{"id":422,"date":"2011-02-27T17:24:37","date_gmt":"2011-02-27T21:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/?page_id=422"},"modified":"2011-05-26T19:10:17","modified_gmt":"2011-05-26T23:10:17","slug":"memorial","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial: Sherri Walters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends and Family,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello, my name is Andrew Codispoti. I’m Sherri Walters’ oldest son.<\/p>\n

After over two years of struggle with her lung cancer, my Mom, Sherri Walters, passed away on Monday, February 21st, 2011,<\/strong> in the presence of my brothers Daniel and Matthew and her husband Andrew.<\/p>\n

The published obituary can be found here: obituary<\/a><\/p>\n

Mom passed away peacefully on Monday morning. Until her last breath, she was living “full steam ahead”. She had moved out of the Hospice House in Concord and was living in Peterborough in a B&B owned by friends. Since her move to the hospice house<\/a> in January she had made great strides in getting back to self-reliance. Each day that passed brought a new small joy, such as dancing, being able to walk around the hospice house on her own oxygen-assisted power, or eventually, “breaking out” and moving to Peterborough.<\/p>\n

In Peterborough she was glad to cook some of her own meals, do her own dishes, even soak up the sun on the porch<\/a> (it was a balmy 40°F)! Every day was spent with friends or family, visiting and making plans for the days ahead.<\/p>\n

Mom was working on her list of ways to go<\/a> (a list which I intend to see finished). Her philosophy was that she would rather be doing any of the things on her list than “lying in bed waiting to go.” She accomplished this dream. Not just in practical terms, as she danced, cooked, and had tea through the last days of her life, but also in her life in a greater sense. She refused to lie down and wait. Rather, she planned for each tomorrow as just another day of glorious life.<\/p>\n

Because of this it is all the more difficult to believe that her physical presence in this world has ended! The power of her desire for life is still strong, her presence still strong in all the plans and dreams she left with us.<\/p>\n

Living Downstream<\/h3>\n

In her days in the hospice house and later in Peterborough, Mom was hard at work on a new project<\/a>. She became interested in finding the causes of cancer, and specifically in the works of ecologist Sandra Steingraber. Steingraber has made a film which explores the causes of cancer through a personal lens, and it was Mom’s goal to show and discuss this film with 1000 people, in the hopes that those 1000 people would show the film to another 1000, and that the educational value of the film could increase.<\/p>\n

More information about Sandra Steingraber and the film can be found at the website Living Downstream<\/a>. Also, please keep an eye on the pages of this blog, which will serve as a focal point for those of us who are continuing Mom’s project to show the film to 1000 people. We will be organizing viewings and discussions, and will welcome your help on Mom’s behalf in any way you can.<\/p>\n

Homeschooling Website<\/h3>\n

Another project Mom continued to work on through the past months was her homeschool resource page, Living, Loving, and Learning Together<\/a>. Mom was committed to the support of homeschooling, and one of her greatest joys was the copious time she spent each year with homeschooling families from around the state of New Hampshire. In fact she was gearing up to be able to do a few evaluations this spring, against all odds. The idea of seeing “her homeschoolers” again and hearing about your year’s learning adventures filled her with hope.<\/p>\n

As she planned for those evaluations she also was aware of the possibility that she wouldn’t be strong enough or otherwise able to do them, so she continued to create the material on her homeschooling website, intending it be used as a resource for those she would no longer be able to advise directly. Rest assured that her work on this site will be continued by myself and others. Keep an eye on this healing site for more news about the homeschooling site. Projects for the future include means by which you can submit your projects to share with other homeschoolers, as well as further resources and ideas.<\/p>\n

Heifer Project<\/h3>\n

Mom hoped that those who wished to make a contribution to a cause she admired should contribute to Heifer Project. I’ve set up a special memorial registry on the Heifer Project website at this address:<\/p>\n

heifer.org\/myregistry\/sherriwalters<\/a><\/p>\n

Through the registry you can donate in Heifer’s special way (“purchase” a cow, a goat, chickens, etc).<\/p>\n

The Future<\/h3>\n

Mom’s remains will be cremated and scattered on family land. It is her wish that those who love her gather together in celebration of her life at her home in Fitzwilliam. This event will be planned for spring or early summer, and more information will be forthcoming through the pages of this blog.<\/p>\n

To get in touch with any family member or if you have other questions, please contact me, Andrew Codispoti, via phone or email: acodispo ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you so much to the readers of this blog who have followed Mom through her journey. Though Mom has reached the destination of her healing path, those of us left behind have much healing to do in dealing with our loss, so this site will continue to be used for the purpose Mom intended it for. Please subscribe via email<\/a> or RSS<\/a> to stay up to date on our doings here. We hope to use this site as a supplement to in-person gatherings, with slideshows, pictures of Mom and the things she created for us, with news about our continuations of Mom’s projects, and with words about our own healing.<\/p>\n

Please email me if you are interested in adding content to this site. Thoughts or stories about Sherri, or art (writing, poetry, visual art) on the healing theme, would definitely be appreciated.<\/p>\n

If you would like to leave a message for friends and family of Sherri Walters, feel free to post a public comment (below), or email me if you would like to send a private message.<\/p>\n

Thank you all for the love and support you showed to Mom throughout her illness and throughout her life. I hope you will join me and my family in our continuing project of honoring her life and achievements, and in understanding the depth of her (continuing) love for us.<\/p>\n

With love and peace,<\/strong>
\nAndrew Codispoti<\/strong><\/p>\n

on behalf of Sherri’s husband, Andrew Walters, and her sons Andrew, Daniel, and Matthew Codispoti<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends and Family, Hello, my name is Andrew Codispoti. I’m Sherri Walters’ oldest son. After over two years of struggle with her lung cancer, my Mom, Sherri Walters, passed away on Monday, February 21st, 2011, in the presence of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-422","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/422\/revisions\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherriwalters.com\/healingpath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}