A Celebration Of Life

Renee – I remember hollering your name before I could even pronounce it: “Ne-ne! Ne-neeee!”. I’d beg you to come play, just because. Thinking back on those early years, it is probably accurate to say you were my first true friend. Not a parent or a guardian who looked after me and (mostly) kept me from busting my butt while I got into something I shouldn’t have—but a friend, a confidante, someone that I associated with play and unadulterated joy. There was no world in which I thought you were one of the boring adults—you were more like an older sister, and we could just have goofy, carefree fun.

While going through these pictures, I am faced with two realities: 1) you belonged to more than just me. You belonged at once in Alabama, and Compton, and Texas, and Pennsylvania, and everywhere in-between. Your community was vast and varied, and they all mattered to you, and you to them. And 2) you were always the fun, goofy one. I have pictures spanning 40 years of you pulling your ears, and sticking your tongue at the camera, as if to say: “I’m doing my own thing—keep up or move out the way”.

And that’s how I will always remember you. You always knew how to brighten the room with your sense of joy. We were always looking for you. And now I hope you find rest and peace knowing that those that love you will always cherish your memory. Love you Nene.

Renee,

As I sit here watching Fried Green Tomatoes, one of your favorite movies, I feel at a loss for words. I never thought this could happen. You were like my second mom growing up—if that mom was cool and inappropriate at the same time, and would let me watch mobster movies late at night.

No matter how unserious you were, you made sure to use your powers of distraction to help me through hard times. You used to threaten me about school and made sure that I completed college. Whenever I felt stressed or sad, you were able to sense something was off with me and would find a way to make me laugh.

You were my rock. You were filled with a beautiful light, surrounded by sarcasm and jokes. Your love language was “words of threats,” not affirmation. If you ever threatened to push someone into a bush or throw them into traffic, then they were one of the lucky ones—you loved them.

Now that you are gone, I think about all of the wonderful memories I had with you. Thirty-five beautiful years with the best aunt I have ever had.

Wanda Renee Kirkland
"Righter of Wrongs, Queen Beyond Repair"
ToWanda.