Rebecca Jane Pflueger - A Love Story 10/15/65 - 9/14/19

On October 15, 1965, a caterpillar came down from heaven.  A soft, precious, lovable, caterpillar arrived in Devon, England where she quickly grew wings to fly… as a beautiful blue butterfly.  

She was a tomboy, full of vigor venturing out at a young age to buy fancy cars and homes and even selling a company when she was 22 so she could travel to America with her best friend. 

And fly the butterfly did across the sea to the new England.  Thirty years ago, she flew too close to a flame in Philadelphia and was captured by an American man, that’s me, who immediately whisked her off to California, England, and Greece. 

The American realized he was no match for her power, so they merged their lives.  The American had won the lottery! That was so cool because he also got to enjoy the love of her English family in the Wallops. 

So she settled with him on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean and focused on living, appropriately enough, at Cavalier, at Windsor, and at Monarch… holding court with the most wonderful friends imaginable and having incredible parties and so many fun times.  

Somehow, with incredible grace, she touched people and made them become huggers and kissers.  She created the “hug you / kiss you” thing 30 years ago, before any of us Americans were doing it.  I started doing it, everyone started doing it, she made it seem so natural and perfect, like she was.  Thank you my love for all the hugs and kisses I’ve been able to enjoy.

At 27, she became enlarged and offered the world a very special and brilliant man who will impact all those he touches in magical ways, then she did it again 3 years later with a baller, on the field, the court ,and in the classroom… and most importantly they inherited her heart of gold.

Becky was raised in a beautiful environment with parents and siblings that helped her become the deeply loving and caring person we knew.  She passed this sense of grace on to our boys, now our men, Devon & Rex. They’re both so perfect in our eyes and we’ve been so privileged and are so proud of who they’ve become.  In honorable tributes to his mom, Rex has tattooed “Family Over Everything” over his heart and he also has her heartbeat rhythm tattooed on his wrist.

Rebecca was beautiful, but that’s not what you saw when you looked at her  It was the beauty inside that was so immediately obvious, her infectious smile and kindness.  I can hardly remember her angry, ever. This was a constant lesson she taught everyone around her, it's possible to live in a world without anger, where happiness rules the day, I’m just so lucky to have had that in my life and hope I can carry it forward until I see her again. 

I’m humbled to have known Becky, everything in my life is a reflection of her.  If our friends are a reflection of who Rebecca was, then she certainly is in heaven. The love and support we’ve received from so many of you has exceeded my wildest imagination and we couldn’t be more thankful. The way her friends were able to make her feel during the most difficult parts of this journey were truly angelic.  These people, you know who you are, are God’s warriors and a reminder of what a wonderful world we live in.

Cancer humbles you with its viscous course… brings you to your knees. Many of you have been through this, it was my first journey and it’s changed me.  I hope for the better, a better appreciation of all that life has to give, even the taking away part.  I feel blessed to have ever known Rebecca, she was my winning lottery ticket.

A year ago our life together had sense of near perfection. Now I’ve lost my winning lottery ticket. I don’t want to think about “why” this has happened, I only want to think about how incredibly lucky I was to have ever had that ticket, she was more than any man deserved. 

She always thought about others first, even to the end.  She was more worried about how we would handle her fight with cancer than how she would handle it, she was so strong this way.  She may have lost this battle, but she won the war.   She had a joyous life, full of adventure, good times, and love.  I guess God wanted her in heaven, it’s easy to know why.  

I ask you not to console us or cry with us, that time has come and I hope it’s soon gone.  Better to congratulate us on how fortunate we've been to have had her in our lives.  Please help us celebrate the great honor of having spent time on earth with the most beautiful of God’s creatures, Rebecca Jane Pflueger, her beauty and charm will always be with us. 

Some pictures are at this link: https://youtu.be/QnBYhJFa_G0

XO,
Russell