Stacey Penny Cooper

(Originally posted Aug. 18, 2019)

There are moments in life when the community joins to share respective gifts in support of another person. August 17th was such a day for me.

Three months previously, my friend and physical trainer, Stacey, crossed over, completing her time here on earth. With a group of her friends, Lisa and I had dinner with her just the week before. She was vibrant, strong and full of life. She was a firm believer in God and loved to laugh while encouraging others to be their best. While I had known her for only a short while, she has left a space in my life.

As Stacey was in remission, her sudden parting surprised all who loved her and called her friend. Both she and her husband Oliver were in the States visiting their grandchildren when Stacey departed. Recently, Oliver returned to the States with great effort and cost because he knew he had to bring her ashes back here to Costa Rica, to a beach she enjoyed and an ocean she loved.

In search of honouring his partner of over forty years, Oliver had a vision of saying goodbye and was looking forward to seeing it come to fruition. Oliver asked Michael Fernandez, a gifted Tico artist, and me to lunch. He asked us to assist him with his vision. The concept was simple enough, design a mandala that contained aspects of Stacey’s spirituality while weaving our visions into that creation. At that lunch, I knew Michael and I were on the same page right away, as if we were both being guided from on high.