Cheryl Ann Bruyere

Craig KoreckyAbout a year ago, my Grammy joked that if I didn’t speak at her funeral, she would haunt me. While I am grateful that I won’t be haunted, I’m even more grateful to be able to celebrate her in this way. I knew that writing this speech would be hard because if I could use one word to describe my Grammy, it would be indescribable. I am humbled by the challenge of describing the extent of her beauty and her loving nature. My Grammy gave me some of the most magical experiences that I will ever have. She had this incredible ability to make everything that we did together truly an adventure, as well as the ability to make anyone feel like they were the most special person in the world. I remember staying weekends with her and Grandpa Dick and how we drove all around Put-In-Bay chasing sunsets. We would keep driving until we found the perfect spot to see her favorite brilliant pinks, purples, and oranges. When the colors dissipated and the stars came out, she would always point to the Big Dipper and taught me how to find it. Her love of the sky might have been rivaled by her love of the beach. I remember her waking me up early in the morning in Siesta Key to walk up and down the shoreline. We would excitedly collect as many sand dollars and seashells as we could carry. During the same trip, she helped me to befriend a pelican. We named him “Bologna Bird” after his new favorite food we had been feeding him all week. One of the things that I have always really admired about my Grammy was her sense of humor and ability to find light in every situation. I remember making a card for her on her birthday when I was about five years old. I did not want any help and wanted to do it all on my own. I was so proud of the card that was supposed to say “Happy Birthday Grammy”, but when she took it out of the envelope, she asked “Who in the world is Garmy?” which is what I actually had written. She made it up to me a few years later when on my 11th birthday, she got me a cake that had “Happy Birthday Elsie” written on it by mistake. It was my favorite birthday cake I had ever gotten and we have shared so many laughs together over our unfortunate misspellings. Something that her and I have always shared is our love of music. So many of my favorite memories of my Grammy involve singing and dancing together. Whether we would sit around a speaker or go out to listen to live music, she would bring so much joy and energy with her. There are no words that can fully express how much I will miss making more memories like these with her, but reminiscing on them all reminds me that she will always be here. Each individual’s personality is made up of a collection of traits and habits that are borrowed from others. Grammy added so many things to my own collection and has left such a great impact on many others. Reflecting on all of these memories made me realize how much of her has always been, and will always be, with me. When I take my friends or my dog to my favorite sunset spots; when I look at the night sky and see the big dipper; when I go rockhounding or collect sea glass; when I feed the birds in my back yard; when I check everything I write three times over for spelling errors; or when I turn the volume on my speakers all the way up and put on Eagles. She is there in all of these moments. Going through every birthday card that I have meticulously collected, I noticed that in all of the ones from my Grammy, she had always written “I love you to the moon and back” to me. I am so thankful to have those words we said to each other preserved in her perfect script. The distance to travel to the moon and back is four hundred seventy- seven, seven hundred ten miles. The average person walks about seventy-five thousand miles in a lifetime. It brings me so much comfort to know that when my time comes, I will have barely made a dent in the love she left behind for me. Grammy, thank you for always being there without fail. Thank you for teaching me to trust my feelings and embrace my sensitivity. Thank you for always treating me as an equal, showing me that my words and thoughts matter and that I have a place in this world. Thank you for teaching me to prioritize my happiness and the people I love above anything else. Thank you for teaching me to take pride in everything that I do and to always put the best version of myself forward. Thank you for being a beacon of light in my life for all 22 years. Thank you for all of the incredible stories I get to tell. I will never forget singing your favorite song, “Toes” by Zac Brown Band together. I wish so badly that we could scream this at the top of our lungs together one last time, but I will say the lyrics to you instead. “Not a worry in the world, life is good today. Adios and vaya con dios”; Goodbye and be with God. I love you to the moon and back.