There are few people in this world that effect their surroundings as Beverly did when she was with us. It’s pretty common to hear wonderful things said about people who have passed on. Except that Beverly Jean Abel was very different from everyone else.

I think that every person that met her must have instantly fallen in love with her. Her light-hearted, joyous spirit was quite infectious to be around. If she wasn’t singing a song or suggesting throwing the Frisbee in the park, then she must have been laughing.

Not the greatest of composers could compose a melody more beautiful than the sound of her laughter. It brought us hope that the world was indeed the beautiful place.

She was more than a sister to her eight siblings; she was a best friend. She was more than a daughter; she was an innocent child. And she was definitely more than a mother to me, she was an angel sent from the most angelic place ever imagined.

So, you can say that someone was a great person or wonderful to be around, but it doesn’t describe Beverly because she changed the world in only thirty short years. I am so proud to be her daughter that each time I smile you can see that pride radiate.

Every time I teach a child about music or make a baby smile, I know that my mother is present reminiscing about me; thinking of my young fingers on the keys or my sweet baby coos.

The best way for Beverly’s loved ones to honor her would be to honor themselves, give to others, or pay it forward. Her inner storms caused her to leave us, but she definitely left us better than we ever could have been without knowing her.