Getting to know and love Emily

by Eric Oines
(Minneapolis, MN)

Emily Rudolph in Braids

I got to know Emily through Jeremiah's Porch. I'm the manager of the program and was Emily's volunteer supervisor and landlord.

As many others have said, the thing about Emily was her smile, which made her look like the brightest rays of sun breaking through the clouds, her intense focus on you whenever you were talking, asking, "How are you?" and really wanting to know. Whether it was seeing each other at the gym or having coffee, Emily could brighten my day like few others I have ever known. She loved living and working in the city, loved the kids she worked with at J-Porch, and just loved life. Life filled her up and the fullness overflowed into the other people in her life.

The last time we had coffee, a couple months ago, we talked about some difficult things. I realized then that I had come to love Emily like she was my own daughter, and that the thought of her going through anything painful cut very deeply into my soul. I wanted more than anything to take the pain away because she had always been able to lift me up when I needed it.

She was a very special person, one of those 'once in a lifetime' people. I am going to miss her very much.