Cornelia Marie "Lia" Sanders

Lia Sanders was a unique person. She never had an unkind word for anyone and was very generous and thoughtful, trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings. She was somewhat timid at times, but once she made up her mind about something she stuck to it.

Lia’s life, though short, was full. She had the opportunity to spend the summer in Holland in ’96, visiting the extended family of Mom and Dad. She developed a special bond with Tante Annie, which never faded. Phone calls, faxes and videos were exchanged on a regular basis.

Lia’s passion was for children, unique sox, jeans, lip-gloss, and the VW Beetle. Ladybugs would do in a pinch. When Lia got her G2 drivers license in April, the hunt was on to find just the right color car. She could spot the Bug miles away and would park as close to one as possible. She would almost drool, checking it out. She especially liked the new ones with the little flower holder. That was the “coolest.” We found a small model of the VW Bug and presented it to her. That was almost as good as the real car. To make it even better, a chocolate Bug at Easter; it was never eaten though.

Lia owned more than 100 different kinds of flavors of lip-gloss. Even her friends thought she was weird. She would always have six different flavors in her pockets, and she always knew when one was missing. Every time she went to town, she was guaranteed to come back with at least one new one. A perfect opportunity to tease her, and always the same reaction.

Looking back, the last two weeks were special: A shopping trip to London, no fighting, everyone was happy. The best trip I have ever had with the girls. Out of the blue, a visit from an old neighbor. On Saturday, a family bridal shower with Lia in the thick of things. Her latest kick was to sing “The Crystal Chandelier.” She even downloaded it from the Internet, but never really got past the refrain—and she would intentionally screw that up to bug Dad. This was the wedding song at the mock wedding. Since no one could remember the verses, we just sang the refrain several times. On Sunday, we had the family picnic with 95 percent attendance, and Lia spoke with the majority of the people there. They will always have that to remember. She played baseball, snagged a pop fly, played Frisbee and had a wonderful day. After work on Monday, we attended a neighborhood baby shower. Lia got home early enough to speak to most of the neighbors and hold the baby. On Tuesday, after a lazy day at home, she helped with the laundry, and spent some quality time with her sister and the neighbors.

Without warning, she collapsed on Wednesday. Within five days, she was gone. She fought this thing bravely, and toward the end, she fought hard. It was difficult to watch her fight so hard, but she hung on until her aunt returned from Holland and her uncle arrived from the West. In the end, Lia had the last word. She had signed her donor card and was able to donate her organs to help others. Something Lia always did: Think of others and help when she could. We couldn’t fix the tumor, but Lia fixed it her way. At least six other people will have better lives because of Lia.

It felt right to plant a tree. A Royal Red Maple, unique to our property, and in memory of a very unique child. Our daughter Lia!

Mary Sanders