I met my future sister-in-law Jo-Ann and her brothers, sisters, mom, dad and various dogs at her home in Orleans, outside of Ottawa, Ontario, when she was 8 years old in grade school; while dating her brother. At about the same time she was making friends with her soon to be a lifelong friend Debbie, who was present at the service yesterday. Jo was different; I felt it and our bond grew. Jo relocated to B.C. with her guy and us easterners all attended her wedding to Uncle Gerry. Jo was magnetic, determined, honest, righteous and full of life. I slowly introduced her to the humour that I has experienced from my Scottish heritage, we laughed had fun and got silly. Auntie Jo had awesome family dinners, all the while keeping her siblings and family in the east updated with news from the west coast. Auntie Jo vowed to love her own children more than anyone. Auntie's nieces and nephews were coming in leaps and bounds and those nieces and nephews didn't get gifts like dolls or trucks - they got shovels, pails and free dirt. Jo and I played softball together and she was a super bat catcher for our team the "Orange Blossom Special’s" - sponsored by Orange Crush, who gave us all the pop the kids could drink. One year, Jo won MVP of the year. We attended lover ware parties, birthday parties, and reunions in the east at her parents cottage in Poltimore, Quebec. We babysat each other’s children and enjoyed our busy family relationship, played poker, had winter barbecues! (an independent pioneer woman thing I guessed lol), and we watched our children grow. I remember the plum fight Uncle Gerry and I had in the back yard on Edinburgh Street in New West and how Jo brow beat him into pressure washing a 1/2 block of plum stained houses. Even after Jo's debilitating disease began to increase, her lust for life strengthened. I remember her phoning me and asking me to join her at the Steely Dan concert in 1996 who was her favourite band at the time, (not really mine but had a great time with her). As our life's goals changed and our path forked, our relationship never changed, it just got busy and distant. I will miss Auntie Jo and her strong presence wherever she went. My own family knew her loved her and often spoke of her. She taught me a lot of things but I was older and she accepted my challenges. I so respected her family's expression of their love for her at her interesting and loyal celebration of life ceremony yesterday, and the bravery of Gerry, Erin and Sam for their tribute to a truly beautiful, natural women - and her legacy. It was so nice to see everyone, families coming together. I love you all.