"Cori Daye Desmond was born March 18, 1980 at 3:37 a.m. at Torrance Memorial Hospital, and right from the start she was the center of attention because she had to fight to survive. Due to a hole in her diaphragm she had to undergo multiple surgeries, she was only given a 20 percent chance of survival and miraculously she not only survived but she thrived.
... Cori breezed through high school honors courses without breaking a sweat, and then graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor's degree and made all of us proud. But like most of us, after graduating college Cori bounced from job to job answering all of those infamous ads in the classifieds looking for that one great career opportunity. But as we all know, most of those are never quite what they advertised. Cori was never short of stories about the latest horrible job she endured and most of those stories would be more appropriate in a bar setting rather than this church.
Which brings me to one job that our Cori had consistently these past years, one that her grandmother was not always the most proud of, but one that Cori always seem to gravitate back to. This job was one that allowed Cori to excel at one of her strengths of being very likeable, down to earth and without fear of being the center of attention; yes she always seemed to gravitate to that spotlight. Her laugh was unique and contagious, and she had a smile to match. Her raspy voice became somewhat famous and recognizable in most restaurants and taverns across the South Bay. I personally had no idea how many different places Cori worked until these past two weeks.
... She was loved by many and friends to all. She was sweet at times but could be tough as nails. She could command a bar full of patrons when she wanted and all the while be singing one of her favorite karaoke songs such as "Black Velvet" or "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and once again being the center of attention.
It was that secondary family that Cori acquired while working in those various establishments that kept her going back despite what her family wanted her to do. And a family they were and are, not in the traditional sense of the word but a family none the less.
Now our grandmother probably never truly appreciated the many skills one acquires working behind a bar, but I will never forget one Thanksgiving when Cori showed us all one of her many newly acquired talents ... She grabbed a bottle of some sort of alcohol took a big swig, took a lighter, lit it and proceeded to blow the biggest fire ball any of us had ever seen at a Thanksgiving gathering. Needless to say I was shocked, silently proud, and immediately told her that might not be the most appropriate trick to show all of the little ones in the family.
... If we could all take a moment and picture her smile and that amazing raspy laugh and hold on to that memory, for that is how we should always remember her."
She was a bright young woman for Torrance and lived in the South Bay all her life and graduated from CSULB.
A fundraiser and memorial for Cori Daye Desmond will be held Saturday night at a Redondo Beach sports bar.
The event starts at 9 p.m. at On the Rocks Sports Bar, 239 North Harbor Drive. There is a $5 cover charge that goes directly to a memorial fund established to help Desmond's family with funeral costs.
... Cori breezed through high school honors courses without breaking a sweat, and then graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor's degree and made all of us proud. But like most of us, after graduating college Cori bounced from job to job answering all of those infamous ads in the classifieds looking for that one great career opportunity. But as we all know, most of those are never quite what they advertised. Cori was never short of stories about the latest horrible job she endured and most of those stories would be more appropriate in a bar setting rather than this church.
Which brings me to one job that our Cori had consistently these past years, one that her grandmother was not always the most proud of, but one that Cori always seem to gravitate back to. This job was one that allowed Cori to excel at one of her strengths of being very likeable, down to earth and without fear of being the center of attention; yes she always seemed to gravitate to that spotlight. Her laugh was unique and contagious, and she had a smile to match. Her raspy voice became somewhat famous and recognizable in most restaurants and taverns across the South Bay. I personally had no idea how many different places Cori worked until these past two weeks.
... She was loved by many and friends to all. She was sweet at times but could be tough as nails. She could command a bar full of patrons when she wanted and all the while be singing one of her favorite karaoke songs such as "Black Velvet" or "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and once again being the center of attention.
It was that secondary family that Cori acquired while working in those various establishments that kept her going back despite what her family wanted her to do. And a family they were and are, not in the traditional sense of the word but a family none the less.
Now our grandmother probably never truly appreciated the many skills one acquires working behind a bar, but I will never forget one Thanksgiving when Cori showed us all one of her many newly acquired talents ... She grabbed a bottle of some sort of alcohol took a big swig, took a lighter, lit it and proceeded to blow the biggest fire ball any of us had ever seen at a Thanksgiving gathering. Needless to say I was shocked, silently proud, and immediately told her that might not be the most appropriate trick to show all of the little ones in the family.
... If we could all take a moment and picture her smile and that amazing raspy laugh and hold on to that memory, for that is how we should always remember her."
She was a bright young woman for Torrance and lived in the South Bay all her life and graduated from CSULB.
A fundraiser and memorial for Cori Daye Desmond will be held Saturday night at a Redondo Beach sports bar.
The event starts at 9 p.m. at On the Rocks Sports Bar, 239 North Harbor Drive. There is a $5 cover charge that goes directly to a memorial fund established to help Desmond's family with funeral costs.
"Cori Daye Desmond was born March 18, 1980 at 3:37 a.m. at Torrance Memorial Hospital, and right from the start she was the center of attention because she had to fight to survive. Due to a hole in her diaphragm she had to undergo multiple surgeries, she was only given a 20 percent chance of survival and miraculously she not only survived but she thrived.
... Cori breezed through high school honors courses without breaking a sweat, and then graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor's degree and made all of us proud. But like most of us, after graduating college Cori bounced from job to job answering all of those infamous ads in the classifieds looking for that one great career opportunity. But as we all know, most of those are never quite what they advertised. Cori was never short of stories about the latest horrible job she endured and most of those stories would be more appropriate in a bar setting rather than this church.
Which brings me to one job that our Cori had consistently these past years, one that her grandmother was not always the most proud of, but one that Cori always seem to gravitate back to. This job was one that allowed Cori to excel at one of her strengths of being very likeable, down to earth and without fear of being the center of attention; yes she always seemed to gravitate to that spotlight. Her laugh was unique and contagious, and she had a smile to match. Her raspy voice became somewhat famous and recognizable in most restaurants and taverns across the South Bay. I personally had no idea how many different places Cori worked until these past two weeks.
... She was loved by many and friends to all. She was sweet at times but could be tough as nails. She could command a bar full of patrons when she wanted and all the while be singing one of her favorite karaoke songs such as "Black Velvet" or "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and once again being the center of attention.
It was that secondary family that Cori acquired while working in those various establishments that kept her going back despite what her family wanted her to do. And a family they were and are, not in the traditional sense of the word but a family none the less.
Now our grandmother probably never truly appreciated the many skills one acquires working behind a bar, but I will never forget one Thanksgiving when Cori showed us all one of her many newly acquired talents ... She grabbed a bottle of some sort of alcohol took a big swig, took a lighter, lit it and proceeded to blow the biggest fire ball any of us had ever seen at a Thanksgiving gathering. Needless to say I was shocked, silently proud, and immediately told her that might not be the most appropriate trick to show all of the little ones in the family.
... If we could all take a moment and picture her smile and that amazing raspy laugh and hold on to that memory, for that is how we should always remember her."
She was a bright young woman for Torrance and lived in the South Bay all her life and graduated from CSULB.
A fundraiser and memorial for Cori Daye Desmond will be held Saturday night at a Redondo Beach sports bar.
The event starts at 9 p.m. at On the Rocks Sports Bar, 239 North Harbor Drive. There is a $5 cover charge that goes directly to a memorial fund established to help Desmond's family with funeral costs.
... Cori breezed through high school honors courses without breaking a sweat, and then graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor's degree and made all of us proud. But like most of us, after graduating college Cori bounced from job to job answering all of those infamous ads in the classifieds looking for that one great career opportunity. But as we all know, most of those are never quite what they advertised. Cori was never short of stories about the latest horrible job she endured and most of those stories would be more appropriate in a bar setting rather than this church.
Which brings me to one job that our Cori had consistently these past years, one that her grandmother was not always the most proud of, but one that Cori always seem to gravitate back to. This job was one that allowed Cori to excel at one of her strengths of being very likeable, down to earth and without fear of being the center of attention; yes she always seemed to gravitate to that spotlight. Her laugh was unique and contagious, and she had a smile to match. Her raspy voice became somewhat famous and recognizable in most restaurants and taverns across the South Bay. I personally had no idea how many different places Cori worked until these past two weeks.
... She was loved by many and friends to all. She was sweet at times but could be tough as nails. She could command a bar full of patrons when she wanted and all the while be singing one of her favorite karaoke songs such as "Black Velvet" or "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and once again being the center of attention.
It was that secondary family that Cori acquired while working in those various establishments that kept her going back despite what her family wanted her to do. And a family they were and are, not in the traditional sense of the word but a family none the less.
Now our grandmother probably never truly appreciated the many skills one acquires working behind a bar, but I will never forget one Thanksgiving when Cori showed us all one of her many newly acquired talents ... She grabbed a bottle of some sort of alcohol took a big swig, took a lighter, lit it and proceeded to blow the biggest fire ball any of us had ever seen at a Thanksgiving gathering. Needless to say I was shocked, silently proud, and immediately told her that might not be the most appropriate trick to show all of the little ones in the family.
... If we could all take a moment and picture her smile and that amazing raspy laugh and hold on to that memory, for that is how we should always remember her."
She was a bright young woman for Torrance and lived in the South Bay all her life and graduated from CSULB.
A fundraiser and memorial for Cori Daye Desmond will be held Saturday night at a Redondo Beach sports bar.
The event starts at 9 p.m. at On the Rocks Sports Bar, 239 North Harbor Drive. There is a $5 cover charge that goes directly to a memorial fund established to help Desmond's family with funeral costs.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
