Eulogy
The eulogy (third and final draft) that was supposed to be read by me (Natalie) from my phone, but that did not happen because I couldn't find it. By mistake, due to high emotions and stress of that day, I unknowingly swiped it into the archive folder and couldn't not locate it until later on that evening. I kept searching for it on my phone during the start the service but couldn't find it. Out of desperation, just before I went to read the eulogy I stopped to ask a friend if she still had the document on her phone (as I emailed it to her earlier that day for her opinion). She didn't - she already deleted it.
I had no choice but to read the printed 'second draft' of the eulogy as I knew if I kept looking or waiting I would loss the courage to read the eulogy. This was unfortunate because while editing the the first draft to produce the second draft, I copy pasted text but left out an entire stage of Stephen's life which included Jason Jackson aka Slingshot, Skem and Ian aka Bruce. Apologies to these three young men especially Jason Jackman as Jason was an important part of Stephen's early life - both in his fitness efforts and his introduction to the church Gospel Lighthouse.
I have included the missing paragraph in the text below.
Today, we come together to honor and celebrate the life of my younger brother, Stephen Koodoo—known affectionately to many as Scoobs, Scooby, Elroy (a name given by Uncle Tola), Grover (courtesy of Auntie Vangie), and Spooky. Stephen was born on June 23, 1977, at the San Fernando General Hospital in Trinidad, to Balgobin and Seeta Koodoo. His birth was early, and for a time, there were doubts as to whether he would survive. He was born anemic, jaundiced, and severely underweight. The doctors urged our mother to prepare for the worst. But then, a conversation with a neighbor, Manbodh Sookoo, changed everything.
Manbodh, a man of faith, saw our mother’s distress and advised her to pray for Stephen’s healing, entrusting him to Jesus and asking that he be used in His service. Our mother took this advice to heart, and within days, Stephen’s health began to improve. He grew stronger with each passing day, defying all expectations. It was Manbodh who suggested the name "Stephen" for him, and our mother, grateful for the miracle, often reminded him throughout his life that it was Jesus who had healed him. She had promised Jesus that he would serve in ministry, though Stephen's path diverged, and that promise remained a quiet hope in her heart.
Stephen grew up in Lower Barrackpore, Trinidad, surrounded by love and the warmth of a close-knit community. He made lifelong friends in Sunday school at the Presbyterian Church, where Miss Petty, his teacher, helped nurture his early relationship with Christ. The friendships he forged in those early years, with people like Sharon, Olive, Roger, Skem, and Nisha, endured throughout his life. Stephen was a man who connected with others deeply, and these relationships remained precious to him.
At the age of 5, Stephen began his education at Monkey Town Government School. Although I was in school at the time, it was our cousin Joanne who stood up for him when another child hit him and made him cry. Stephen was always proud of how Joanne, who passed away recently, looked after him during those early years. He held her memory close to his heart. He shared memories with many cousins but was particularly close with Peter and Shawn and remained close to them well into adulthood.
In kindergarten, he met classmates Arnold, Vishal, and Karen—friendships that, like so many others in Stephen’s life, would stand the test of time. As a teenager, Stephen attended St. Benedict’s College, where he grew into the young man, we all knew and cherished. He continued to support his school’s soccer team and maintained close connections with his classmates, staying in touch through group chats with friends like Chris, Feeraz, Allan, Marc, Naveen, Jay, Wesley, Don Steve, Clive, Warren, and many others, no matter where life took him.
Stephen earned his high school certificate in 1993 at St Benedicts College but needed to retake one exam - English, which he completed at Open Bible High School. It was here that he met Ian, another lifelong friend who would remain by his side for many years.
In his late teens, Stephen developed a passion for weightlifting, inspired by his older brother Anthony. By the late 1990’s however Anthony had migrated and Stephen and Jason Jackman aka Slingshot who he was already great friends with, became a two-man team in the homemade gym.This friendship lasted into adulthood as they both kept that friendship even though their lives took them to different nations. Slingshot and Scoobs became close training partners working out in the gym downstairs our home. Jason was his “spotter” and fitness support. They helped each other to remain disciplined and focused on body building tasks which made them even more determined to get fitter and stronger. I believe Stephen was also introduced to the Gospel Lighthouse Pentecostal Church by Slingshot who was on the worship team at the time, and I strongly suspect it was Slingshot who encouraged him to try his hand at ‘playing’ the cow bell in the church worship team – Stephen listened to him and became pretty good and playing the cow bell. Skem joined him and for a while they were like the three musketeers until Ian aka Bruce and sometimes Midget also started training with them, making them a small but very close-knit group of fitness buffs that supported each other’s fitness goals.
We recently discovered his meticulously organized training manual, filled with notes written in his neat handwriting. He kept detailed records of his diet, routines, and measurements – we now know his legs were 19 inches wide in 1994 and grew to 24 1/4 inches in 1995. One entry in particular caught our attention: “Turning Calves into Cows.” This, of course, made us laugh, because anyone who knew Stephen’s calves could attest that the training didn’t quite work! But seeing his early commitment, and dedication to his passions that defined him, made us admire him even more.
Alongside his physical pursuits, Stephen found spiritual fulfillment at the Gospel Lighthouse Pentecostal Church, where he became a valued member of the worship team as a musician – his instrument of choice - the cowbell. During these years, his faith deepened and became an integral part of his life’s journey.
The small community of Lower Barrackpore was like family to Stephen, and he became an essential part of the group of boys from the block, who spent countless hours together, often gathered in a wooden shed opposite his home. His close-knit friendships with Roger, Skem, Mikey, Jum and Solo were lifelong, enduring even as Stephen’s life moved to Canada. Despite the distance, these friends remained a cornerstone in his life.
In 2001, Stephen acquired his first motorcycle—a yellow and black Suzuki GSXR 1100 full floater – I know he would want me to get that correct. The loud roar of his bike, though a source of pride for him, was not fully appreciated by the quiet community. His love for motorcycles was undeniable, but one fateful Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2002, he rode to a beach party at Maracas Bay and disaster struck. Stephen’s motorcycle went off a cliff. Fortunately, he became tangled in dense shrubs, which prevented him from falling further down the cliff. He broke his hip in two places, and he also fractured his right leg. Despite the severity of the accident, Stephen’s resilience and tenacity shone through and with help from the church, family and friends, specifically Suzy Q and Grant, he was soon on the road to a speedy recovery. And, to this day, that crash didn’t deter his love for buying and riding motorcycles.
At the age of 26, Stephen moved to Canada to join his brother Anthony. He worked at Walmart, Kitchen Craft, and studied part-time at the University of Manitoba. He then found his calling at Canadian National Railway where he started at Signals & Communications, then transferred into the shop as a Mechanical Apprentice firstly in Symington in Tripits, then Symington Maintenance where Anthony worked and finally to the Transcona maintenance department and worked as a Heavy Duty Mechanic. At some point in time at CN, he earned his Red Seal certification for the Trade of Heavy-Duty Equipment Technician. He often spoke well of all his coworkers with me. Jose, a co-worker and friend he worked with at Symington and Transcona, had the oddest nick name. When I questioned the nickname “Jose Hose-bag,” Stephen responded casually, “Jose is one of the best men I know, I enjoy working with him, that’s why I call him that, it has a nice ring to it”.
Stephen’s travels took him to many countries, where he formed friendships with people from all walks of life. These experiences enriched him, and he often shared his adventures through photos, capturing the beauty and diversity of the world. His travels made him appreciate his home in Canada but also deepened his gratitude for the different cultures and people he encountered along the way. He met Jaffa aka Jay Dee on one of these trips and could stop talking about all the adventures they were on and were planning. He also said Scotland was perhaps one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen and, asked me to pray for his Scottish friend Alan. Alan who is a devout disbeliever in all things Jesus mentioned that he would like to watch this service from the Iona Abbey – where Christianity took hold in Europe to honour Stephen’s memory, but the length of time took to get there would mean he would miss this service and would instead light a candle for him at the St John’s Cathedral in Oban.
Stephen’s devotion to his family was unwavering. He adored being an uncle to his two nephews, Noah and Jonah, and spoke of them with immense pride and love. He often remarked on the unique qualities he believed he had influenced in them—Noah’s dedication to fitness and researching his Bible and Jonah’s passion for knowing exactly what he wants and looking after his hair and applying great cologne. He was especially proud of the fact that they have said it was uncle Stephen who taught them to fry an egg – this simple act encouraged them and created interest in cooking which is quite interesting as Stephen always maintained the belief (and just recently admitted to me again) that our uncle, Uncle Laker made the best fried egg and tomatoes. He gave thanks to God every day for the gift of his nephews, and he always praised their parents for the wonderful job they had done raising them.
He had his own special bond with Anthony, my older brother. Anthony saw him more like a big brother to his sons than his own younger brother and got up to lots of mischief while growing up – one of them caused missing eyebrows, and the idea of playing jellyfish cricket didn’t go too well for either of them. He relied on Anthony to help him make his way in this new country. His relationship with our sister-in-law is one that is both professional and familial as they work together in the same CN Shop, and he considered her to be one of the best things to have happened to Anthony. He loved and respected both of them.
Stephen’s bond with his mother, Seeta, was especially tender. Since 2021, he made it a priority to visit her every Sunday at the care home, where he would give her a mini spa treatment—pedicure, manicure, and facial—before ending each visit with a prayer and words of encouragement. Her love for him as her youngest was also more protective and she always worried about him. Her face lit up when she saw him walking down the corridor to visit her, saying to everyone around her ‘my son my son, my son is here”. His deep care for her was just one example of the love and humility that defined his character.
He did so much for me – I don’t even know where to begin. But I will share this- next Monday will make it exactly 6 years since my late husband Lars went home to be with the Lord, and suddenly like Stephen did. When he came to Mauritius, I was devastated emotionally and just numb from everything. But when I saw him walk through the door, hugging me gently I felt I could finally exhale and just rest for a bit. He didn’t question me or ask me anything. He just let me talk and he listened to me and brought my mom safely back to Canada. Needless to say, he is one of the best human beings I have ever known. His very short visit and quiet support helped me to heal and move forward. I cannot forget to mention he also interacted with my friends as he thought of them as additional older sisters and Savitri, Judy and Kavita treated him like their younger brother.
The only time I saw him angry, and upset was when he taught me to drive. At one point he insisted I drop him off as he was going to die - this was when he was 14, and I was 18. I still think he was just being overly dramatic.
His social life here usually involved conversations or visits to or from his very good friends Alex, Ralph, Lynn, Maria, Abed, Rishi and Sabita all located here in Winnipeg and most times, was based around food or a Mixed Martial Arts on tv and food, or bike repair and food or, all of them. As for his friends and family in Toronto, like Winnipeg, all his activities revolved around food and friendship. He appreciated old Nisha and fellow biker Trishanna for showing up with doubles at the airport and Lizzie for her expert advice and help with the planning of furnishing the house in Trinidad when it was completed.
Two stories I would like to quickly share – he gifted me a CN jacket, small knapsack and water bottle with the CN logo in 2023 – I use them all, all the time. Because the jacket had a removable liner, I used it as my jacket in the Northwest Territories for 5 months last year. I wore it all the time and was often mistaken for a CN recruiter in almost every community I passed through– Inuvik, Yellowknife and Whitehorse and, in some airports as well. Many people would walk up to me and ask me if I worked for CN – when I told them no, my brother gave this to me, they just smiled and walked away. I would call him immediately after and tell him he couldn’t stop laughing as he thought it was so funny.
Another time he and I were alone in the apartment. I heard him saying ‘aye, you real goodlooking you know, real goodlooking’ so I was confused thinking he had a girl over didn’t tell me anything with me walking around with ripped pants….so I slowly tried to sneak a look to see who he was speaking to – as I turned the corner, I saw who he was talking to – he was talking to himself in the mirror. Then he casually looked at me and said – ‘you really have a good-looking brother you know, I just said, yeah…I live with mister universe.
Stephen was truly a unique soul. His infectious laugh, his passion for motorcycles, his love of fitness (even if his calves never quite matched his biceps), and his humble spirit made him an irreplaceable presence in the lives of those who knew him. He lived life to the fullest, spreading joy and love wherever he went.
As we say goodbye to Stephen today, we take comfort in the knowledge that he lived a life that was a blessing to so many. In the eyes of God, he fulfilled the promise made long ago by my mom—a promise to live a life grounded in faith, devoted to others, and filled with love.
We will miss his bright white smile, his quick wit, his passion for travel, and his ability to make everyone feel like family. But most of all, we will miss his presence, the way he made the world a better place simply by being in it.
Thank you, Stephen, for all that you gave us in your 47 years. You have left an indelible mark on our hearts, and we are forever grateful for the time we had with you.
And as Gina, Starron, Zandra and RedBoy would refer to him, they would say ‘that is! WE BOI!’ ……we will all miss we boi.
See you in heaven.
Stephen's Memories shared at Joanne Vidya's Franco's memorial at Duff Trace, Lower Barrackpore Trinidad March 29th, 2025
Good afternoon – I, Natalie Koodoo (Cutie) was asked to share on my younger brother Stephen Koodoo here at this memorial service. I have already shared about Stephen on March 12th at his service in Winnipeg so I will try not to repeat anything by mainly focusing on his early life here in Lower Barrackpore.
Stephen’s name means "crown" or "to surround” - a fitting name for someone who was always surrounded by close friends and loved ones.
Stephen aka Spookie aka Scooby spent his formative years life, teens and early adulthood right here in Lower Barrackpore. His early socialization revolved around interacting with maternal aunties and uncles and playing with both me and Anthony and our cousins Dale, Grassy and Joanne at our grandmother’s house just out the road from here.
Later, while attending the Lower Barrackpore Presbyterian Church and the Monkey Town Govt School, his socialization circle expanded. He seemed to have a knack for making friends quickly and easily and this continued throughout his 47 years with us.
Stephen thrived around people and created friendships easily. He enjoyed interacting with others and as time went on, his relationships deepened, and friends soon became family.
As mentioned earlier, I have already given details about him on March 12th so I will focus on a few of his memories that Stephen spoke of often with me, and mine of him while growing up in Lower Barrackpore.
Christmas in TT
Whenever Christmas was discussed, he always maintained Christmastime in Trinidad, specifically in Lower Barrackpore was second to none in the world. He recalled the evenings coming home from school, eating quickly, doing homework and then rushing off to church to practice his ‘part’ written on the smallest piece of paper possible. From practicing after school in church for the upcoming Christmas concert to being allowed to stay out late at night caroling with the church, to the excitement of the all-important Christmas Sunday School treat after the hard work was done – these simple annual activities were synonymous with the most wonderful time of the year and memories of them were forever etched in his heart.
He would also recall the feel, scents and sounds of Christmas – Christmas music playing loudly from the neighbor’s radio or stereo, the slight chill crisp in the air and the community Christmas facelift ensuring drains, walls and houses looked as clean and new as possible. He talked about our own home walls being scrubbed clean by us evident with the missing skin on our knuckles, and the new paint and curtains being applied or put up at the very last minute. He also remembered getting some ‘hard tap’ on his head for stepping on our freshly varnished floor that didn’t dry properly throughout the night. But admitted that even the ‘tap’ on the head couldn’t take away from the Trini Christmas morning experience of early morning church service and smelling varnish drying, hot homemade bread, cakes and clove studded ham in the oven. He missed those times.
Nicknames in Barrackpore and TT
He enjoyed discussing how almost everyone in Lower Barrackpore had a nickname and we tried to trace the evolution of each nickname. Most recently he admitted that he didn’t know most of the villagers’ correct school name would have no idea if a stranger came looking for someone in Lower Barrackpore using their correct legal name.
Fruits trees in every back yard and neighbors living like family
He and Stephanie Dudoon and most recently Skem were always discussing the ‘long time days’ – a time when everything seemed less rushed, and everyone was kinder. He remembered when you could get any type of mango in Lower Barrackpore and described the various grafted fruit trees my dad had planted in the back. He was in the process of planning with Stephanie to get new plants for our backyard hoping to ensure various fruits trees were planted there once again. He also thought that it was such a shame that many of the fruits that once grew in Lower Barrackpore for example ‘peng-wing’, were presently hard to find in Barrackpore. His conversation would also include how villagers lived long ago in harmony and that almost everyone was more generous and considerate, and it was unfortunate that some people had changed for the worse over time.
Cuisine
Stephen travelled to many countries and had food all over but firmly maintained that Trinidad and Tobago had the best food ever. And that bhandania (shadow beni) is what made our food here so special. And because of this, he always ensured he made a weekly supply of it in his fridge here in Winnipeg.
Church activities
Church activities were not only popular around Christmas time. His eyes widened and he grew nostalgic every time he remembered the Lower Barrackpore Presbyterian church and Gospel lighthouse activities throughout the year - church sports, youth groups meetings, picnics at Palmiste, and of course the August church outing with exciting visits to various factories, lunch at the botanical garden, a stop at random mall and of course, the mandatory visit to the zoo -even though the same places were visited year after year, it was the fellowship that made amazing memories each year of a time long gone by.
Great memories of childhood friends and their adventures
As a teenager, liming on the wooden shed at Pat and Meena’s grocery with all the boys on the block was a favourite pastime. A lot of information about the community and the occasional prank would go through that shed regularly. And when Stephen described meeting up with his friends from ‘down the road’ by Aunty Flowers, a slow grin made its way across his face as he named ‘the boys’- Mikey, Jum, Arnold, Roger, Dale, Anil, Skem, Jaggy and Solo. It became the norm for him to spend hours attempting to play basketball by the river or just sitting and liming there. He said they would chat about any and everything, life and their future dreams with each other. With a smile still on his while face shaking his head, he would sigh and say, “can’t believe the time went by so fast, thirty years Cutes, thirty years’.
He also talked about the occasional trips to “Three Canal” and exploration of various gravel roads and side roads of the community either by walking or via their BMX bicycles. And spending the night at Quinam beach, not realizing until it was too late that they needed protection at night from swarms of mosquitoes.
By the late 1990’s after being inspired by GG Boy/Baby, Spookie and Jason Jackman aka Slingshot who he was already great friends with, became a two-man team in our homemade gym.
This friendship lasted into adulthood as they both kept that friendship even though their lives took them to different nations. Slingshot and Scoobs became close training partners working out in the gym downstairs our home. Stephen had detailed notes about diet, routine and exercise tips – all handwritten and was recently found in his folder with ‘important papers’. Jason was his “spotter” and fitness support. They helped each other to remain disciplined and focused on body building tasks which made them even more determined to get fitter and stronger. I believe Stephen was also introduced to the Gospel Lighthouse Pentecostal Church by Slingshot who was on the worship team at the time, and I strongly suspect it was Slingshot who encouraged him to try his hand at ‘playing’ the cow bell in the church worship team – Stephen listened to him and became pretty good and playing the cow bell. Skem joined him and for a while they were like the three musketeers until Ian aka Bruce and sometimes Midget also started training with them, making them a small but very close-knit group of fitness buffs that supported each other’s fitness goals.
Neighbours -
Stephen often liked greeting everyone he saw and knew most people in the community. He would be usually heard referring to everyone who close by as ‘neighbour’. He recalled that some of his fondest memories in TT included sitting in porches just watching the community go by - sitting on Roger’s porch liming with Roger and the boys. Then sitting on our porch watching the community of Lower Barrackpore go about their business and shopping at Meena’s Grocery as the sun was going down and lastly relaxing in Boyo’s aka Selwyn place at late hours of the night on their porch, chatting about everything with Boyo, Gina, and Ethelyn and on occasion with Allen, Indira and their three children as well.
And speaking of neighbors, when remembering Pam and Boyie, Mr. Manbodh, Ricky, Greenwood, Chaates, the entire Titus family and Boyie (Starron’s dad), and recently Uncle Laker, he commented that he couldn’t believe that we still had the same neighbours as we did 50 years ago and a good neighbour was a blessing. When he wasn’t bodybuilding, Spookie would be sitting in front of the house relaxing with or discussing life and bikes with Starron aka Rio who Stephen always saw as his unofficial younger brother.
Not so pleasant memories –
After our dad passed away in January 1999, our mom got a stroke later that same year. Because I was working in Warrenville at the time and Anthony lived in Canada, it was Stephen who did most of the work with help of Aunty Susan and Aunty Lauren, for our mom’s rehabilitation and care after her surgery – she was paralyzed on her right side and couldn’t speak properly for quite some time. On another occasion, just before another surgery at the San Fernando General hospital, Stephen and I was at the San Fernando General Hospital at 3 am shaving my mom’s head bald for her to have surgery the next day as he didn’t want anyone else to shave her head. I remember noticing him carefully and tenderly holding her face and soundlessly, slowly shaved off all her long hair off. We could see tears in her eyes after he was done but he took her face in both his hands and told her softly, ‘you looked great.” And made her smile by adding loudly, ‘Ma, all your hair would grow back even thicker than mine!’
Wakeup call -
After the bike crash at Maracas, I asked him weeks after when he was healing if he knew God protected him from falling further down. He said yes, he knew that. He added, that spent the time recuperating in bed made him think about a lot of things concerning his walk with Jesus.
I believe at the time he was torn between enjoying life and serving Jesus. But like the rest of us, as we walk with God over time, he slowly learned how to be obedient to God, maintain a relationship with him and still enjoy a full life.
On a side note, about motorcycles, it was our aunty Vera who was the only family member I know, that trusted Stephen enough to ride on his motorcycle – he instructed her to hold on tight and do not scream, because if she did people would think he was kidnapping her.
As they made their way onto the road, her sister our mom Seeta, was screaming at the top of her lungs from our porch, ‘Vera, you too old for that nonsense, Spookie bring she back here right now!’ To this day, I believe she has been the only relative that has been with him for a ride on his motorcycle.
Moving to Canada -
Spookie having left our tropical island of Trinidad at the age of 26, was always complaining about the cold weather in Winnipeg. His new life had taken hold in frigid Canada, but it never affected his warm relationships with others back home - he made it a mission to keep in touch with almost all his friends in Trinidad. In Canada he had his circle of friends and while travelling he had an even larger circle of friends, but his heart was always with the community he grew up in and his friends he grew up with.
Being an uncle -
Being an uncle to his own nephews seemed easy to him. He often commented to me – “Angela and Baby did well but it’s prayers that have those two boys so you know – Praise God! I wholeheartedly agreed. But before he was an uncle to our nephews Noah and Jonah, he was already practicing being an uncle to most of his friends’ kids and often commented to me what great parents his friends even though they were so young. I accompanied him to buy gifts for these various nephews and nieces (both in TT and in Canada) observing him taking great care into selecting gifts by considering each child’s personality.
A childhood memory he would share concerning childhood gifts was that of receiving gifts from our god mother/father (the Kailahs). He would say to me ‘Cutes, do you remember when Aunty Indra and the entire family would buy gifts for us? That was the best feeling ever!!’ that simple act had a strong impact on his life at an early age and I think that was one of the main reasons he enjoyed giving gifts to his nephews and nieces.
Few things about Stephen -
· Being a believer in the Bible, he loved Israel.
· He could understand Johnny Bravo’s way of thinking
· He was a Blood donor
· His favorite foods were - fried aloo and roti, doubles with everything and heavy pepper, and curry goat and a ‘splash’ of pumpkin with paratha or dhal puri.
· As grown adults we once had a long discussion on why Batman was more impressive than superman – this was his explanation - Batman lifted weights and had to work out to have and a fit body whereas superman didn’t have do, so batman was way more impressive – I agreed with that logic.
For me, the sudden loss of a loved one once again has been very traumatic. In trying to find answers, I recently cried out in tears to God and asked Him “How could you do this to me? First Lars now Stephen – I try to follow what You say; God why would you take my two most favourite people, two of the best human beings I know in this world from me? How could you do that to me? How could you?!”
Within seconds of saying that out loud I believe God answered me as this came to my mind in a still small voice – “I have them with Me, I am keeping them safe for all eternity’. Then I cried and laughed and then cried some more as they were safe and happy but, it still hurt not having them around. Still, this brought a bit of peace to my heart and renewed the hope of seeing them again.
As a believer in Christ, the Bible gives us hope when our loved ones die in Christ – it says, they go home. And when we go home one day we will see them again. This information doesn’t take the pain, loss or grief away, but it gives us some hope that we will see them again and comfort that they are safe for eternity.
My cousin Joanne has also suddenly gone ahead of us - it is still a shock; and she is also missed so much by her loved ones. But even though she is no longer with us, both her memory and Stephen’s will live on forever with us.
Even though I was asked to share about Stephen I would just like to share one story about Joanne -
What very few people may know is Joanne stood up for not only one but both my brothers – she sought justice for both Anthony and Stephen when they were in primary school. Even though there were no tears involved with Anthony, and he was 2 years older than her, Joanne took it upon herself to deliver payback to the boy who hurt Anthony. She went, found the culprit, swung from a ‘Dongs’ tree’ and ‘dropped kicked’ this boy (older, taller and bigger than she was) square in his chest. Needless to say, he stopped bothering Anthony. That is who she was - she never liked to see injustice and tried to help anyone as best she could.
In closing, I believe Joanne my cousin, who like Stephen knew Jesus as Lord are both happy and safe with Him now. We may miss them dearly, but we have the hope through Jesus that we will see them again.
Joanne and Spookie - see you both in heaven.