This is not your ordinary obituary because Coco was not your ordinary kind of person. Thank you for being here to celebrate Coco and her amazing life, and for showing grace given the rambling nature, the grammatical and punctual mishaps, and the creative license for what we’re about to do to honor her.
She was a force of nature who gave all who loved her the ride of a lifetime, a joyous, wild, and crazy ride. That’s just how she rolled. Coco popped into the world in Raleigh on February 22, 1994, three weeks early, and right then and there the world got a little more fancy. Her run on this earth lasted 11,033 days and was filled with adventures, happy times, and a few bumpy times. Yet even the bumpy times, while hard, yielded some of the craziest and most hilarious stories that Coco craftily enjoyed telling with much laughter.
When Coco was little, she was an easy baby and at a very young age made it abundantly clear that she was going to do things on her terms. She never crawled like most babies…..she just got up and walked one day, and that was that. As she got older, she was a proud squash in the school play, boldly represented her elementary school by giving the commencement address, and later played basketball in middle school. Though as luck would have it, they realized after she made the team that she wasn’t very good, so they made her the team manager. She had a knack for telling people what to do, so that worked out just fine.
During her 11,033 days, Coco loved loudly and lived life largely. She was a miracle who defied all kinds of odds; she was messy, mischievous, and magical. Coco was a hippie at heart who was probably born to the wrong era. Despite her early arrival into this world as she grew older, she was always late….as if she lived in her own time zone. She was caring, creative, and cantankerous with a side of chaos. She had a wicked sense of humor, the occasional wild streak, and a quick and quirky wit. She was sassy, spunky, and stubborn…. we’ll use “determined” for that last one. She was persistent in her pursuit of happiness, regardless of the circumstances, and could always find a silver lining somewhere along the way. She was social and outgoing, and she easily befriended folks of all ages, kinds, and backgrounds, and from all walks of life.
She had an eclectic love for music. It ranged from Michel Sardou from her childhood with her French dad, to Sublime to Eric Church to Aretha to Slightly Stoopid to Whitney, and to The Full Monty Broadway musical soundtrack, to which she knew every word. And Coco did love a concert and a music festival. In those 11,033 days of hers she saw Dolly Parton in New York, Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilera and The Pussycat Dolls in Raleigh, numerous bands at Lincoln Theatre and RedHat, Ultra in Florida, Buku in New Orleans, and likely others that her parents didn’t know about…...which was probably a good thing.
In addition to her love of tunes, she was a collector of a wide array of books, purses, sunglasses, shoes, Uggs, candles and air fresheners, all things hedgehog, perfumes, stationary, cards, pens that wrote just right, unique cell phone covers, and water bottles and coffee tumblers that were bedazzled and covered with all of the bright and shiny she could find.
She expressed herself creatively in her tattoos and her many notes and journals where she kept everything from notes and letters to people, heartfelt musings, inspirational quotes, to-do lists, bucket lists, parking tickets, tax documents, Groupons, Pinterest notes, Daizy’s schedule, and whatever else she was cooking up or was top of mind. When you stumbled upon one of Coco’s books and lists you never knew what you might find.
She was a true North Carolinian and in southern fashion had an NC flag on her wall, enjoyed a good thumb through of the Our State magazine, and a jaunt to the State Farmer’s Market. Now there’s something y’all might not have known about our girl.
Coco is survived by her precious daughter, Daizy whom she cherished and adored. She is also survived by her mother, Susan, and her brother, Henri of Raleigh, her grandfather, Harold of New Bern, her aunt, Lainey of New York, her uncle and aunt, Tommy and Shannon of Raleigh, and her cousins, Hallie, Clark, and Kelli also of Raleigh. Additionally, she is survived by her paternal family in France, her aunts Catherine, Danielle, Christine, and Sylvie, and her cousins Benjamin, Anne Sophie, Julie, Loic, Aurelie, and Stephanie. Finally, she is survived by her extended family and special friends George, Kaylan, Kathy and Tyler, her backup mom squad Joanna and Jennifer, and Little Kitty.
She is preceded in death by her brother, Tom, her father, Yves, her grandmother Sandra, her paternal grandparents Colette and Marcel, and her furry love, Big Kitty.
Coco was a dear and beloved piece of work. She was born early and lived life mostly being late, but our girl was right on time to go home to God. The very best of Coco lives on in Daizy, and in the four lives she saved in four states as an organ donor. If her sass and spunk get carried on in her organs, then those lucky organ recipients are in for one wild ride themselves. We’ll pray for them. 😉
“Peace out girl scout. Time to roll out.”
Thank you for ALL of it, and the fond and funny memories.
This world is a better place because you rolled through.
As Tom always said, “Love you so much…can’t even say it.”
Godspeed Coco.
“You live but once; you might as well be amusing.”
“Don't be like the rest of them, darling.”
Coco Chanel
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