about Cricket

authored by her Soulmate, Rob

Cricket Garrison passed away in my arms on December 1, 2012 at approximately 2:15 PM after a long painful battle with pancreatic cancer. It was my privilege to have known her, shared my life with her, and finally to have comforted her in her final days. She celebrated life to its fullest even in the face of numerous ailments including the pancreatic cancer which ended her life. Her happy, positive attitude was contagious. Her ever present smile and the twinkle in her eyes were enough to spread her spark of happiness before she even uttered a word. You couldn't help but love to be with her. She wanted to spend her final days in what she said was the happiest home that she has known in her adult life. That home was a small apartment in the Venice Villas condominium complex in Venice, Florida where she resided with me for over 10 years. She loved the beach, pool, tropical environment, and friendly community consisting of both long term residents and happy vacationers at the Villas.

Cricket was born in Mattawan, Michigan in 1963 to her parents Lester and Sharon who love her dearly. She came from a large family which includes her siblings, their spouses, and her nieces and nephews all of who will miss her. She leaves behind her sister Cheryl. Her sister Joyce passed away about 4 years prior to the loss of Cricket. She also leaves behind her brothers Carl, Dan, Don, John, Kelly, and Ken (alphabetical order). All of her family mourns the loss of their beloved Cricket.

Cricket leaves behind her beloved daughter, Valerie, and her son-in-law Travis. They are raising 5 children, Cricket's grandchildren, Kaylee, Lacey, La'kia, Romeo, and Vanessa. Cricket would check her email every day anxiously awaiting more pictures of her grandchildren.

Cricket also leaves behind special friends who treated her as family. They went out of their way to show their love for her in her time of need. Her friends gave her many joyous memories and helped to ease her suffering from the crippling ailment which prematurely ended her life.

Cricket loved SCUBA diving, freediving, swimming, boating, sailing, cruising, water slides, and anything else to do with the water. Of those activities, SCUBA diving was her greatest passion. She has shared over 500 SCUBA dives with me. She loved the tropics and dreamed of living in Florida during her youth. She sat under Sumac trees in Michigan pretending that they were palm trees until she could experience the real thing.

Cricket moved to Florida with her now deceased husband Albert Garrison. She met me at the local Suncoast Reef Rovers dive club in Venice, Florida. We knew each other for several years as dive buddies until the death of her belated husband brought us together as an inseparable couple.

She planted a Ponytail Palm tree at Venice Villas so that she could leave a part of her in her home. She spent the final months of her life trying to prepare me to survive without her in spite of her own pain and suffering. Surviving without Cricket might be possible. Thriving without Cricket will be much more difficult. She will be deeply missed by myself, her family, and all those with whom she shared her spark of happiness and intensity of life which were uniquely Cricket.

Cricket has requested that there be no funeral. She doesn't like funerals. She wants people to have happy memories of their time with her while she was alive. Cricket has donated her body to science in order that she might be able to help others even after she is gone. Her cremains are to be returned to me. Her wish is that I care for her until such time as her and I can rest together forever. That is my wish also.

I will love you FOREVER my sweet Cricket.

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Cricket's Ledge Memorial Dive

We went on a SCUBA dive May 24, 2013 in honor of Cricket. We normally spearfish or collect fossils during our dives. However, this dive was solely to remember Cricket and take pictures and video. Please share the experience with me by watching this brief video.