Trace at the cabin.
Holding (probably) brother David
On a horseback ride with brothers Adam and David at the cabin - her favorite place.
On her birthday in DC at Georgia Brown's restaurant with John, Paige, and Caroline.
With Grandma Marriott in 2002
With Wesley on a hike at the cabin - Jr. high school
Holding niece Laurel in Rochester, NY
"Floating" down the river with big sister, Paige at the cabin
Performing with brother, Cannon in high school
With David and Adam
At the cabin with Michelle Glauser and Kate at the cabin, freshman year of college.
With sister bridesmaids and niece Melaine at Kate's wedding.
Dancing with Daniel at the wedding
With Kate and Christian at the wedding
With Mom at high school graduation
With Dad and Mom
After a performance with Dad and Mom
Olympus High School graduation
LDS Seminary Graduation (in high school)
Baptism at 8 years old with Big Daddy and Grandma
Arriving home from the hospital in Utah
Christmas morning being silly
Acting out the nativity. Georgia is "Mary" with no need for a baby doll, she is holding brother Trace.
Cousins Abby, Karen, and Maryann posing "with" Georgia
Christmas eve dinner with Daniel and Dad
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Pictures With Friends in Utah
As I looked through these pictures of friends I decided not to put any names or captions because I don't trust my memory and also for privacy for those who don't particularly want their names on the internet this way. I think the pictures speak for themselves and Georgia's smiles at being with the wonderful people she was associated with just show how much she loved you all.
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