Lisa was a close friend of mine who I had known for years. We met in 1989 when we were both working for Pizza Hut in Dexter, Mo. and became close over the years. I adopted her as a sister and she adopted me as a brother.(And yes, I'll admit it. I did have a little bit of a crush on her when we first met too.) We were always able to take our problems to each other and it always helped to have somebody to talk to. I even did yard work for her parents from time to time. We continued to keep in contact and we both married, but still remained close. She married Keith Coleman and I married my wife, Tracy. Lisa had lived a hard life at times. She went through a stormy divorce with her first husband (before Keith) and was seriously injured in a car wreck in 1993, both times I tried to be there for her. After our marriages we weren't able to keep in touch as often, but in 2003 I ran into her at the grocery store where I was working at the time. I heard somebody call my name and turned to see who it was. I recognized the voice, but at first I didn't recognize Lisa. She was pale and had lost her hair. That's when she informed me that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called IBC (Inflammatory Breast Carcinoma) and had been going through chemotherapy treatments. She had had a mastectomy and had been told the cancer had gone into remission. I saw her a couple of more times before her father died in November, 2005 and was shocked when Tracy read her name in the obituaries on December 23. The cancer had come back. Lisa was the type of person everyone liked. She was even known to just walk up and give friends a hug for no apparent reason. I came to work at Pizza Hut one day feeling down because it was one of those days when I couldn't get my ex-wife off of my mind. Lisa cheered me up by just walking up to me and giving me one of those hugs. Somehow she always seemed to sense when something was bothering me. I felt that putting a memorial for her here is the best way I could pay tribute to a close friend, and she was one of the best.
Lisa was a close friend of mine who I had known for years. We met in 1989 when we were both working for Pizza Hut in Dexter, Mo. and became close over the years. I adopted her as a sister and she adopted me as a brother.(And yes, I'll admit it. I did have a little bit of a crush on her when we first met too.) We were always able to take our problems to each other and it always helped to have somebody to talk to. I even did yard work for her parents from time to time. We continued to keep in contact and we both married, but still remained close. She married Keith Coleman and I married my wife, Tracy. Lisa had lived a hard life at times. She went through a stormy divorce with her first husband (before Keith) and was seriously injured in a car wreck in 1993, both times I tried to be there for her. After our marriages we weren't able to keep in touch as often, but in 2003 I ran into her at the grocery store where I was working at the time. I heard somebody call my name and turned to see who it was. I recognized the voice, but at first I didn't recognize Lisa. She was pale and had lost her hair. That's when she informed me that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called IBC (Inflammatory Breast Carcinoma) and had been going through chemotherapy treatments. She had had a mastectomy and had been told the cancer had gone into remission. I saw her a couple of more times before her father died in November, 2005 and was shocked when Tracy read her name in the obituaries on December 23. The cancer had come back. Lisa was the type of person everyone liked. She was even known to just walk up and give friends a hug for no apparent reason. I came to work at Pizza Hut one day feeling down because it was one of those days when I couldn't get my ex-wife off of my mind. Lisa cheered me up by just walking up to me and giving me one of those hugs. Somehow she always seemed to sense when something was bothering me. I felt that putting a memorial for her here is the best way I could pay tribute to a close friend, and she was one of the best.
