On Tuesday after school, I took my violin student Joya to the EisCafe (ice cream cafe in Kandern) as her reward for achieving the 45 Day Practice Challenge. We sat down and started browsing the menu of tempting options for any sweet tooth. She narrowed it down to 2: a fruit-filled concoction piled on half a cantaloupe, or the Spaghetti-Eis (strawberry sauce on noodle-like vanilla ice cream). Her decision: “I’ll have the fruit one in honor of Miss Mari Ellen, because when she took me here I had a fruit one.”
Mari Ellen Reeser, counselor and friend to students and staff at BFA, passed away on Easter Sunday as a result of a blood clot following a hip replacement surgery. She had been a favorite babysitter for Joya and her 6 siblings. Joya, who has experienced her own share of grief and hardship, was honoring the life of a beloved friend in the way she knew best: making small choices in her memory.
Mari Ellen left a legacy of lives like Joya’s, touched by her kindness, warmth, and ever-readiness to listen. Her life was a close walk with Jesus, and you couldn’t meet Mari Ellen without meeting her Savior.
Tuesday morning, we announced the news to the students. They had just gotten back from Spring Break, so it was hard news for some. Mari Ellen was a reliable confidant for several students who came to her for advice, to process hard events, or just to talk. Tuesday evening was her memorial service; it was a combination of grief over our loss of this amazing woman, with a celebration of her life on earth and of the life she has now, face to face with Jesus. Michele Phoenix wrote an honoring tribute to her. This Saturday, the music staff of BFA will be performing our staff recital in her honor.
Though we try to honor her memory in many ways, the biggest way to honor her is to continue sharing her love of Jesus with everyone around us. Just as she walked with Jesus, I hope to also walk closely with Him.
Praying for you and the BFA community.
Allison