One of my dearest friends passed away last night. I have known it was coming, but it is still hard. Rochelle made everyone feel as if they were her only best friend. She treated everyone so kindly and was the first to not volunteer, but to jump in and do. The world has lost a wonderful spirit, but I know Heavenly Father has been working hard to get her over there to help the spirit's in Heaven. The Bassett's fought hard to keep her here.
I remember when she first moved to the Pasco 2nd ward. Cole was just a baby. Fairly soon after, I was assigned to be her visiting teacher. My baby at the time was Kaitlin and she was three and my oldest was 15 or 16. At first I felt like we couldn’t possibly have anything in common. As I continued to be her visiting teacher and she became my older girls primary teacher I got to know her better. She was by far my girl’s favorite primary teacher and not just because she tossed them candy if they answered a question. They knew that she cared about them – truly cared.
I was serving in some presidency at the time and I guess she had a certain impression about me and who I was as I remember a comment she made one time while I was visiting her. I had told her about a family vacation where we had gone to Oregon to the lava caves. The caves were so short we had to crawl on our hands and knees to get through them. Her comment was, “YOU did that!?” I have always remembered that as a great lesson to me. Don’t be so uptight or at least give the impression of being uptight – let loose and have a little fun. That is a lesson I once again need reminded of with my new set of teenagers. Sometimes we focus on the school work too much and not on the fun. Thank you for such a great lesson.
After serving in the primary she was called to the young women’s organization and once again my girl’s benefitted from having her as a teacher. She taught them memorable lessons and got them to open up and come out of their shells. They have become good women, leaders, wives and mothers because of her. If my girls had an extracurricular activity she would find out about it and then go to it to support them. I remember seeing her at plays, sporting events, concerts, and none of her kids were performing. It was her Young Women she was coming to see. She treated all the young women as if they were hers. They knew that she loved them and cared about them and she always went the extra mile.
Then she became my visiting teacher, along with Danielle Belliston. We were all pregnant together too. Danielle with her first, Rochelle with her second, and I with my seventh. I loved when they came every month and we would sit and rock in my banana chairs as we talked. I was always sad when it was time for them to go. I think it was the only time that I loved having my visiting teachers stay a long time. They weren’t just my visiting teachers, they were my friends. Even after we all had our babies, we continued to visit and enjoy each other’s company.
I remember after they moved out of the ward and going to her house to visit and let the kids play. Conner loved their toy closet under the stairs. We have one now, just not quite as cool as theirs. We went to great parties at their house and it was fun to see how much she and her husband, Ryan, love each other and how great they treated each other when we would come over as couple’s. Such a shining example to Brad and I.
A bit more than four years ago, Courtney got married. My mom and sisters who had never met her before were especially impressed. They had come to the reception and then Sister Bassett drove her family home and returned to help us clean up. She was hauling around a huge vacuum cleaner all over the gym floor. It was just a couple of weeks later that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Nearly three years ago was the best birthday ever. I spent the day visiting with her while she was in the hospital. Her cancer had moved to a part of the brain and she was in the hospital for a few days having it removed. We had so much fun talking and laughing. I loved it and will treasure that day always. A few days later she realized it had been my birthday and apologized profusely for me spending the day with her, but I loved it. It was a lot of fun!
After moving to our new house she kept bugging me about letting her come over and spackle my nail holes and doing a little bit of sanding and painting. She wanted to come over and scrape all the stickers off my new windows. I am so glad that instead we just talked and let the kids play. My nail holes will probably be forever left undone until we move out as it isn’t really that big a deal. I have learned from her that spending time with family and friends is what counts. Who cares about anything else.
I am so glad she was able to have her family around her the last few days. They are the most important of all. I just wanted my family to know how much I love and admire Sister Bassett and to remember the great example she has been to me since the day we met until all eternity. She have been a great influence on my family and on so many other families as well. I could not have ever asked for a better friend. Thank you for such a guiding influence and friendship.
Please feel free to follow her story and read people's comments about her at http://www.rolumpybreast.blogspot.com/ The world was truly a better place for having Rochelle Bassett here. I hope we can live up to the legacy she left for us. This is something I am going to work hard towards.
I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation. Our church is the only one with the answer to what happens after we die. I know Heavenly Father loves us so very much and wouldn't just leave us hanging. I feel sorrow for those who think that this is the end. I am grateful that I will see my dear friend again and I know that she was greeted by a boatload of people on the other side. I know that she will also be one of the first in line to greet me when I die as well. I know she is in a better place and that she is happy and that she will continue to watch over her family and wait for them to join her in the Celestial Kingdom as I know that is where she is at. There aren't many who are much better than Rochelle. I know I have a long way to go to even be half as good as her.
Dear family, I love you all so much. Please remember that in all you do and say. Heavenly Father loves us and He wants us to live in such a way that we can all return unto Him some day. I know that I am sure going to try to do better. Please remember our family motto: Celestial Kingdom with No Empty Chairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment