Darcy was my fun-loving, adventurous life partner who brought all of her professional skills to our relationship and to her family.  She loved motorcycling in our early days and started her riding career by buying a Moto Guzzi (serious road machine) before she could drive one.  “Let’s go pick it up together” she said, “And you can teach me to ride it”!  She rode that bike to the Gaspe Peninsula by herself that very year.  She could organize a camping trip on a moments’ notice complete with wrapped and delicious meals for each day. Her tolerance for sleeping on the ground was unmatched. We camped off our bikes in our salad days and one morning we awoke to fluttering sounds that turned out to be a bush full of hummingbirds next to our tent flap.  She lit up like Christmas morning and I’ll never forget her delight, her laughter or her smile.  Speaking of Christmas, despite her professional calendar, she would collect unusual items, (peanut butter soaps, motorized penguins, reindeer antlers for dogs) and all sorts of gee haws for her favorite Christmas morning tradition: alternately revealing the contents of each of our stockings. No matter how many guests in the house, there would be a stocking for each and laughter would prevail.  But her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. Darcy was a wonderful cook, made her own bread and pies from scratch, paying particular attention to the favorites of individual family members or guests each year (marsh mellowed sweet potatoes was her least favorite). There would be sumptuous repast, obligatory naps and then dancing to her favorite music into the night.  This agenda was most memorable inside our wood warmed cabin in the mountains of West Virginia. Dancing on the deck with the grandkids under a star explosion of mountain night sky was her ideal Thanksgiving reward. Darcy loved our mountain property in West Virginia and would retreat to it as frequently as her busy schedule permitted.  She battled with the black bears to keep the chickadees and titmice in seeds.  The bears always won and we laughed at the thought of a Momma black bear bringing a bird feeder fresh with sunflower seeds back to her cubs: TAKE HOME! I believe that Darcy was a gypsy at heart. We travelled to thirty countries in our time and she took a break from her professional responsibilities by letting me plan the itinerary and the lodging.  Her sense of adventure blossomed with each new experience. She would climb to the summit of Arthur’s Seat in Scotland, giggle on her first helicopter ride over Victoria Falls in Africa and make a point of dipping her toes in the Mediterranean on the coast of Barcelona.  Many of these adventures took place during her favorite family tradition: Girl’s Weekend.    These were planned trips with Ana, Jessie and later granddaughter Tess to places that Darcy carefully selected.  Here she took over the itinerary and lodging for adventures far and wide: From Scotland to Atlanta, From Barcelona to Nashville she led her girls to new experiences and a greater appreciation of  family.  In our grief and then our resolution, all of Darcy’s traditions will continue.  There will be Christmas stockings with gee haws, Girl’s weekends, Thanksgiving dinner with dancing and Darcy will be with us forever.

Gerry Dzura