Joanna Elizabeth Gillespie was born on July 6, 1984. On Nov. 8, 2020, she was reunited with many family members who have passed on and for whom she cared deeply. Joanna had a glow that would light up any room. Her kindness was unqualified, it radiated and was received by anyone around her. Joanna was an artist, a skilled jewelry maker and ….. She helped anyone without hesitation, she loved unconditionally, and was a caretaker to everyone. She is missed beyond what words can say but is finally at peace. She is survived by her partner of 16 years Michael Osberg, her mother Robin McKay, her father John Gillespie, her step-mother Senora Gillespie, and her siblings Benson and Hannah.
Joanna Gillespie
My prayers remain with Joanna and her loving parents. What a beautiful smile and radiating spirit.
As she sleeps, we here weep.
Her demons are no more.
The why and how, are of no matter.
As such, they are beyond us all.
Regrettably we were never able to extend our visits
beyond the early years. Not enough time to discover
her true personhood, and so we missed the blossom
of the young woman she had become.
So until we awake on distant shores,
Sleep well Dear Joanna, sleep well,
an on the morrow, may your dreams be true.
lc 11/12’20
For a parent to outlive their beloved child, is the hardest cross to bear.
A test of faith far too scary to ever imagine, and yet here we are.
They were to be the one sitting on the edge of the bed in stoic vigil,
holding hands while whispering, it’s OK to go. That’s the way it was supposed to be.
Yet the world intervened, and the dreams of tomorrow, are all full of sorrow.
Those left behind, now embrace a solitude, alone in the darkest of hours,
facing the unimaginable, beyond the limits of what must endure.
“Ash on an old man’s sleeve
Is all the ash the burnt roses leave.
Dust in the air suspended
Marks the place where a story ended.” TS Eliot
Yet still, even knowing such things, is of no real consequence.
For when it happens, how it happens, is of no real consequence because,.
Sooner or later, all disappear from this world, to return to the beginning.
Family and friends will do their best to aid and comfort. But during the nights,
no one can reach in and heal the broken heart or ease the mind numbing pain.
Such words are hard to say, harder to hear, yet once acknowledged and experienced
in full measure, their grip will lessen and in time, the burden worn.
Still we are compelled to say that which we know, because we have witnessed that
Faith shall endure. And it is there, In Faith, that we find solace,
that we find the time to mend, the time to heal, the time to repurpose and live again.
We also know there comes a Grace to those most in need.
A gift from within, that will flow outward, surrounding, comforting, supporting,
providing protection, from the irrelevance of the World around us.
I pray you may Use the Gift, for it has already been given.
Seek the source, for the source has already found you.
Tomorrow the sun will rise and so too our beloved ones.
Joanna Gillespie is at rest. We leave with you our condolences. Lenny & Susan
Nov 8, 2020
I’m so sorry, I miss you everyday.