Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

August 2, 2012

Rest in Peace Cyndy

Sadly, I am getting to the age where the possibility of old friends passing away becomes a reality. Such is the case with Cyndy Fenton, a girl who was part of my group of friends in high school and we had a lot of laughs and good times in those days.  She was a year behind me in school and a very sweet and nice person; her whole family is well thought of in town.  Cyndy's sister, Robin (she's awesome too, by the way), was in my class and their dad was my 9th grade history teacher (and one of my fave teachers - I could do a whole blog post on my great memories of that year in his class).  I hadn't seen her since the late 1980s when Holly & I ran into her at Bobby Byrnes Pub in Sandwich.  I'd always hoped she would join Facebook but she didn't.  

Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer before I could get a chance to reconnect with her.  

Remember, I am from a very small town, and the old townie families have known each other for generations, or, if not that long, since at least the mid 1900's.  So I received the news a few hours after she'd passed.  Although I didn't like the thought of notifying our old friends via a Facebook status, it was also the fastest way to reach them right away, especially since many are spread out around the country.  The outpouring of shock, sympathy and memories was awesome.  I just wish I'd had a chance to tell her how much her friendship meant to me before she passed, and for that I am truly sorry.

Here are some photos of her, taken in 1980, 81 & 83, when our lives were still before us.

Sandwich High School Homecoming (post-parade), October 1980
Left to Right:  Holly, Kevin, Charlotte, Cyndy and Joey

Lip Synch Party at Joey's House, Dec. 1980 
Cyndy & Kevin as Hall & Oates, which was her favourite band.

Christmas Party at Sandy's house, Dec. 1980
Front Row L to R:   Sue, Marybeth  & Jenny
2nd Row L to R:  Joey, Cyndy, Sandy, Bridgette, Carleen, Lisa A., Lisa C. & Tracy
3rd Row L to R:  Scott, Charlotte & Robyn
Back:  Kevin

Going Away Party for Holly at My House, June 1981  
Front Row L to R:  Liz, Me, Sandy, Holly, Marybeth & Robyn
2nd Row L to R:  Lisa C., Joey, Barit, Bridgette & Cyndy
Back:  Paul

Halloween Party at Paul's, October 1981.  
Eddie & Cyndy.

New Years Eve 83/84 Party at Kevin's
Kathy & Cyndy.

I'm sorry I never had a chance to see her again before she passed away and to me, she will be forever frozen in time as she appears above.  My sincerest condolences to her entire family.  I'm not sure if any of them will find and/or read this, but please know that I never forgot her, I thought about her a lot over the years and she will be missed.  I also grant them permission to save and use these photographs of her, which I'm sure they have never seen before.  

Rest in Peace, dear friend.

17 comments:

  1. :'(......Rest in peace Cyndy Fenton,prayers,and sympathy for her family :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lovely tibute for Cindy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoJo, I'm sorry about your old friend. You wrote a lovely post about her and your memories of her. *hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  4. JoJo,

    I'm sorry about the loss of your friend.

    Maybe our lives were less complicated in high school, or maybe it just seems so, but I remember friends from back then with a sense of a time in life when friendship ran deeper. We were all figuring out who we were together, before life had written that script. And like you said, we had our whole lives ahead of us.

    That was a very touching post to your friend and to friendship. My condolences.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fun memories. I am sorry for the loss of your friend, Cyndy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11:51 AM

    I'm so sorry for your loss, JoJo. It's amazing how much of an impact friends from long ago can make.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Terribly sorry, Joanne for your loss. To lose someone you were close to, but not in touch with for a time is never good. I'm sure Cyndy is at peace.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous1:12 PM

    I'm sorry for the loss of your friend JoJo. I hope you find comfort in your memories of her.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's good that you have such lovely memories of her. So that way she never really dies.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh that's so sad JoJo. She looked wonderful and you were so lucky to have known her. Hugs to you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. aw so sad - a former colleague put up a fb post today saying he had only months to live. Shook me up a bit

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm so sorry for your loss, JoJo. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  13. JoJo, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend! (HUGS)

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm sorry for your loss Jojo. This was a lovely post to make about her.

    Great big hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jo Jo..was very sad to read this xx
    thank you for your message..xxx

    love Samxx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks everyone. I saw her family today at the wake. Very sad to see them under these circumstances. I still can't believe one of my high school friends is gone... :(

    ReplyDelete
  17. HUGS, Jo... Rest easy, Cyndy.

    ReplyDelete