Abigail Olivia Vanest

Abigail Olivia Vanest, born October 19, 1997. She had a crown of strawberry blonde peach fuzz hair on her beautifully shaped head. She had baby blue eyes which held the soul of an angel on earth. Abby was the most pleasant and happy baby. Her smile could light up a thousand dark nights. Her laugh reverberated through hearts and souls.

When Abby learned to say I love you, it came out, "A do do" and eventually it was shortened to "do do". Every night before bed, every school drop off even into the teen years, "do do" took the place of I love you. Abby was loving, kind, funny, sassy, and unafraid. She could be bashful at times but brazen at others. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said she wanted to own businesses. She was asked, "what kind of businesses?" and she shrugged her little shoulders and simply replied, "I don't know just lots of businesses." Abby was multi-faceted, and she marched to the beat of her own drum.

The best thing about knowing Abby was all the laughing that would inevitably occur. Real, deep down, belly laughs. When Abby was four years old, her mother used to sing Smooth Criminal to her. She changed the lyric, "Annie are you okay…" to "Abby are you okay…". It became kind of their thing. One day, they were driving, and her mom hadn't heard a peep out of her from the back seat for a while. She asked, "Abby are you okay?" and without warning, she SINGS back, "Yes I am okay!" And they laughed so hard, her mom had to pull over. Her mom was laughing, she was laughing, and, in that moment, they were in this bubble that felt like pure heaven. From that day on, it became their inside joke so to speak. Her mom would ask if she was okay, and Abby would sing her answer back. What an absolute joy she was, and life is dark without her.

It was mentioned that Abby was multifaceted and that is never more evident than looking back at her choices in recreational sports and activities. She was in dance, acrobats, gymnastics, t-ball, baseball, soccer, basketball, cheerleading, and tennis to name a few. She was a horrible basketball player, but she didn't care. She was going to try it out. Her mom recalls watching her run up and down the court pretending like she knew what was going on but actually avoiding any opportunity to take possession of the ball. Abby was willing to try anything to see if she liked it and/or was any good at it. Cheerleading ended up being her jam, and her family was so proud of her for going after what she wanted and achieving her goals.

Abby pursued cosmetology in high school and earned her cosmetology license at the same time she graduated in 2016. She immediately landed a position at the salon she had her sights on. She was thriving and she would often talk about how she wanted to branch out and work for herself someday. In October of 2018, Abby's mom moved to Columbus for work just as Abby was turning 21. This would mark the first time they would be apart. Abby stayed in the house her mom had been renting since 2011 in Perry Township. Abby took over the rent payments. She was now truly independent, living on her own, paying her own bills and blazing her own path in life. Her parents were beyond proud. A few months later, in January 2019, Abby adopted a beautiful puppy she named Blu. She went on many trips and outdoor adventures with her beloved dog.

In the spring of 2020, Abby started her own business at the onset of the pandemic called Adore Studio offering lash extensions, bridal hair styles, and waxing. She was very brave to start a business in such uncertain times, but wildly successful within a few short months. This sparked an even bigger dream of one day owning a studio in which she would rent out lofts to other beauty business owners. Most of us are not in the career we dreamed of when we were little, but Abby was right on track to owning multiple businesses. There is no doubt had she had the opportunity to continue being alive, she would have fulfilled her dreams.

Abby's mom strives to honor her daughter by giving back to students pursuing cosmetology in her hometown of Perry Township by awarding an annual scholarship to a qualifying student(s) in Abby's name.