Laurel Dedes

Last week during BreyerFest - a celebration of model horses and model horse collectors - we received the sad news that one of the absolute best model horse collectors had lost her long battle with cancer. Laurel Orrin Dedes passed away on July 10.

I can't tell you exactly when I "met" Laurel, but she was one of those people I feel like I'd known of forever; a longtime hobbyist, avid photo shower, an essential part of the hobby itself.

a few of Laurel's entries from the July 2011 MEPSA Resin and Custom Qualifier

We connected more properly later on, first through MEPSA and later via a trade, which was one of those happy occasions where both parties felt as if they were getting the better end of the deal.

I definitely did

Although we chatted occasionally over the years, mostly, we were Facebook friends.

That doesn't sound like much, but Laurel was the best kind of Facebook friend. She was honest, funny and consistently kind. She wrote about the things she loved - animals, family and New York Times puzzles - and generous with comments and compliments on her friends' posts.

For the last little bit, most of her words were focused on her failing health. She fought so long and hard and handled the situation with dignity, grace and optimism. There just aren't enough words to say how much I admired her.

On June 27, she wrote about her hopes for the future, saying: I want to sit in the sun on the patio and the shade under the trees, and on the front porch, with the company of my pets and sometimes my people. With ice water. If my coughing and the way I feel & cough allows, with a phone or my smart phone. I'd enjoy that. A shower will feel SO good. We don't need a pie, but if I could make a strawberry or peach one, that would be delicious.Just to sleep in our bed! Yes!

Godspeed, Laurel. Thank you for everything. I hope where ever you are, there's a porch with sun and shade, all the animals and a few people, sometimes.