We are left with so many questions. How could Tricia leave us so soon? How could she have intimately connected with so many people in an all too abbreviated life? How can we process the sudden loss of someone who profoundly touched so many?

Tricia filled each of us with light. Our reflection in her eyes was of love and acceptance; a look of “let’s find an adventure you won’t soon forget AND I’ll keep you laughing until you cry.” A keen observer of the people she cared about, there was that one sentence she said to you, about you, that you will always remember. 

She was graceful, silly, energetic, gorgeous, whip-smart, thoughtful, perfectly organized, and funny as hell. She was in the center of so many images because she was always the one who remembered to take the photo. 

Trishie aged in reverse. She knew a secret we all wanted to hear – how to live the very best and fullest life. Since her passing, many have said, “she was the happiest I’d ever seen her.” She’d figured it out and filled her cup to the brim. 

In 2016 when David Bowie, Prince and George Michael passed away, she posted on her Facebook page, “Start living like you want to be remembered. You don’t necessarily get to choose how you die but you can choose how you live. I’m not talking about being eulogized for some list of accomplishments, fame or fortune, but how you conducted your life… Were you kind? Generous? Insightful? Did you use whatever talents you were given to better the world, touch heartstrings or inspire other people? Did you liberate others by being your most awesome weird authentic self? Did you love courageously from the inside out?”

Tricia lived like she wanted to be remembered. And it’s perhaps the best way we can all honor her memory: to live our lives as Tricia did.

A friend said it best: “A million friends orbited around your star system, sometimes colliding with unpredictable results, and alternately drawn to the Trishie center.” Tricia, therein lies that light you inspired in us all. We see you dancing above us, with a mischievous smile and a new understanding of the beyond, with a pun at the ready for when we next meet. We love you.