She was the first girl I ever kissed and the first I ever fell in love with… moms don’t count. I was three and she was four. Annette was my older sister by one year and four days. By practicality we often shared birthday parties growing up. Neither of us seemed to feel slighted. She always got girl stuff. I always got boy stuff. One of our fondest memories was the time our mother made us a combination cake. My half was blue and her half was pink. One of us would bring that up at our birthday time every year and we’d talk about recreating that cake. Annette was the princess of the family in her father’s eyes only. She grew up in a family of rough and tumble brothers, sharing toys, food and antics. She could hold her own with any brother and slept in one of the bunk beds of the family’s famous ‘rocket’ room, so named because of the ‘Buck Rogers’-esk wallpaper in the room. When she came ‘of age’ and graduated from the rocket room to her own ‘pink painted princess’ room she felt she was being punished because she could still hear her brothers laughing in the evenings on the other side of the wall. It didn’t take her long to discover that having her own ‘girl’ space was a good thing. We shared so many family memories of camping, swim meets, family reunions, Catholic school and car trips to World’s Fairs via Utah and Montana. We grew up as pals, confidantes, and competitors, proud of what each other did and jealous of what each other got to do. Being as close as we were in age we had a special bond and tended to watch each other’s back. I remember her talking about being reluctant to going out on a date with her future husband John Pedri. She had already had two failed relationships with men who were also named John and she did not want another one. However she had recently re-committed her life to Christ and mutual friends were steering these two devoted Christians toward each other. It did not take long after they met to become ‘smitten’ and then married. Annette had found a mate that kept her laughing whether he meant to or not. Annette had a way of not taking life too seriously. She rarely worried about matters unless it had to do with her children and she always maintained her sense of humor. She would be very matter-of-fact about her life, the events around her and ultimately her death. She was told three years ago that she had less than a year to live. She wouldn’t agree to that. She lived to see her eldest daughter receive her degree from Azusa Pacific University, her son’s wedding and her youngest daughter’s graduation from Lincoln High School. In turns out she was tougher than any of her brothers. Even though she was receiving regular treatments of chemotherapy and radiation she and John would still take little junkets on the weekends or share a Tuesday matinee together. And though tired and achy Annette would enjoy them. I know that God specifically planned for Annette to leave us when she did. But I also know He let us have the time to love her before she left us. I will miss her deeply but my comfort is found in knowing it will not be forever. I will love her always and forever. Ed Giroux