An old lady named Bobbi has handled our human resources and payroll issues for the past 9 years. She weighed next to nothing, but she was feisty and got things done on time and without issue. She was a recovering alcoholic and lost a brother to alcoholism. She was a chain smoker despite battling and recovering from lung cancer. When she spoke it sounded like she had been smoking since birth.
Aside the payroll and HR stuff, she was there on a personal level to me and many others, despite never meeting most in person. When my mother in law killed herself, she was there as a source of strength through her direct experience. When my sister in law, an alcoholic, was plotting to kidnap my daughters and kill my wife and me, Bobbi was there as a source of strength through her direct experience.
Right before October ended she started to get sick again. Many, many tests were taken and it was discovered that her cancer had returned. She was still smoking. PET scans revealed that the cancer was back in the lungs, but was now also on her spine (several tumors on her spine and shoulder). The really dangerous one was the cancerous tumor on her brain.
She went into immediate retirement.
On 11/19/13 she had surgery to remove the brain tumor. Doctors said that everything went as best as one could hope for. She went home to recover with family. They were not going to address all of the others until she regained some strength and they could come up with a battle-plan.
On 12/29 she passed away at home in the presence of her family.
I went to the funeral services tonight after work. I gave my condolences to her sister, her brother in law, her kids, and many grandkids all of whom I had never met before. I think her sister was inspired by the fact that I expressed how much Bobbi had helped me, and many of my employees, on a personal level on issues completely unrelated to work.
ItÂ’s too bad that she managed to remain sober for 30 years but could never quit nicotine. I hate nicotine.
Today, only today, IÂ’m quit.
