To the FanStory family,

I regret to inform you, my mother, Phyllis Stewart, passed away this morning at approximately 9:40am after a few days in the hospital. She was comfortable and went peacefully in the company of her loved ones.

I so wish this could be posted in the fiction category, since it truly doesn't seem real, but life doesn't always give you what you want. My dad and I would have given anything to have gotten more time with my mom than what we were given, but that simply wasn't in the plan.

For those of you who don't know, she spent the last many years requiring oxygen 24/7, and the last 2 barely even able to leave her room except for doctor's appointments. She spent her days "stuck in her tower" as she liked to say, so it was a blessing that she found FanStory and FanArt so early on in her illness. I am positive that this community kept her sane, and improved her quality of life drastically, and I'm so incredibly grateful for that. She truly loved writing of all kinds, and she truly found joy in reading and helping with other's work on here as well. A teacher in life and till the very end.

She always said she didn't have many friends, but I was always skeptical, even more so when she started here. The outpouring of love and kindness we have gotten from those on here is outstanding, and I can see I was right in my assumption. The people on this site truly made her life better and we really appreciate it.

We take solace in knowing that my Mom was ready to move on to whatever may be next. We believe she chose her time. I hope, that she is finally able to run and hike mountains and breath deeply again, and get away from the tether her illness forced her to live with.

Thank you all again, deeply, for affecting her life so wonderfully.

Edit: Her memorial page and obituary can be found here: https://everloved.com/life-of/phyllis-stewart/?flow=201

-Katy


I shall leave you with a poem that my mom posted in November this year, that seemed fitting.

Been There Done That

I've curled my toes in cool wet sand,
climbed high up in a tree,
to sit above this world of mine,
its beauty there to see.

I've held newborn pups and children,
softly squirming in my hands.
I've traveled far around the Earth,
exploring distant lands.

I fell in love with one fine man,
while acting loose and cheap.
I've laughed until my belly hurt
and cried myself to sleep.

My playmates in the graveyard lie,
Mom's urn is at my side.
My life has been all it could be,
a wild and crazy ride.

I've been there, done that, so I see
with clarity of view,
as the sunset yields to twilight,
I've one thing left to do.

Now that I am old and sick,
it's harder to find fun.
I really don't mind leaving
----I had a damn good run.