I haven't deleted them yet: people I've lost still in my email/phone lists.

I am going to name names because I want everyone to "know" and remember these people, even though they have passed. I know it sounds stupid, but I still haven't deleted them from the address book in either my phone or my email (depending). Seeing them there always makes me think of them, even if only for a second.

Andy Stephenson: An activist who became a personal friend during the craziness of Election Investigation 2004, Andy Stephenson became a close friend over multiple phone calls during an intense time in our lives. We talked through the New Hampshire recount, his tales of "of course this computer isn't connected to the internet - we just use that phone line to get our email!" and the Great Garbage Bag Debacle (hint: when screwing with an election, bad practice is to have evidence in garbage bags at the door where you are meeting the election investigators!). We heard "click" sounds when we were being "tapped" on phone calls, and would giggle hysterically as we would shout "Agent Mike! We could use some help here!" Later, when my father was dying of pancreatic cancer, Andy listened to me; I was devastated when we later lost him to the same disease. A DU person helped me get to his funeral, for which I will *EVER* be grateful. Andy is still in my email address book, and I still remember him when he pops up. You can read his words of wisdom about keeping elections fair and honest here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7521581

Greg Piasecki: An amazing and talented man who worked in local theater circles, Greg also created beautiful works of art in stained glass and carpentry. He was a great big bear of a man, gentle and fierce, who loved garlic and had an amazing sense of humor. His brain cancer was discovered when he had a seizure in a restaurant while getting set to dine with friends - he shared that the last thing he remembered was ordering the "grilled" fish meal in order to be healthy, then was being asked "how often do you have seizures, sir?" (Answer: Never?) by emergency personnel in an ambulance, and joked that he should have ordered it "fried" instead. Prior to his illness he was *extremely* active in the Oakland County (Michigan) NORML group, and helped get "medical marijuana" legislation passed in Michigan. http://oaklandnorml.org/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=467

Melissa Owlsely: Still too new, as she just passed Saturday, May 4, 2013 from complications from cancer, my friend always used her Pekingese "Smokey" as her avatar. She was a crafter who loved knitting and card making, and she really shouldn't have died because she still has a ton of unfinished projects left. She was witty and wise, full of insights that helped me look at my life differently. Our friendship was cemented by mutual support of our infertility battle (I won, and the twins are six), and we cried together when her pregnancy miscarried. Her ovarian cancer was discovered during what was supposed to be a routine D&C for endometriosis, and she woke instead to a full hysterectomy and a battle with cancer. She beat it, but it snuck back. In the meantime, she created amazing and beautiful things - pot holders in shades of purple, scrubbies for bathtub play that looked like sea creatures, and cards that made me envy her talent. She was an excellent writer with a low tolerance for stupid, which made her a Flaming Liberal; her thoughts on insurance/medical stuff could make you weep with laughter as she turned her rage at an idiotic system into humor. An avid reader, I will miss our discussions about "vampires versus werewolves" and why feisty women heroines were the best. Miss her - keep reaching for the phone to call and discuss this sucky situation with her. How can I delete her name from my phone? Answer: I can't. http://pinterest.com/mloknitting/

Do you have people you haven't/can't/won't delete? Please share a little bit about them in this memory thread.

Thank you for reading.