Story & some photos

Lindsey wore her poofy white coat the night we met last November. Over drinks at Cafe Walderdorff in Trier, we talked about religion, college, sports, foreign languages, and travel. I had smart-aleck comments for every topic, and she asked if was ever serious. I responded, straight-faced but sarcastically, "What do you think happens when we die?" and Lindsey just laughed in that unique way that would come to make me smile every time I heard it. Her response makes me certain she is in a better place, and that she is happy.

She brought Chinese takeout to my empty apartment the day I moved in. We ate yellow curry & veggies while sitting on the bare hardwood floor, asking each other inane questions I wish I could remember now. A friend of a friend, Lindsey was the first new acquaintance I had at Spangdahlem, and I feel blessed by the time and experiences we shared.

She called me out of the blue on a gorgeous day at the end of the summer. Winding roads traced the curves of the Mosel River, half-timbered houses to the left, shimmering water to our right, vibrant green vineyards climbing the river valley walls all around; as we parked her Audi, the white tents of the Mehring Weinfest. Lindsey, Tony and I sat at a rickety picnic table by the water's edge, enjoying the Spätlese, joking about work and music while squinting at boats motoring by into the sunlight. Later that evening in Bernkastel, I introduced her to Reese and the gang. Lindsey quickly became, and remains in my mind, the only true "honorary member" of the Wittlich Mafia, our tight-knit cohort of dining, drinking, traveling, laughing friends. It will never be the same.

On Halloween, our friend Jamin, decked out in an Elvis wig and big gold sunglasses, decided to play hide & seek without telling anybody. Lindsey, dressed appropriately as a giant pair of handcuffs, hunted him down in the basement. Nobody told the story as well as Lindsey, complete with pantomimed reenactment, her eyes and voice animated and excited. "So Jamin is trying to sneak away around the garage, even after the lights come on," she says while shuffling along an imaginary wall, eyes darting back and forth. "And I said 'Jamin, we can see you'!"

Not one to let her mark get away, Lindsey pursued, crawling through bushes and eventually tackling him. The details of how he convinced her to let him up are still disputed, but as she said, "Of course I believed him, it's Jamin!" She mimicked running in slow motion how Jamin "just took off" into the fields. Thus ends the story of the time she chased Elvis around haybales in a tiny German town under the moonlight on Halloween, and Jamin can forever tell about the time he escaped capture by a federal agent.

A few weeks later over Columbus Day weekend, Reese, her boyfriend Tom, Lindsey, Jamin & I flew to Nice, France, ostensibly to run the Monaco 10K in Monte Carlo. Lindsey made the arrangements and translated everywhere we went (it always puzzled me that she couldn't recall movie quotes but could remember an entirely separate language). Our plan from the outset was to run a mile & then break for a beer and wait for the others to finish. After a day of sunshine and walking the coast, followed by two days of nonstop rain, art museums and waiting in vain for Lindsey's missing luggage to arrive, we decided to skip the run altogether and enjoy our Saturday night out in Monaco.

After a €300 dinner at the Monte Carlo casino, Lindsey, Jamin and I watched old men gambling our annual salary at the €1000 Blackjack table. We toasted the evening with the local beer (mediocre at best compared to our usual Hefeweizen), and I remember thinking, "this will be one of the good memories." After winning €5 for her brother and immediately losing it again, we left the casino, wandering the boardwalk to a cheesy Euro disco with a sprawling balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, the thunderstorms that had plagued us all weekend receding into the distance. We clinked our glasses and were happy we had decided to stay out.

Lindsey was a beautiful person who devoted her life to helping others. I feel honored to have known her, and to have had the opportunity, albeit under unfortunate circumstances, to meet her loving family. It was easy to see where she got her strength, confidence, character and compassion. I knew Lindsey in a narrow sense when viewed in the context of the rest of her life, but I am confident in echoing the glowing words of her longtime friends and colleagues who spoke at her memorial when I say that she made me want to be a better person. She was a terrific friend who kicked me into shape on several occasions, brought energy wherever she went, and while she will be deeply missed, I thank her and treasure the memories she helped me create. Thank you for sharing her.

My deepest sympathies for your loss, and hope for you to find peace in time ~

Mike Cumberworth

Spangdahlem, Gemany