Good-bye, Karen

Easter 1963 – The Landry family siblings in happier times. From left to right is Al, Rob, Jamie, Jodie, Karen, and Van.

I was planning on writing a post in my “From Acadian to Cajun” series that I’ve been doing this year.  But then something happened that is so much more important – last night my older sister Karen passed away.

What can you say about a sibling who has passed away?  Nothing seems to be enough.  There is such a long history together.  She was already part of the family when I came around.  It seems like she should still be here, but that’s not the way life goes sometimes.  

She was diagnosed with Multiple Systems Atrophy about three years ago after several things started going wrong.  As the name implies, various systems in a person’s body begin to atrophy.  A person slowly loses functioning in the body over time.  Time that I thought we would have more of.

What I can say about her is that she dealt with her condition admirably.  She always seemed to me to be upbeat and positive.  She was a sweet and loving person.  Saying that sounds trite, but it is true.  She was a peaceful soul.  She will be missed.

Good-bye, Karen.