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Karen Lynn Colone was known for many things – an expert advice giver, a dedicated mother, a loving wife, an excellent friend, and an impassioned traveler. She seemed to be a natural expert at life and at everything the world challenged her with, whether that was raising a daughter, fixing a washer, locating the best seafood in town, or finding the best vacation spot and deals. Throughout her later years, Karen also became an expert in resiliency and determination through her battle with breast cancer. Her husband, John, describes her as having “an incredible will to live” and witnessed this strength in her when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. Karen was able to beat her initial cancer diagnosis in 2010 and even fought through a brain tumor, with her resilient and courageous spirit. In 2018, the family was given the news that Karen’s cancer had returned and had metastasized, which ultimately led to Karen’s passing in 2022.

John, who had been married to Karen for 32 years (and had known her for almost 40 years) was faced with the difficult task of coordinating services for Karen’s large community. He faced the challenges of organizing services for Karen in both Florida and her hometown and identifying who would lead the services. John describes feeling that God was watching over him and his family after losing Karen, going so far as to connect John with his former pastor, Pastor Tim, on a random night time walk – the exact night that they had made the decision to go home from rehab and begin hospice. This chance meeting with Pastor Tim would eventually result in Pastor Tim leading Karen’s services. John felt this was divine intervention–the decision to bring Karen home from rehab weighed heavily on him, they hadn’t attended church since COVID began, and he ran into Pastor Tim in a neighborhood where neither he nor his friends lived.

John wasn’t sure how to properly notify all of those who were important to him, Karen, and his family that Karen had passed. Karen and John had friends and family members in Florida, Michigan, and many other states who John wanted to notify and invite to Karen’s services, but he didn’t want to use Facebook to do so. He wanted something personalized to and focused on Karen, which eventually led him to Ever Loved. He chose Ever Loved due to its simple-to-use interface, ease of sharing, and friendly design, along with the fact that he could also use it to raise funds for American Cancer Society in Karen’s memory and easily thank those who contributed – allowing Karen’s passing to have a lasting impact on the greater cancer community.

John also appreciated that he could receive RSVPs through the memorial website for the luncheon that he was organizing, and over 100 people ended up attending – a testament to how impactful she was as a person.

When reflecting on his experience planning Karen’s memorial, John ended up feeling as though everything happened exactly the way it was meant to. From a chance reconnection with a former pastor to to narrowly avoiding a flood during a hurricane that hit his home in Florida to landing on Ever Loved as his memorial website of choice – his whirlwind of an experience resulted in him feeling as though Karen and God were with him in spirit, watching over him and giving him support during such a difficult time. Karen’s memorial website still lives on as a place for her community to share their favorite memories and photos of Karen and to connect with others who knew just how wonderful she truly was.

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Daniel came along as a surprise to his family – though his birth wasn’t expected, he was a welcome and warm addition to the family. He brought a sense of joy and excitement into the lives of those around him. His sister, Kara, described him as bubbly, happy, and always wanting to do things that could surprise his family, especially anything to elicit laughter from those around him.

As he grew older, Daniel relentlessly pursued his interests, which included everything from robotics to refining his artistic talent. Art was only one of his many gifts and passions. One of Daniel's most impressive feats was tackling the challenging field of 3D modeling. Not only did Daniel excel as a 3D artist, he was also entirely self-taught. His family considers this to be the "pinnacle of his artistic achievements.” (You can view more of Daniel's 3D art at his art station and YouTube channel.) When Daniel passed suddenly, his love for biology, his interest in the environment, and his appreciation for nature influenced his family decision to select natural organic reduction as the method of disposition. Though Daniel's passing was unexpected, his family made sure to consider who he was during these decisions and that he had a "seat at the table,” in spirit, during the planning process.

When searching for memorial websites to help coordinate services, the family chose Ever Loved due to the modern design, the easy-to-use and customizable set up, and the ability to host a fundraiser to support multiple charitable organizations in Daniel’s memory. Daniel’s work and art during his lifetime is also memorialized via links included in his obituary on the website. In addition to this, Kara felt the website provided a good user experience while she and her family worked to coordinate Daniel’s services and all of the difficulties that came alongside that. Many family members and friends shared photos and memories of Daniel on the memorial website, creating a space for Kara, her family, and many other people in Daniel’s life to come together to remember a very special individual.

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From a young age, Austin had the type of smile that was contagious. He was someone who loved life, loved to learn, and loved his family. More than anything, he loved connecting with people and making them laugh. He was very much about making people smile, making people’s day, and instilling joy in those around him, even if the joke was at his expense. As a child, Austin was neat and tidy, though these qualities didn’t extend to his dance skills (even though he loved to dance). Known for his skill at fostering and maintaining friendships and relationships with folks, sales was a smart path to success for Austin. He excelled at sales, starting at a Verizon retailer and working his way up to an official Verizon store. During his time in sales, his superb work ethic helped him hone his skills at making other people feel welcome, heard and respected – great skills to have in a burgeoning sales environment.

Outside of his work, Austin loved to spend time with his family. He enjoyed seeing others succeed and always encouraged those he knew to be the best versions of themselves. No matter the occasion, whether it be a birthday party, a holiday, or just a family reunion, Austin wanted to be there and be involved in any way he could. During the difficulty of COVID-19, he made an effort to call his family members and ensure they stayed connected, despite the difficulties they faced with the pandemic. It was also during this time that Austin made a passing comment regarding life and death, stating, “If it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go. I’m ready.” He was strong in his faith and believed in eternal life, where he hoped to reunite with his family one day. At the same time, Austin spoke about having a family of his own and getting married one day, very much a person that wanted to continue the joy he felt in his own family.

At the age of 20, Austin passed away unexpectedly, to the shock of his entire family. A friend set up an online fundraiser to help with funeral costs, but Christina wanted a more personalized website for Austin. She was looking for a place to share his life story, bring together friends and family to remember him and coordinate his celebration of life. She considered publishing an obituary in the newspaper, but it was expensive and she didn’t feel like it provided the space to truly tell Austin’s story.

When she found Ever Loved, Christina appreciated that she could include as much content as she wanted on the site, while also allowing friends and family members to share their own stories. It also made it easy to ensure that everyone had the details about Austin’s visitation, celebration of life and luncheon, and that everyone could RSVP, so she knew how many people to expect. With dozens of things she needed to manage and thousands of people to keep in the loop, having one central place to do all of this was invaluable. The result of her work is a beautiful website for Austin, a place that stands as a permanent memorial for Austin’s joyous life.

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