Coupeville Sports

Nicole Becker (right) and best friend Jai’Lysa Hoskins.

Becker, her parents and her sister at Nicole’s graduation.

We are all one.

There are good things and bad things about small towns, but one thing defines a town like Coupeville, and that is that we all pretty much know one another.

Our paths cross at work, in the grocery store, at games, on the street. We know people even when we don’t know them.

As a community, as a town, as Wolf Nation, we pick each other up in our lowest moments. There is no other way.

Nicole Becker needs our help right now, our prayers (if that’s how you roll), our thoughts, our support.

Whether you know her personally and can reach out to her, whether you know her in passing, as a Wolf cheer captain and track runner, or as an eternally upbeat veteran of the dish pit at Christopher’s on Whidbey, whether you have never met her, we need to be there for her in whatever way we can.

Losing your older sister to death, as Nicole did Sunday, can be shattering.

But the darkness can be eased, a bit, by the knowledge you are loved, others think of you and want to take some of that pain away. That you are not alone as you head down this path.

Nicole is one of the most genuinely sweet people I have met in my time covering sports in Coupeville. Working with her at the restaurant has reinforced that belief.

In one of the many track photos from her senior year, she’s with her relay teammates, and, having spotted the camera, she’s grinning and waving the baton at the photographer, while her partners remain basically oblivious to what’s going on.

During basketball season, when the little elementary school cheerleaders came in for a halftime performance, there is Nicole, front and center, smiling down at one of the little girls, making her feel like she’s the star of the evening.

She is a wonderful young woman, one who seems to have a deep faith in God, and I hope that helps her through this time.

Her sister will live on through her, through her memories.

But we can not forget about Nicole herself. Let her know, in whatever way you can, that we are here for her, today and forever.