[The following was written by Mark Moses, Jill's husband.]
Jill's too
We'll start with a song, one of Jill's favorites, sung by Felicia Sorensen, from her She Believes
CD:
For the love of a woman, a man unlocks his heart, And reveals all the secrets it holds.
And the love of a woman, will find his better part, When he gives her the key to his soul.
He will open any door, Leave the life he knew before,
As he promises to help her dreams come true.
He will be her honest friend, Stand beside her to the end.
All these things he will do, For the love of a woman.
For the love of a woman, a man gives everything, Her trust and devotion he seeks.
For the love of a woman, he'll do most anything, To convince her he's all that she needs.
He will listen to her dreams, He will ask her what she needs.
He will help her build the life she wants to live.
He will hold her when she cries, With a love that never dies.
All these things he will give, For the love of a woman.
For the love of a woman, a man will sacrifice, While he waits for a moment of grace.
With the love of a woman, a man will pay the price, For the trust that he sees in her face.
And when he's afraid to start, He will step into the dark
'Cause he knows she'll give his eyes the power to see.
Though he's not a work of art, He will try with all he's heart
To become the man she knows that he can be, With the love of a woman.
He will give his life,
For the love of a woman.
Music was a very big part of Jill's life and she had requested this song to be play at her services along with many others, but this one in particular tells how we feel about each other, how much love there is between us. Another song, sung by Collin Raye, called In this life
. Jill had copied down the words to sing. I wish I could sing it to her, the meaning would not change. The chorus is as follows:
Let the world stop turnin'
Let the sun stop burnin'
Let them tell me love's not worth going through
If it all falls apart
I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life I was loved by you
Jill and I knew each other only a short time before we married. When we did decide to get married Jill said that she would like to keep her maiden name and add my last name. I never gave it a second thought. It was something Jill wanted and I wanted Jill to be happy. Now I know her reason for this, it was for the love and respect she had for her parents, Pat and Gerry. They played such a very important role in her life, and gave us uncompromising support throughout our marriage. It may not have been possible without them.
This page is suppose to be an update of Jilly Gorilly's where she tells a little about herself and of her battle with leukemia. My beloved wife Jill, passed away on the 19th of October 1996, but her memory will live in all who knew her. Jill touched the heart of so many people and I would like to share some of the kind words friends have to say of her.
Jill rests at the Mountain View Cemetery in a burial plot thoughtfully chosen by her mother
because of its commanding view of the cemetery, as if she were standing on a stage.
[The following was written by Michael, Jill's brother, on 3/2/2004.]
While celebrating the 18th birthday of Jill's daughter Kory, the family decided to re-host her webpage on the Internet after it had gone missing for several years. Mark was gracious enough to have kept a copy of her old homepage files along with the guestbook entries. As you can see from these entries, her webpage is/was frequently visited by friends and strangers alike. I've re-hosted it here as a tribute and memorial to my sister whose fight (but ultimate loss) against leukemia made us all proud.
Below, I've included two e-mails that Jill had sent me during her illness (click the arrows to read):
Email #1 (sent on 3/3/1996)
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 20:55:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Jilly Gorilly <jilly@wolfenet.com>
To: Michael
Subject: They call this living?
I guess I need to vent some of my negative side, and no one wants to hear
it, but I figured since you are often disillusioned with life like I am,
you're more likely to understand.
It's been a rough day, and everyone gets mad at me for having what I feel is
a realistic attitude. I'm not going to pretend that this relapse isn't
happening. *I* know it, I feel it, I see it all over my body. What's the
sense in having false hope? Sure, there's always hope that it ISN'T
happening, but there's strong physical evidence to suggest otherwise. Why
won't people just accept what I'm already pretty darn sure of?
I hope that no matter what happens, you can be there for me like you were
the first time, offering me encouragement. Even though I can't deny that
I'm getting sick again, I can always benefit from some positive thinking and
imagery. You were a great source of strength to me, please be here for me,
Michael, in whatever way you can, IF you can.
Why is this happening to me?
I love you, little brother.
Jill
GORILLAS DO IT IN THE MIST
Ooooh-oooohhhh, aaaaahhhh-aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! =8-O
Email #2 (sent on 3/10/1996)
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 13:45:16 -0800
From: Jill <jilly@wolfenet.com>
To: Michael
Subject: Love ya, little bro!
Hello, Michael. In a hurry, but just wanted to say THANK YOU for making
reference to me on your web page! It was very thoughtful of you, and I
love you for it!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Jilly