Sis,
In you I just lost a treasured friend - my very best friend in church.
Our friendship blossomed based on two pathways - our similar professional background and our dissimilar personalities.
Whenever we got talking "shop", not even Uncle Lowo or Fola (my spouse) could come in between us. You knew your subject exceedingly well and it was always a delight listening to your exposition on various Industry-related issues.
On the personality front, while you were "cool" personified, I'm much more frenetic.
I warmly called you "sis" - probably a subliminal response to the biological big sister that I never had - and traded many of my personal aspirations and immediate challenges with you.
You always had this calming influence and air of certainty that things would shape out even better than we may ever envision. You were a divinely-ordained confidence booster.
Your smile was also ever so reassuring. How could I forget your smile?!
As the radiance of your smile momentarily dims and our paths diverge, we are assured by the words of the Psalmist that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning".
Adieu, dear friend and confidante.
Adieu, Sis.