Another Loss

On Saturday, my funny friend and fellow writer, Rebecca (RE) Geneck Delo, died after a heroic battle with cancer. I HATE CANCER! I’ve lost entirely too many friends to it, and now another.

Rebecca was a member of our church. She had also belonged to our critique group, although she had stopped attending before we began. Still, the group continued to cheer her on, and in 2012, she announced that her first book, Another Crappy Diet Book, was finally available in paperback.

I got one of the first copies, and found it laugh-out-loud funny. The next time I saw her, she said she knew some revisions were still necessary. I said I’d help her edit it for a second edition and also get it into Kindle as an ebook.

Life happened, and we never completed either of those tasks. Then came the cancer.

In the final chapter of her book, Rebecca (almost prophetically) says:

“Through the course of living, we lose some of our loved ones, No matter how old or young they were, it’s a painful loss. However, from our grief comes strength.”

Later she continues:

“…Our gifts are many; use all of them. When we do this, an interesting thing happens—life becomes so much easier, and simply happier. We must embrace what we have, because we are the lucky ones.

“Our parents have given us the greatest gift of all: our life. Maybe it’s time to let the little child in us come out to play. The future has amazing possibilities for us. Enjoy your path.”

And she did.

Her husband wrote a note to the church today:

“To our Church Family. Rebecca passed after a long and painful struggle. Cancer got her body, but not her Spirit and her Soul. Your thoughts, prayers and love sustained her over the past three years and was a monumental support to both of us. May God continue to bless you all.”

Her book is available on Amazon.com. The proceeds are donated to the animal rescue group she and her husband ran on their ranch. If you want to enjoy a hearty laugh, get a copy. Like Rebecca herself, much of the narrative is unfiltered, and all of it is real and genuine.

You can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/py89t2x.

Your life was much too short, my friend, but your legacy of laughter will bring joy to all who read your words. Rest in peace.