MySource:Jason.surratt/Monica Haydee Tomagno's Eulogy

This is one of several eulogies that were read at Monica's funeral on 4/11/2008. This was written and read by Karen Surratt.

The death of someone you love is not something you ever get over. You learn to live with it. It becomes, with time, easier to live with, but you never get over it. Our pain celebrates the person who died when we learn to go on to live a full and joyful life: how tragic and how beautiful.

I love Monica. I have known her since high school. What a classy lady she was--always. She was special. You could see it; you could feel it. From the beginning, she loved my brother. Then came the added bonus of being her sister-in-law.

She was so creative, constantly involved in something exciting and new and interested in the exciting things others might be doing. She was ready to have fun; to play games; to cook wonderful food; to walk on the beach, to talk, to listen. She was there for me, for my children, for her family, and for my brother.

Isn’t it interesting how important one person can be in the family constellation? What a wonderful life my family has had. Many of those wonderful experiences were because of Monica. We didn’t get together all the time, but we got together on a regular basis. We got together for all of life’s important events. And Monica was always there.

Monica loved her life and held on to it as long as she possibly could. Some of the doctors were scratching their heads, wondering how she was still alive. I believe she was continuing to live because of her deep, enduring, unshakable love for my brother and the life she shared with him. She loved him: she loved to argue with him; banter with him; joke with him. She loved everything about him. What a wonderful team they made and what a relationship they had. Some live a lifetime without ever finding the awesome love they shared.

Monica’s life was a gift to all of us. I am not saying she was perfect; what I am saying is that she was a person who amazed and dazzled, in spite of any imperfections or mistakes. She had a love and zest for the world that kept her life on track, a track that led towards joy and love. We are all better for the fact that she has lived. She is someone I will always remember; always love; and always continue to try and emulate--just as I have done over the last forty something years.

Faith believes in those things that cannot be seen. Monica, I still believe in you: in your love for us: your laughter, your companionship, and your support. And I have faith that you will have an impact on heaven, just as you will continue to have an impact upon us on earth.

Good-bye to this life and this world, Monica. I envy you the fact that you are meeting, greeting and taking up where you left off with all of our loved ones who have gone before. You deserve heaven; I believe it is a wonderful place, made even more wonderful because of your presence there.