Set In Stone

My cousin Denise has a lot of friends and family and I imagine the Hazlet Hall is packed with everyone who loved her - and wish I could be there..

Who couldn't love a girl like Denise though.
She had a smile as big as her personality.
Her laugh, was more like a contagious giggle - and even if nobody else was laughing, Denise would be - and you couldn't help yourself but laugh along with her.

Maybe that's why Denise was able to find so much in common with everyone. She was close to a lot of the older folks in town, able to sit down and chat about anything - and still, She had a way with kids - they would gravitate towards her, and she would give them the attention and play with them for hours..

She may have had a way with kids, but I've been told that when her brother, Kyle, started going to school - he would hold on to Denise's hand until he got to the classroom - and he always had to give her a hug -- well, Denise, had to sit Dallas down for a serious discussion after school one day - she said, "mom, tell Kyle he can't keep hugging me at school, it's embarrassing!"

I remember Denise as a kid.
She was always up to something.
We used to spend Sundays at grandma and grandpa's -- and she could always find us something to do... it usually consisted of us riding our bikes all over town or spending hours sledding down the hill by the old rink - but she never wanted to stop playing.

I remember Denise was always telling me about the stuff her grandpa Reg bought her from garage sales and auctions.
Well, I guess, Denise was only 3 or 4 years old - and grandpa reg bought her a saddle --
Denise stood up in the back of the truck bed - and looked down the road.. and when someone asked what she was doing, she just said, she was waiting for the horse to go along with the saddle.

I think I can safely say Denise's love for horses and country life was what really defined her.
When we were little, I would try to be the boss of her - make her design our very own city in the dirt - with cars and people - and she would always play with toy horses and tractors instead.

I know my cousin was an amazing woman. I know she had skills and knowledge in horsemanship and ranching that I couldn't imagine having - but I'm learning even more..

She loved to go to brandings.
She was in high demand for her riding and roping skills.
Denise would load up her dog and her horse and head out to any branding she was asked to go to - sometimes two in a day.


Denise's dedication to her animals was overwhelming.
I didn't know this, but Denise's horse, Pacey - ripped her leg wide open one time.
Denise called a bunch of people for advice on what to do... put him down or spend thousands of dollars to take the horse to a vet in Saskatoon.
The vet told her the horse would most likely end up lame anyway..
Denise didn't listen.
She took Pacey home - she flushed that wound out three times a day for three months - and by the end of the summer, she was riding him ..
Some may have said her stubborn streak made her do it - if that's what stubbornness gets us - then I hope I can be that stubborn in life.

I think it's only fitting that you would all be in Hazlet today.
She loved this town.
She had a running joke with family and friends that she would only move somewhere if she could take her horses with her.
She did leave a couple of times, but always returned home.
She told her friend, Karla, She wishes she could just get rich doing what she loved to do...

She was rich -
She was able to do what she loved -
And loved where she lived -
Not everyone can say that.

I know she was taken from us way too early - and she had a lot of riding left to do -
But - I hope we can all take Denise's wonderfully, optimistic, beautiful, humorous, love of the place we call home as a way to remember her.

I miss you Nisey - and we all love you.