Meliisa Britt Lewis Slideshow

it's been a month since I said my final goodbyes to my dear friend Missy. I made this slideshow which was played at the memorial. I had not been able to go back to it until yesterday. I decided to post it on you tube so others could see some images from her life.

A beautiful person inside and out.

Enjoy!

Goodbye My Friend

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

-- Irish Saying

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It's hard enough to lose a loved one. It's harder when that loved one was taken from you by a cold blooded murderer. We have no right to play God and have no right to decide life or death. God's greatest gift is human life.

I've learned in this past week the irony of how one person can change the lives of so many. On one hand I learned how one person, my friend Melissa "Missy" Lewis impacted so many people, not just her family and friends, but a whole community. How her generosity and love for others touched so many people. I bet today that from her seat in heaven she is saying "wow", I never knew there were so many people out there who cared so much. But as the protagonist learned in the film "It's a wonderful life", one person can make a difference and one person can have an impact on so many people.

I've also learned the sad reality that one person, be it of evil mindset, can impact so many people too. The evil person or persons who had the arrogance and who lost his soul by playing God and taking a life has impacted so many too. This person or persons who took the life of my friend did not just affect one person, he affected many people and a community.

Missy was an inspiration to many people and showed us that determination and spirit can overcome any hardship or the most difficult situations.

The world lost a true angel. She was just getting started with her greatness.

Only the Good Die Young. So sad, but true.

Goodbye my friend. 

All I Have is a Photograph

I'm gonna miss you Missy. You're one with the force and with the angels now.
1968-2008

It is with such sadness that I have learned that one of my closest friends and law partners, someone who has been like a little sister to me was murdered. One always reads about these things in the papers but when it strikes someone close to you, the evil in this world becomes so vivid.

We keep asking why did someone have to take away such a beautiful person from us, who loved life, and always made us smile. Simply, it's evil and the lack of God in our society and the complete disregard for human life.

Life is so precious and in a heart beat it is taken away.

Deep inside I am full of anger and sadness but her memory I will always carry with me. For the last eight years I've mentored her and watched her grow to become a fine lawyer who always took the high ground. But above all she was like the sister I never had. She would always come into my office and I into hers and would talk about everything including our mutual love for Jimmy Buffet music, Star Wars, and more personal important things in our lives.

We would sing together every Christmas at the office party usually to Jimmy Buffett songs. But now that voice has been silenced by an evil force.

Thanks for all the love you gave us Missy. I will miss you deeply.

I hope and pray that the one who took you away from us meets justice swiftly and hope and pray that no one else is harmed by this evil animal.

At the last Christmas Party Missy and I sang Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young". It's so true and that is so sad.

I know we'll meet again one day Missy and finally then we can have that lunch that we've been putting off too long.

Love you always.

Pete (what she called me)

"Every time I see your face,
It reminds me of the places we used to go.
But all I got is a photograph
And I realize you're not coming back anymore."

Photograph, R. Starkey & G. Harrison