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Archive for the ‘In memory’ Category

Farm Dog, forever loved!!

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , on September 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Stacie

   Stacie Farmer (left) hangs out with Wolf softball teammates Andrea Larson (middle) and Laura Crandall. (Photos courtesy the Farmer family)

Farm Dog

Farm Dog being Farm Dog.

Today is a terrible day and a beautiful day, entwined together.

It is both the day Stacie Farmer entered the world and the day her body could no longer keep her here.

A life spirit like no other, a young woman who generated nothing but good will wherever she went, from her days at Coupeville High School and far beyond, Farm Dog will always be with us.

She was born Sept. 15, 1986, Brian and Cathi Farmer’s third child, joining David and Lisa.

Stacie passed from the physical world six years ago, on her birthday, unable to recover from injuries suffered when she was hit by a car while on a bicycle.

In the 24 years between those two birthdays, she was a genuine rarity, a young woman who crossed all lines and boundaries and found friends in every nook and cranny.

Whether she was patrolling the softball field for the Wolves, hanging out with her pack at Miriam’s Espresso and Videoville, or carving out new paths in far-flung locales after graduation, there was always an adventure to be embraced.

As the years pass, it is vitally important we all, here in Coupeville and in the many other communities she spent time in, never forget her soaring spirit.

The way she welcomed life in every day.

In simple gestures and big moments alike, she left a little bit of Farm Dog in the soul of everyone she met along her journey.

In her latter years, she was fond of the saying “bhavuta sabba mangalam,” which translates to “may all beings be happy.”

Whether you knew her intimately or were never blessed with a chance to meet her, open your heart and listen to Stacie’s words.

Embrace them, act on them.

That way Farm Dog lives forever, a part of all of us.

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Happy birthday, Kim, always!!

Posted in In memory, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on February 10, 2016| 1 Comment »

Kim Meche (center)

Kim Meche (center) with her players.

The story I wrote in the Whidbey News-Times when Meche left Oak Harbor to take the Coupeville job.

   The story I wrote in the Whidbey News-Times when Meche left Oak Harbor to take the Coupeville job.

Kim Meche was one of the nicest people I have ever met.

She was also one of the most talented, and, ultimately, one of the bravest.

Today is her birthday and that she is not here to celebrate it with her family, friends and the many young women she impacted on the volleyball court is truly sad.

Except, Kim was never one to embrace the sadness, even in her darkest moments. And we should remember that.

Her sense of humor, her compassion for others, her love, never faded, not in the fun times, when she was flying high as a player and coach, or in the lowest of times, when she relentlessly fought cancer to a standstill.

Cancer rarely loses, and the disease will claim that it took Kim.

Except it didn’t.

Through the pain, and the struggle, her smile was there, always. She loved her life, and she fought to hold on to it.

Her body lost the battle in 2013, but her spirit never faded. Not then and not now.

She fought like the Wildcat she was, like the Wolf she was, like the Bulldog she was.

Those three animals represent the three high schools Kim was associated with — Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Stevenson.

She was a superb athlete who became an even better coach, a rarity, and led two separate high schools to state tourneys.

The day she left Oak Harbor, her alma mater, to come to Coupeville, I was Sports Editor at the Whidbey News-Times and got to write the story about the move.

I had worked with her before, and worked with her afterwards, and the one thing which never changed was how she conducted herself.

She wasn’t coaching for the money, she was coaching for love.

I have seen a lot of coaches come and go, and a few just have that magic sparkle, an ability to reach in and touch lives with a few words.

Kim was one of the absolute best.

When she left Coupeville, to go to Stevenson a world away and become an administrator, she left the Coupeville program in the hands of her assistant, Toni Crebbin, and the Wolves never skipped a beat.

As word filtered in of her battles with cancer, everyone who knew her pulled for Kim, rejoiced when she got better, and crashed when she got worse.

The day she passed three communities mourned as one.

But here’s the thing.

Her impact goes on to this day, and it will go on for a very, very long time.

It filters down through every young woman who played for her and now passes on her wisdom to their own children.

It filters down through every person who coached with her, who taught with her, who worked with her.

It filters down through every one of us who talked to her, who listened to her, who remembers her.

Kim Meche was a rare gem in this world, and she will not be forgotten.

When I started my Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, she was the first person I inducted. And really, there is no one else who I even considered other than her for that position.

Some set records. Some change worlds.

She did both.

From all of us who had the chance to know you, Kim, happy birthday. May your spirit burn brightly, today and every day.

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Farm Dog forever!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, In memory, tagged , , on December 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Stacie Farmer

Stacie Farmer in her natural habitat. (Photo courtesy Farmer family)

Stacie Farmer continues to impact lives near and far.

Five years after she passed away on her 25th birthday as a result of injuries suffered in an accident, the former Coupeville High School softball star and force for good in the world is still with us, in memory and spirit.

And, as a story out of Virginia attests, her decision to donate her organs has made an immeasurable impact on people she never met.

People who will carry a part of Stacie with them forever.

To read the story about Stacie’s mom, Cathi, and sister, Lisa, getting to meet those who benefited from her decision, pop over to:

http://www.fox5dc.com/health/57452852-story

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Goodnight, Farm Dog, never goodbye

Posted in In memory, Softball, tagged , , , , on September 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Stacie Farmer, during her days as a softball slugger.

   Stacie Farmer, during her days as a softball slugger. (Photos courtesy Farmer family)

Farm Dog

Farm Dog, on top of the world.

Stacie Farmer turns 29 today.

And yes, I am aware that, in one sense, she has been gone for five years. In another sense, however, she never left us.

A tragic accident damaged her body, but Farm Dog held on long enough for her family to reach her side before she departed the physical earth 24 years to the day she first entered it.

Sept. 15, 1986 – Sept. 15, 2010.

Not long enough at all, and yet she did so much, accomplished so much, brought so much joy to those she loved, or those she met just for a moment, that she filled every one of her days to bursting.

In the five years since her passing, Stacie’s life has lived on, through her words and those of all who knew her.

Her Facebook page, left open by her family, has become a place for people to remember the young woman who bounced through life, dreadlocks swinging, transcendent smile touching every part of the horizon.

From her days as a softball slugger at Coupeville High School to the moments when she and her friends hung out at Miriam’s Espresso and Videoville — where I most frequently came into contact with her — to her times exploring the world, her open heart reaching out to touch all she encountered, Stacie was like no other.

She wasn’t perfect. No one is. But she made a solid run at it.

Stacie strode through life, unafraid, always up to a challenge, always looking for the good in others.

In the mountains, on the river, wherever she was found, Farm Dog was the one who reached out to others, brought others into her world.

She was only here for 24 years, but she spent her time well.

Each of us who had a chance to know Stacie have kept her memory alive in some way, through stories, through tears, through memories.

With Coupeville Sports, I have a small, but unique, way to make sure her name, her memory, her spirit, never fades.

Here on this blog we have a Hall o’ Fame (it’s at the top of the blog under the Legends tab), dedicated to the best that Coupeville has produced. Normally the induction ceremonies, twelve so far, happen each Sunday.

Today, on a day that has so much significance, I want to induct Stacie alone, for she was always in a class by herself.

For her days on the diamond, yes, but more, for her life and the way she chose to live it.

It is not much, admittedly, but it is at least a small way in which I can make sure she is always with us, is always remembered.

When someone goes through the list of honorees and asks “Who was Stacie Farmer? Why is she in your Hall?” it will keep the conversation alive. It will give us another chance to make sure her flame never flickers.

As it should be.

On this day, and every day, we say “Goodnight, Stacie.” Never “Goodbye Stacie.”

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“He wanted to make everyone succeed!!”

Posted in In memory, Softball, tagged , , , on August 20, 2015| 3 Comments »

Tim Collins

   Monica Vidoni (red uniform) stands next to former South Whidbey High School softball coach Tim Collins. (Photo courtesy Vidoni)

Falcon. Wolf. Doesn’t matter in the end, as it’s one Whidbey.

News that South Whidbey High School softball coach Tim Collins had passed away suddenly at 66 reverberated across the Island.

The news hit home especially hard for former CHS player Monica Vidoni, who had left for college in Minnesota earlier in the week.

Vidoni played summer ball for Collins and had the following to say about her coach:

I knew Tim really well. He was very, very kind.

He was my coach last summer and he helped me  become a better hitter in softball.

He used to pick me up for softball every week with his daughter.

If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t of hit that inside of the park grand slam. He adjusted my hitting and now I can hit better then ever.

He let me play first base every game.

He would take us to Jack in the Box after every game.

He invited me to open gyms for softball in South Whidbey.

Even though I was on the rival team, Tim still wanted to make me a better softball player, and that’s what he did.

Tim was and always will be one of my favorite coaches in my life time.

Tim has been such an inspiration to me. Tim always said the most positive things to me.

He wasn’t one of those coaches who got mad at you when you screwed up. He would always say “that’s okay, you’ll get it again next time.”

I first met him the summer of 2014. He needed people for his softball team and he asked if I wanted to play.

We were the combination of Burlington, South Whidbey, and me, the only Coupeville person.

We went 8-1 and we were the number one team.

While we were playing in the summer he adjusted my batting and I was hitting about .400. Then he invited me to come to open gyms for softball practice hitting.

He would always joke with me, telling me that I should bat with a broom because I used to sweep with my bat, he would say.

He was joking with me before a game one day that Mackenzee, his daughter, was gonna strike me out.

And I just laughed and said ” in her dreams” and she ended up striking me out in five pitches.

The smile on Tim’s face was huge and he was so happy.

He always took the time to help everyone out. Tim was a special coach. He wanted to make everyone succeed.

When softball season comes around this year I’ll always think of Tim.

My condolences go out to his family. I will miss you Tim.

You were such a goofball and you always made me laugh. I can’t wait till I get to see you again in heaven.

I will never, ever forget you.

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