April Denise Tulloh

Born on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, to Margarita Weeks and Glen Tulloh on November 13, 1984. She was a 2003 graduate of Rincon High School and attended the University of Rochester and the University of Arizona. A celebration of her life will be at First Brethren Church, 201 North Columbus Blvd., Tucson, on October 30 at 2:00 p.m. with a reception to follow. The family requests that you wear something purple. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Arizona Brethren Church camp scholarship fund or to AidSpirit USA PO Box 631 Killdeer ND, 58640 c/o Denise Sandvick, Scholarship fund for the children of Tender Mercy, orphan and vulnerable children in memory of April Tulloh. Arrangements by Eastlawn Palms.

April is survived by her dad and mother, Edward & Margarita Lane and father Glen Tulloh as well as her sister, Amanda (Tulloh)Parker, brother Matthew Tulloh (and sister in love, Gabriela) and her baby brother, Austen Lane. Aubrey Parker, made her an auntie for the first time and taught her a new dimension in loving another unconditionally.

April worked with children in many different capacities. She worked during the summer months as a teenager with the City of Tucson Parks & Recreation, as a care giver for children who were disabled, for the Tucson Unified School District as a paraprofessional, and as live-in staff with the Arizona State School for the Deaf & Blind in Tucson. She spent many summers connecting with her extended church family at the Arizona Brethren Church Camp in the Patagonia Mountains in southern Arizona where she tried to spend as much time there as possible. It broke her heart that as her disease progressed and slowly held her body hostage that she would no longer be able to spend time where her heart longed to be. Gastroparisis did not stop there; it took all of her relationships and limited them as well. It robbed her of a life that was intended to be full of promise and adventure: a husband, children and a place to call her own home. It snatched from our community a future doctor and advocate for children. It ripped apart her education and career, eventually eroding her memory. Even in pain, she had the desire in the best way she knew how to try to make others feel important. She would give to anyone her last bite to eat or the shirt off her back. Then one day, she found Abbey, her lifelong canine companion, an angel with fur. She and Abbey became inseparable even with extended hospital stays.

She had many cousins across the country and many here in Tucson. Her favorite cousins were Dan Tulloh, who always seemed to know how to sneak in some kind of contraband that was forbidden by the hospital by placing it under his hat. She and Julio Santacruz, her cousin, roommate and friend, for a time took the responsibility of caring for their grandmother and became like siblings.

April my child, you fought the good fight and you never gave up. You are free from the pain and the sorrow that your body caused you. You will never be the subject to ridicule by many in the medical community while you wait for care from those who were charged with caring for your physical needs. You will never hunger again and not be able to eat until you are mere fraction of the physical person you once were. There are so many people who loved you and will miss you so much. We were so proud of you, and somehow you made us smile and laugh at your unique sense of humor that only those who loved you could appreciate. As you have now found freedom and rest, we will carry your memory in our hearts until we have completed our tasks and meet you at the banquet feast where we will dine together - forever.