So many people came together to honor my wonderful friend.
Sadly, the livestream at the church malfunctioned and we weren’t able to get a recording. However, fortuitously, Lillie Cashion (and kids!) recorded many parts of the service on her phone, and we have those to share with you below. You’ll also find the program below as well as a link to the recording of Kirk’s message delivered on the following day at church. Stephen Crotts captured Audrey so wonderfully in his cover illustration and I was able to use some typestyles in the design that I know my friend loved.
For the reception following the service, we used many of Audrey’s vintage tablecloths. Flower arrangements were done by a local florist utilizing Audrey’s silverplate vessels— so it all felt very “Audrey style”. And we kept saying to one another, ”She would have loved it!“
To see the slide show we shared at the reception, use this link.
Links for videos of service:
Thank-you to Friends – Tom Butler and Tribute from the family – Kirk Irwin
Tribute – Sarah Kennedy Irwin Pt 1
Tribute – Sarah Kennedy Irwin Pt 2 (and start of Chuck Price)
Sarah and Keva – Intro to Hymn
Audrey | My tribute
My conspiring confidant, creative collaborator, garden dreamer and junkin’ buddy – gone.
One of my first thoughts was, “I am diminished.” It is hard to explain what that means. But I think C.S. Lewis explains it well with this equation:
“If, of 3 friends (A, B & C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C,” while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B.” In other words, in each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out.”
The only adjustment I would make to Lewis’ formula is that Audrey’s letter would have to be written in a bold yet finely composed script—I think Audrey was somewhat of a special case. She loved people and was especially good at augmenting and enhancing others in ways that were completely unique to her. And that lavish warmth & companionship was beautiful.
I met Audrey in Athens, Georgia—she took pity on me when my older sister moved back to Texas and I stayed in Athens. There were 4 of us who became very close—Heather, Jennifer, Audrey and me. One day we chose words that started with the letter “C” to describe each of us. Audrey’s word was “connection”—so fitting!
She was unwaveringly friendly and generous…and many times she took that to the next level by being generous with her friendships—she’d want you to know someone else she knew too. As an introvert, meeting new people is not always easy for me, but with Audrey’s graceful introductions it didn’t seem as awkward. This is why we tagged her the “connection”…and she was a very skilled “talker” too.
That saying, “never met a stranger” doesn’t seem to do her justice. Every time she went somewhere, she’d tell me about someone new and fascinating that she’d met. We had a running joke that she had made another new best friend—she was always making new best friends.
We spent a lot of time together. Most of that time we were making something or dreaming up something to make. If I was the artist, she was the creative catalyst and provider of all things glittery.
She expanded my life—my experience of it—in ways I can’t even begin to describe.
To know and be known—isn’t that a shared longing of all of our hearts?
I’m so thankful to know her and to have experienced too briefly (only 33 years) such a kindred spirit.
“Love you. Love your work.”
remembering Audrey
Started off with a beautiful tribute from family and friends — oh, so many friends — with a Memorial Service held at a sister church, First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, SC on a Saturday. The following day, Kirk offered up a tribute of his own with a message delivered at our church—Hill City.
Selah Sermon dedicated to Audrey
