Lisa Strader, the Collector of Friends A Celebration of - TopicsExpress



          

Lisa Strader, the Collector of Friends A Celebration of Life 10/15/14 by Tim Cothron Edited by Ann Cothron When the Strader Family gave me the honor of speaking about Lisa today, Mark Strader’s one directive was to, “Keep it upbeat.” In response to that, I started thinking about Lisa and the arc of her life. How does one define someone and her life of 47 years? In my own ponderings and conversations with those who knew her best, I concluded that Lisa is the Collector of Friends. During the past few days as family and friends have gathered to support her and each other, everyone noted how many friends she has. In the words of her brother, Stan, “Lisa has more friends than I know people.” Here’s the thing. She has tons of friends. Witness everyone here and countless more who are unable to be here. However, we are far from a homogeneous group. We come from many geographies, continents, economic realities, religious and political points of view. She even bridged the gulf between UK and UofL. (Did you notice how good Coach Pitino’s haircut looked, even in high definition?) The point being we are a very diverse group of individuals who have at least one thing in common…a meaningful friendship with Lisa Strader. So how does she do it? What’s her secret? I have three words for which I can make a case: Laughter, Joy, and Hospitality. My relationship with Lisa was filled with laughter. Sometimes it was very low-brow humor. OK, often it was low-brow. We weren’t beyond eating a brownie, then secretly putting a glob on our teeth and then smiling hoping to catch someone off guard. However, we excelled at ridiculous word play and double entendres. We delighted in making each other and those around us laugh. I imagine that each one of you could share your own stories of laughter that you had with Lisa. The content and approach might be different, but laughter was guaranteed with the Strade. Lisa’s love of laughter wasn’t the result of some relentless pursuit of comedic silliness. Her laughter sprang from a reservoir of joy. She loved life and shared her joy with everyone. As long as I’ve known her, she has always been joyful. She figured it out at an earlier age. I dare say her incredible parents laid the foundation that allowed her to build and house it. Joy is often difficult to attain and maintain, because we live in cynical times. Her spiritual faith and her love of family and friends filled her to such a degree that she always chose joy throughout her life. In good times, she celebrated joyfully. In the face of impossible odds, she chose joy when it would have been very easy and understandable to succumb to anxiety and fear. From this wellspring of joy, she expressed the spirit of hospitality. For those of you who are familiar with Saint Francis of Assisi, you will recall that he put a premium on hospitality and welcoming everyone. Lisa was born on October 4th, which happens to fall on the feast day of…you guessed it, St. Francis. Coincidence? I think not. How many people here have ever been to an event that Lisa has hosted or co-hosted? I know that each one of you were made to feel at home and feasted on delicious food, (because the woman can cook) and you were generously supplied with an assortment of tasty beverages. At these gatherings and celebrations, there we were, with our diversity of opinions and hairstyles, along with our prejudices in whatever form they might take as we mixed and mingled with each other, because we all felt like we belonged. We did belong there, because Lisa made it so. In my version of Heaven, it looks and functions much like Lisa’s life. It’s full of laughter, joy, and hospitality for everyone. The recipe is simple. The execution is incredibly difficult. However, Lisa, the Collector of Friends made it seem effortless. Lisa, since you brought us all together, we will love you forever and will always be Team Strader.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 03:43:34 +0000

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