Eulogy - Virginia Poe

Having been Aliana’s best friend since the 1st grade and an honorary Trujillo for almost as long, I am blessed to have considered Sandra my surrogate sister.  I naturally idolized her throughout school and was lucky enough to be her friend as an adult.  I have come to realize that Sandra was, from day one, in possession of the simple but rare awareness that life is a gift. 

Sandra’s pure gusto for life rang loud and clear.  It rang loud and clear in the way that she gave wide open love to her family and friends, the abundance of whom is staggering.  It rang loud and clear in the way that she always seemed to be fully tapped into the world and into the moment.   She was assertive and fun and she approached everything that came her way, including cancer, with truckloads of courage and resolute hope. 

Sandra had a repertoire of noises that I believe were little clues to the nature of her unusual spiritedness. Like a release valve of joy, she often would let out random squeals, guffaws at questionable moments, and cackles that evolved into chortles that oozed mischief and delight.  Even in the darkest of moments, she howled at the moon. Even when cruel, life is always beautiful.

Sandra was as wild as she was noble and her luminous exuberance rubbed off on us all and brightened us up like a shoe shine for the soul. And that, we get to keep.