NatalieFollow

Here is a brief description of the beautiful, loving, and wonderful young women that I dedicate all of effort towards this great cause:

Natalie Jeanellen DeClaire Malone
Natalie Jeanellen DeClaire MALONE June 29, 1987 - May 2, 2006 Natalie passed away at home surrounded by friends, family, and love. Though Natalie was reserved, sometimes shy, she possessed a clear, unflappable kindness and grace. These qualities shone through to all who met her, and were deeply precious to those who knew her well. In the words of one of her cousins, "When you're around Natalie, you feel the good in the world." Natalie was highly intelligent. She brought her whole self to every endeavor. She valued beauty and honesty, and rejected the superficial. After leaving high school two years early to join the Academy for Young Scholars at the University of Washington, she felt thoroughly at home in her new, more challenging venue. And she found an area of study - graphic design - that was a true soul match. Her acceptance into the highly competitive Visual Communication Design program at the University of Washington School of Art was a source of much happiness and pride to her. She continued her work with the program up until her passing. Natalie had many abiding interests and talents. She was a recreational gymnast and an accomplished cellist. She studied acting at the Seattle Children's Theater drama school for 11 years, auditioning into many summer productions and the Young Actor Institute. She loved to travel. She lived as an artist. The dedication Natalie gave to her days brought her great joy. She most enjoyed hanging out with a small circle of intimate friends. She was loyal, kind, and loving, never cynical. Highly aware, but resolutely unworldly. She valued these same qualities in her friends. Natalie was absolutely valiant, determined, and patient throughout her 10-month struggle with leukemia. She was never embittered by her experience, and was able to live with hope until the very last few days. She lived in a circle of love and recognized--especially in the last few months of her life--that she was a spiritual being, never separate from God. She was always, and remains, a being of light. Natalie is survived by her parents, Mark Malone and Joan DeClaire, by her grandparents, Orville and Frances DeClaire, by her "fairy godparents," Bob Heffernan and Wendy Townsend, and by many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.