Lisa Madsen

Lisa Madsen passed away last week.  She is Joan's cousin. They lived together in Vegas when they were younger and about 6 hours apart in Utah the rest of their lives. They were very good friends.  I got to know Lisa when Wes & I were dating. When I'd go visit him at BYU-Idaho we would usually stay with Gaelyn, Lisa's sister, in Idaho Falls. Lisa was usually there. She was the most outrageous, hilarious, and generous woman you have ever met.  She was such a joy to be around.  She loved her family so much.  The ceremony was yesterday.  It was the most beautiful ceremony.  One of her friend's spoke, Joan spoke, & a second friend spoke.  It was just a perfect tribute to Lisa. Joan & the second friend were my favorite speakers, they focused on Lisa's bright happy presence & her HILARIOUS sense of humor!

She was the one with her daughter, Vicky, who threw my bridal shower in Utah for lots of friends & family out here. She had it so lovingly set up, she made me a book where everyone wrote advice in it & gave it to me. She handmade all of the pages in the book that people wrote on. It was amazing. & her & Vicks gave Wes & I imaginiff.  One of our "fave" games :)  She also made Weston's Groom's cake.  It was an oreo icecream cake.  His favorite & my favorite.  All Weston wanted for the wedding was an Ice Cream Cake. Seeing how we wanted the temperature for the wedding to be atleast room temperature & we were doing the reception outside. The first weekend in September.  This was out of the question. But in the very beginning Lisa promised her little "Boom-Hauser" an ice-cream cake. & boy did she come through. Holy Hannah it was delicious.  She could put a smile on anyone's face. Seriously. I wish the whole world could have known her.  She usually had me laughing to tears. We spent Saturday of her last weekend together. It was perfect. It was at Dave's pinning ceremony.  Then we went out for lunch & watched the BYU vs. Utah game together. Where she went against the grain & totally packed her Utah shirt. We exchanged lots of fun taunts. Except hers were actually validated bahah. She was just such a highlight in life & I miss her a lot already.  We didn't see her very often. but her words on Facebook & her blog were always just as great as she was.  She was so poetic & had the greatest way with words.  She wrote "final words," it seemed, to her kids the week before she passed.  Joan read them at the funeral.  They were beautiful & will be so cherished, I know.

She was a huge advocate in the Special Needs community. Her son, Ethan, has sever Cerebral Palsy.  It seemed to me like Lisa raised him alone, as her husband was always on the road with his trucking company.  She was such an amazing mom & raised her children so well.  She took her nephews into her home when they were 1 & 2.  She raised them.  She had her own daughter with her first husband.  She raised her.  She then had Ethan 7 years ago with her ex-husband, Paul.  She totally adored her family & that was so very apparent.

She was dealt an extremely difficult plate in this life.
She was a great person & we all miss her a lot.

She was so active in her Brigham City community.  She loved the water polo games & cheered feverishly!  There were SO many flowers all over that stand. It was so obvious she was loved. It was so sad to all be there for her funeral, it was a really fun celebration of her life.  The only thing missing was her(& Dave, who had to attend UHP training in SLC). She was one wild, wacky lady & I love her.  It will be so fun to have a celebration with her again on the other side one day. 
xoxoRach