Ray of sunshine come to play
Scatters rainbows dancing merrily
Chasing storm clouds from my face
Teasing me as I try to catch it in my hand
It breaks into a million pieces
As giggles bounce off the walls
Infusing everything with sheer delight of life
A splash of gaiety to even the darkest of days
I never thought I could hold a piece of sun
Until I held you.
Elizabeth Ane was born April 22, 1999, to Paul and Julia in American Fork,Utah. She was born two weeks early and proved to be unexpected throughout the remainder of her life. From her earliest days she enjoyed sticking her tongue out and thus earned the nickname Lizard. Her favorite toy was always her sister, Dorothy, and as they entered the family, Emily, Jacob, James, and Robert became subject to her fun-loving nature and imagination, and her love of Pink.
Lizy always had a genuine smile that warmed the heart and made everyone around her feel better about themselves. She loved people. It didn’t matter who they were, what age, or where they were from. When she was eight she decided to host her first lemonade stand. She insisted that all the funds raised went to the Children’s Heart Foundation to help kids like her brother. Whether it was a secret smile and wave from the primary choir or raking a neighbor’s leaves she lived to bring joy into others’ lives, and the color pink.
She always had this way of looking on the bright side of things. No matter how bad a situation was she always found a good way of looking at it. She loved looking at the world through rose colored glasses because everything looked pink.
She loved nature and being outside. She was a huge advocate for our family camping trips and hikes. She would race ahead on the trail to hide behind a tree, hoping for the chance to scare her daddy, and how she grinned when he pretended to jump in surprise. She loved the ocean, building sand castles, playing with cousins, splashing in the waves, and she loved the sunsets, especially when they turned pink.
Lizy loved being goofy. Sometimes it was on purpose, and sometimes on accident. One time when she was in third grade her sister asked at dinner how we could taste things. She proudly proclaimed that, “It’s the taste bugs on your tongue that do the tasting!” There was also one night when we were having spaghetti and she asked “Could you please pass the noods?” We all started laughing and she turned beat red, while giggling herself. She learned all the jokes she could and shared them with anyone who would listen, especially if they included the color pink.
She loved music. As a one year old she would sing her baby sister to sleep. She didn’t typically bang at the piano but try to make up sweet little melodies to sing to until she was old enough to learn to play. When she entered sixth grade she fulfilled a dream of hers and began playing the flute. Whenever she was angry or upset, she turned to music to comfort and we’d often hear the sweet (and sometimes sour) tones of her flute drifting from her bedroom and down the stairs. She was tickled pink with the thought of participating in her first solo ensemble contest.
She loved being in Young Women’s, going to girl’s camp, and attending the temple with the youth. She earned her Faith in God and loved working on her Personal Progress. She helped keep her mother on track as they worked together setting goals. She did her best to exemplify each of the eight young women values. Many today come with their toenails painted in honor of Lizy. One color for each of the values she incorporated in her life. White stands for faith, blue for Divine Nature, red for Individual Worth, Green for Knowledge, Orange for Choice and accountability, yellow for Good Works, Purple for integrity, and gold for virtue.
Lizy loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we forgot to hold family prayer or scriptures she would remind us immediately. She knew Jesus Christ was her Savior and that He loved her. She dreamed of going on a mission and being married in the temple. She strove each day to improve the person she was. We know she had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and loved to share it with others by simply being who she was and standing for her values.
We will miss her terribly, but we know she is happy. We know families can truly be together forever, and until we see her again, we will find her in people’s joy, in the flowering blossoms of a cherry tree, in the heartbeat of a child, the little twinkle in two people’s eyes, in the skip of a stranger’s step and in the pink of every sunrise.
Fun and Flawed 