Thursday, November 29, 2007
In Memory of Maureen O'Brien - Moe
I am pretty earth shaken right now. I lost a dear friend. She passed away sometime in the last month in her apartment. They did not find her until today. I began to worry about her as I had not heard from her and she had not returned my phone calls in the last few weeks. I began to push aggressively to find her by calling the VA Hospital, along with the police department, and a reverse search to find her apartment manager and neighbors on the Internet. It was eating at me and this is what I spent Thanksgiving Day doing.
The police went into her apartment this morning and found her. Both the police department and the apartment manager called me this morning. They will update me accordingly. The police detective wants me to pin a date when I last heard from her as closely as I can. This tells me she has been gone a while and they are trying to determine how long. The last time I spoke to Moe was on October 12th a little after 7:00 pm.
Her name was Maureen O’Brien and she was a war vet who was a 100% military disabled war veteran. She ran to the beat of a different drum, which often left her misunderstood and alone in many ways. I don’t know that she had family. I wish I could have done more sooner.
Please pray for all people who are alone in the world in memory of Moe. It breaks my heart to believe she is that alone in the world, or anyone has to be that alone in the world. I was her emergency contact. It saddens me that the only people she had in her life were those of us who were so far away, yet I am glad she had us to hang onto. Nobody should have to die alone and spend the better part of a month in an apartment where they are not missed by those in their own community, family, or loved ones.
My consolation is she is at peace now and is not suffering anymore. I know God is taking care of her and she is being loved as a whole and healed person.
I am crying. Thanks for listening.
The police went into her apartment this morning and found her. Both the police department and the apartment manager called me this morning. They will update me accordingly. The police detective wants me to pin a date when I last heard from her as closely as I can. This tells me she has been gone a while and they are trying to determine how long. The last time I spoke to Moe was on October 12th a little after 7:00 pm.
Her name was Maureen O’Brien and she was a war vet who was a 100% military disabled war veteran. She ran to the beat of a different drum, which often left her misunderstood and alone in many ways. I don’t know that she had family. I wish I could have done more sooner.
Please pray for all people who are alone in the world in memory of Moe. It breaks my heart to believe she is that alone in the world, or anyone has to be that alone in the world. I was her emergency contact. It saddens me that the only people she had in her life were those of us who were so far away, yet I am glad she had us to hang onto. Nobody should have to die alone and spend the better part of a month in an apartment where they are not missed by those in their own community, family, or loved ones.
My consolation is she is at peace now and is not suffering anymore. I know God is taking care of her and she is being loved as a whole and healed person.
I am crying. Thanks for listening.
17 comments:
Gentle hugs... words do not suffice at all.
Moe and I met on the net way back in 1993 and quickly developed a solid friendship, spanning every imaginable topic and some unimaginable ones as well. We shared fun things, hard things, deep things not only over the net, but over the phone as well; learning from and teaching each other, laughing and crying together.
Then came the web, and we helped each other with HTML, website design - right off the bat linking to each other's sites - and Moe reached out to the myriad lost and hurting souls across the world, setting up forums wherein they could and did post and discuss items safely.
Selfless and loving does not even begin to describe Moe - independent, scrappy, incredibly sharp and quick witted, down-to-earth and earthy - deep.
Moe - Thank You. I think how empty life would have been had you never come. I only hope that we helped fill your life with love, fun, and friendship.
Wolf
wolf@nemasys.com
Dear Sweet Moe! She has earned the grand reception that Heaven has afforded her. Her Ragged Road has ended. At last, Home Again! Hugs, Aunt Susan
I'm shocked and saddened about this. For the last few years, I and my friend and her father would spent Turkey day together.
She told us that she was moving back east to be closer to her family. She talked about a son and grandkids. And also a brother. But I never knew where he lived and don't remember his name.
They were suppose to be very close.
My thoughts go out to you.
Hi Wolf,
Thanks for calling me. I believe it helped me as much as it helped you. I know Moe thought the world of you. She spoke of you fondly and she spoke of you often. I am glad she had you in her life.
Aunt Susan,
Thank you for posting. I know Moe valued you as a person and enjoyed your wit at Old Souls Station. I remember when you gave her the first award for her site. It meant so much to her... Yes she is in peace now and the rough ride is over.
Heart!! I knew you would have a tough time with this. I also knew you would want to know.
Her extended family was important to her. Moe needed and craved family... You were indeed part of her extended family...
Loretta
I am sorry to hear of the passing of your friend. I hope you find comfort in the fact as you said she is no longer suffering.She sounds like she was a great woman.
Thank you so much Kerry. This is pretty tough... I think it is still sinking in. The dynamics are pretty rough to deal with right now.
I know God is there and she will be ok now. It is toughest for those who are left behind.
I hope you two are doing well...
I am so sorry - I know this has to be very hard for you. I'll try to give you a call before the day is over - there is some last minute rush stuff happening here.
It is sad that she was so alone out there - it sounds though as if she left a wonderful legacy of being a very special person with a very special gift to reach out to others. She sounds like the kind of person I would like to be.
I guess when its our time, we're not going to a place where we don't know anyone, huh?
Thanks Gardenia,
Nope... We will know many when we get there. The difference is we will be whole then.. Whatever was hurting us here will not hurt us there. No matter if that is physically or emotionally. Or a combination of the two.
I know God saved a special place for Moe..
I found out more today, which is she had a sister she barely knew from her birth mother. I hope her intentions are honorable if she chooses to handle Moe's affairs. I spoke with her today and could not read her intentions well.
Thanks for writing.
Lorretta, I am so sorry for your loss. I know that words cannot take away the empty feeling you must have, but I want you to know that I am thinking about you as well as praying that God wrap you in His Arms of Love. Your compassion is commendable! You loved someone that others might have passed by, that is Christ Like Love. Thank you for sharing and loving Maureen.
Your brother in Christ,
Jim
Thanks Jim,
When I look at what has happened here, I do not cry for myself.. I cry for people that are this alone in the world, and perhaps fear the element of this just as easily could be me at one point in my life. When I think of Moe, I think of a person who strove to spend her dash more wisely. I have to ask myself, have I spent my dash wisely. This makes me want to strive to spend it in a much wiser way. I believe in many ways, in recent times I have turned my back on a calling of working with abuse survivors. For some reason, Moe always remained in my life through thick and thin. I met her during the time I was working on legislation which strove to lift the statutes of limitations against child predators. If you have not seen the dash poem, here is the link.
http://lorrettasplace.blogspot.com/2007/03/dash-poem-movie.html
Thanks for listening and posting. I will miss Moe, and I am definately grieving the loss of a good friend. Perhaps, collectively, we can all learn from this and be there for others.
Maureen O'Brien " Gentle Touch "...
Today, we celebrate not our loss...
Today, we pray to the cross...
Today, we ask that Maureen O'Brien be put to rest...
Today, we will remember this lady at her best...
Today, we celebrate her life...
Today, we remember how she lived her life...
Today, we remember the lives that she touched daily...
Today, we remember the lady that helped survivors daily...
Today, we share of her giving heart...
Today, we tell of her doing her part...
Today, we keep her memory alive...
Today, we tell about her fight to survive...
Today, we remember her love...
Today, we know she is as free as a dove...
Today, we know she is finally free of...
Today, we cry tears for a lady that gave to each of us...
Today, we search for the words to express...
Today, we remember the lady behind " Gentle Touch "
Today, we can't say it enough " Maureen O'Brien, we do so miss you so very much "...
Maureen O'Brien " Gentle Touch "...
Johnny Cash Eaton
All Rights Reserved By: C.P.D.C.
Copyright ©2007 Johnny Cash Eaton
I want to give a sincere thank you to all who have posted here regarding Moe, along with the hundreds that viewed this blog entry. A special thanks to Wolf for letting so many know. I also would like to thank those who chose to email me privately instead of posting.
I am doing better today than I was yesterday and the day before. It seems to hit in waves. Just as I was sitting down to write this I remembered what Moe would have told us. Be Gentle With Yourselves. This phrase was soothing for me.
At any rate, thanks to all of you. While I know the initial shock of this will pass, I know we will all remember Moe for many years to come.
God Bless,
Lorretta
Greetings ~
Thank you for notifying me of Moe's passing. Moe and I met online in 1996. She came to visit me in NM in 1998 and quickly became part of the family.
Moe emailed me two months ago saying she was going to move out here to NM where she felt safe and loved. I had not heard from her since and emails went unanswered, which was not rare with Moe. She disappeared and reappeared often.
She was a scattered soul who longed to become whole ... that longing has been fulfilled within the presence of the Gods and Goddess' who are holding her close.
Moe will be missed.
Blessings ~
Sky
Hi Sky,
Thanks so much for posting. I am so glad Moe had your family in her life. I know it meant a lot to her. She cared about you a great deal.
I know Moe is now whole and everything she longed for is now being taken care of by a power much greater than ourselves.
As I have updates I will make them available here, so keep checking back.
She was definately one in a million and she would have given you the shirt off her back.
My last 5 years knowing Moe were actually the closest and most healthy on both of our parts. However, I would not part with any of the years I had her in my life. She is and was an important part of my life.
My brother-in-law told me never to forget her tonight. I laughed and said it is impossible to forget Moe. Ö¿Ö
The last week I have cried and in-between I have laughed at some of the things we used to do both on and off line.
She proved to be a dear friend and will remain in my heart forever. And you know, even though I can no longer talk to her on the phone, our journey together is far from finished.