Megan Louise Paxton

It is hard to believe Megan is gone. Her absence still feels like she simply took a road trip, and next week we will all hear about her travels - and of the many inquisitive details that were always so precious to her.

And while I have lost a dear sister-in-law; and each of us a mother, grandmother, aunt, mother-in-law, cousin, confidant, best friend, travel buddy, and coworker, Megan is still present as an anchor in our lives. She is still a phone call away, it seems, and our interactions with her live on, even as these precious exchanges now feel incomplete. Our love for Megan is still being forged by the loving bonds we shared with her, if only in cherished memories now.

To be around “Meg-wan,” or Mi-Mi, as Mitch would playfully and affectionately call her, was to feel genuinely loved. When optimism seemed to be in short supply, Megan had a special way of suggesting hope could be possible, drawing from the experience of her own life. Among the many gifts she offered us all were the rare jewels of empathy and optimism she held on to.

Her son, Shane, knows this enduring love and hope well, and her beloved Mitch perhaps knew this better than anyone. She made those closest to her, better persons. Who can recall moments when Mitch’s own large personality would be lovingly tempered as she called him “Mitchy,” and then he’d melt? Each of us knows in so many special ways, that Megan was not merely adjacent to our lives, but she became a part of each us. Megan belongs to each of us is precisely because she sought to make that a tangible thing with each of us. Megan adored holiday decorating, baking, and “WW II” candy-making. She never stopped loving the music of song, once a big part of her life. But it is her adorable granddaughter, Samantha, that was a true source of pride. And, staying very close to her daughter-in-law, Julie, and Megan’s niece, Mandy and her boys, not to mention the cousins she held so dear, and her best friend of many years, and time spent with, and including road trips with a close-knit group of friends - these were the things that mattered most in Megan’s life. And just as she loved and cherished her son, and her own family wherever they lived, she was always making sure these remained a living connection, constantly planning how to be with each. Mitch’s brothers, and our families, cousins and beloved aunt, all join in that longing for just one more of those visits from Megan now.

About those visits… To know Megan is to know of her many conversations, and inquiries, and even observe them as she interacted with people she’d just met!. Oh yes. Megan loved to ask those many questions. But for those of us truly listening (and lovingly asking her why a particular detail mattered) we also know this was how Megan longed to know others and their experiences, in a personal way -through a window she opened up where she could feel like she fully understood how others lived their lives.

This is the Megan who has graced our lives - beyond what words can capture here. We love you Megan. And while we will miss your sweet face, we know you will still be with us, each day, hearing you speak directly to our hearts as you always have.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hgriversidefuneralhome.com for the Paxton family.