As many of you know, our friend and fellow teammate, Carrie Lorimer (CareBear), lost her battle with cancer shortly after Christmas. I was asked to write a few words for the website and feel honored to do so.

I would like to tell you how CareBear impacted my life, and the lives of others. About 17 years ago my first impression was “Man she’s some crazy chick!” She was loud, funny as hell, and had an energy that made me just want to be around her. You couldn’t hang with Carrie and not have a good time. She always said what was on her mind, and if you didn’t like it, too bad you were going to hear it anyway. Her blunt honesty was a refreshing quality that you don’t find in many people. It seemed to give her this hard edge, but in reality she was soft, gentle and full of kindness.

Over the years Carrie came in and out of my life. We had become best friends, helping each other out when we needed it the most. I offered her a job and a place to live, and she offered me her strength, love, compassion, understanding and, most of all, her fierce loyalty. My partner had just begun her fight with breast cancer; this was something that, for a lack of better words, threw us for a loop. Carrie was there for us in all her glory; she was a gift. When everything seemed too hard to handle, Carrie was there like a sentinel, watching over us and making sure we were all okay.

All of these qualities are not what made Carrie unique. We all possess the ability to be understanding, loving, compassionate and kind. It is how she made these qualities available to everybody that made her special. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She had no compunction about showing people who she really was right from the get go.

A few years back, she nursed her Mother through her own battle with lung cancer, only to loose her in the end. Carrie was very close to her Mom and never let anybody speak poorly about their own Mom without letting them have it.

When Carrie got sick it took a long time before she was properly diagnosed. She was frustrated and scared, but she never lost her tenacity. Even after the terrible news that she had Stage 4 Cervical Cancer, she remained loud and funny, flamboyant and outrageous. She charmed her doctors with her crazy outspoken humor, and flirted with her nurses making them laugh. She knew all the patients’ on her floor by first name and knew why they were there. She chatted with everybody and introduced all her visiting friends to them. She brought a sense of lightheartedness and fun to a place that rarely saw it. I remember sitting in chemo with her and laughing so hard I was crying. Everyone must have thought we were crazy, but within minutes almost everybody there was smiling and chuckling as well. Whether it was at us, or with us, it didn’t matter; Carrie was the cause for a few moments of happy distraction.

Her courage in the face of despair was truly inspiring to me. She never failed to amaze me with her positive attitude and strength. Whenever I felt sad about her, all I had to do was call her or go see her, and I would walk away feeling better. She had an unquenchable spirit that was undeniably infectious.

Not a day goes by that I don’t have a little cry because I miss her so much, and have a chuckle because she left me with so many great memories. I hear her voice in my head all the time. If I screw up I hear, “Jesus Murphie Turner!”, or when I see a nice looking woman, “Check it out Turner, Nothin wrong with that Turner!”, or when I say something amusing, “Aahhh, Turner, That’s funny for you too!”.

At least once or twice a week I bump into somebody whom I usually don’t remember, but they remember me because of Carrie. She made friends with everybody she talked to, and they remember her. The look of genuine sadness on their faces shows me how much Carrie affected people.

I could go on and on with stories about Carrie, she was, after all, endlessly entertaining! I have no doubt that many of you also have a story or two, or at least a memory that makes you smile. I am grateful and blessed to have had her in my life and extremely sad to have lost her so soon. Knowing her has changed me forever. I’m not talking about the fact that now I swear like a truck driver, or that I’m constantly saying funny little things that nobody gets: she helped me find my inner strength and put the world around me into perspective. She was a true friend.

If I know one thing, I know this, she died too young. She will be sadly missed by all those who knew her and the football field will never ever be the same again. We love you CareBear!