I remember when I first met Mary, long before we were married. You'll sometimes hear stories about when two people meet, and one of them knows that this is the person they'll end up marrying. When I first met Mary, I knew right away that I had found someone very special - someone that I could see myself falling in love with. And in time I did. And luckily for me, Mary felt the same way.

But how could you not love Mary. I've heard people try to describe what was so special about her. They've said, "You could talk to her for ten minutes, and it felt like you had known her for ten years." or "She always had a smile and was so happy." You couldn't help but love Mary, because she took Jesus's new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you" to heart. It's so easy to say....and often so hard to do. But Mary took it heart and lived it - every day. And that is a special gift, both for Mary and everyone who knew her.

Mary lived a life of joy, full of love in the people around her and wonder at the beauty she saw everywhere. More than once Mary told me, "You know, I'm really just a large child." And in all of the best ways - she really was. She never lost her childlike innocence, or her sense of amazement at the world around her. She managed responsibility, without becoming jaded by it. Life with Mary was always full of exclamations, "Rainbows! Puppies! Babies! Yellow! Butterflies!". We'd be walking somewhere, her eyes would light up and she'd tug on my arm, and she'd shout out with joy at something that I had looked at .... but not really seen. Mary never lost the ability to see the beauty in the world around her.

For the last eight years I've had the gift of seeing the world through Mary's eyes. And for that, I truly am grateful, for through Mary's eyes the world is a beautiful place. Mary treasured ever second of her life in that world. And she lived that life well, as God intended. I hope that I can do half as good a job in my life as Mary did in hers, because I miss her very much and would like to see her again someday.

Rest in peace, honey. You lived your life well. I love you. We all love you.