The first thing I want to say is that Colleen would be so incredibly proud of this. Due to her illness, she was very candid about her death and made it amply clear to everyone that we had better party when she passed. I think this probably would have surpassed her expectations and hopes for a memorial event for her. It’s gonna be a party here shortly, but it’s also a philanthropic event that is hopefully going to make a big impact to the causes Colleen loved the most. If knowing Colleen and the event today doesn’t inspire you to do some good in the world around you, I don’t know what will. Colleen, if you’re listening, you are still pressuring me into being a better human. You’re succeeding!

I could talk forever about Colleen. I don’t want to sugarcoat our friendship; we had fallen distant in the most recent years. But we had a game night planned the weekend after she passed…we had been planning recipes to share and were excited to revive our geeky friendship over board games and food. Most of my stories about Colleen cover elementary through high school, but even across decades, as she and I are approaching 30 years old soon, her friendship and personality had massive impacts on my life.

Colleen was fierce. She always stood up for what she believed in. She pointed out issues in other people and would tell you when you did something wrong. I made a snarky comment once, teasing her about being a cheerleader, and she flat out told me that was hurtful and wrong of me to say. As a 17-year-old, that was shocking and hard to hear. Looking back at it, it was a growing moment for me that Colleen provided, and she was fearless in doing it. I wish more people were like that – that I was like that. We didn’t talk for a few days afterwards but made up, in typical teenage girl fashion.

On that same note, she was the reason I started getting my eyebrows waxed because she flat-out told me I needed to have them done. This was in the days of super thin, arched brows being in, of course, and she wanted her friends to always look their best. She had no problem providing direct feedback.

Colleen was fun and energetic. Back in our elementary school days, Colleen and I were on a basketball team that our dads coached together. Neither of us were any good. What I lacked in skill, I made up for in size. I was a large, hefty elementary schooler. What Colleen lacked in skill, she made up for in energy and heart. That girl would throw herself all over the court, would battle it out over jump balls, and always tried her hardest. You would never know the girl had medical conditions, spent days in hospitals at a time, took handfuls of pills daily. It never showed in how she carried herself. This extended into high school. As I mentioned, Collen was a cheerleader. A few of her teammates are here tonight, and I am sure they can confirm she was well loved on that team. Also, as an aside, my volleyball practice and her cheerleading practice often overlapped in the CLC fieldhouse…and Colleen’s voice was always the easiest heard across the gym. That said, I am confident that our Junior year’s Homecoming Olympics team was the ONLY one to have a built-in cheerleader who made up cheers on the spot to chant between events, much to the mixture of embarrassment and joy of her teammates. We did NOT win or finish in the top, but we had a TON of fun, which is all that really mattered in the end. Although…Colleen and I both would have preferred to win.

I think the final quality about Colleen is perhaps the most important one, and really shaped the event we are having today. Colleen LOVED others well, and she loved them hard. She loved her friends and was fiercely loyal. She always asked me about me, my husband, my siblings (especially Tanner because he is between Michael and Blake in age), my parents, my horse, my dog, everything in my life, before she would let me get a word in edgewise. Her memory was a steel trap for others and she asked the questions not to SEEM like she cared, but because Colleen truly cared. (Colleen Cares… makes sense, doesn’t it?). Then finally I would get an answer from her. She never skimped on details, but was quick to share her feelings, thoughts, plans, and everything with you. She was not a one-way street type of friend.

Her love of strangers was perhaps one of the more unique things about Colleen. She loved to care for those less fortunate. I think she ended up making this happen with another friend, probably Karly, but she suggested on multiple summers that we go into the city on hot weekends and hand out waters to homeless people. She suggested walking around in downtown Chicago with “free hug” signs. I laughed when she first suggested it and when I realized she was in earnest, I couldn’t help but to admire my friend. For a girl who was born into medical adversity, she had the biggest heart for others I think I’ve ever met to this day.