Date: September 20, 2019 at 7:32:03 AM CDT
To: Joe Galante
Subject: For Phran

Dear Phran,

I am not certain of the exact day we met… but I remember being anxious about it. Not a stressed out anxious, an excited anxious. I had known Joe for a good bit by then and while I had always respected him, I came to care deeply for him as a mentor, a human, a friend.  

I remember the first time I heard him call you Phrannie. It was the first crack to a as I like to call Joe, a business casual personality! Always professional, always kind… but always fairly buttoned up. This small gesture, one that I’ve heard endless times since, endeared you to me before I even got the chance to hear your voice. I had to believe that the woman Joe so lovingly worked in to all our conversations had to be a real force of nature! And boy was that an understatement…

Phran, there is no one earth who I would drink Fireball for… except you. In fact, I’d probably do anything you told me to do because A) I am fairly certain you could take me in a street fight and B) I knew from the moment we took a stroll around the block in New York City that you were the kind of woman that given a chance to come in contact with, you hold on to.  

I knew you’d already been battling cancer for a long time and we didn’t talk about it back then… we didn’t need to. You had many other more interesting things to talk about. Looking back, before my diagnosis, you were setting the scene as THE example of how to ‘be’. I had to fight to keep up with you during our walk… with you in very high black heels and me in tennis shoes.  

When life threw me a curveball last November and I got the call, everything was a blur… except you. When I heard from you, you gave me real talk, real focus. There were no fragile cupcake conversations happening, just a whole lot of understanding, encouragement and inappropriateness that induced much needed laughter. The thing is, every time you reached out to me, it was always perfect timing. You knew exactly what to say to me at the exact time I needed to hear it. You were also very sneaky and never let on how much you were suffering, even though I knew you were waging your own brutal battles.

Phran, I promise you that I will take the example you set for me and pay it forward to as many people as I can. I am so grateful your pain is being managed and I am trusting that God’s plan will make sense one day and ease all of the confusion we have. I also promise to keep Joe very, very busy.

You are deeply loved.
Jennie