Dear Friends:

The CFS family experienced some difficult losses in recent weeks. I’d like to take this opportunity to remember and honor Sara Harkness, Michelle Duvall, and Jim Scherrer.

Former Foster Care Specialist Sara Harkness was a young mom of 9 year-old twin boys who are mourning her loss. Sara had a heart of gold and was a fierce advocate for the kids and families she worked with. She organized meal trains when folks were sick and Go Fund Me campaigns for the funerals of her clients. She was a devoted, terrific mom who loved to take her boys Remi and Sully on adventures all around our region. Even in death, she was compassionate and full of love for others, choosing organ donation as her final act of selflessness.

Michelle Duvall was the Adoption Supervisor at CFS for many years, as well as a Safe Haven Monitor after her retirement. She was a sun and beach worshipper and animal lover, with a wicked sense of humor. She loved Diet Coke and (I could never understand it, ew) pickled bologna. I will always think of her when I visit one of my favorite places, Little Gasparilla Island, because she was the one who introduced me to it.

A week ago came the not unexpected but still shocking news of the passing of former CFS Executive Director Jim Scherrer. Of the three of these lovely people, I knew Jim best. When I first started at CFS, Jim had already been here maybe 12-15 years, and I thought, “How does anyone stay in one place so long?” Nearly 25 years later, now I know!

Jim was one of the kindest, most easygoing people I’ve ever met. I don’t think I ever saw him angry or upset. He was interested in everyone, and everything. He taught me so much about CFS, about how to do this job, and how to near the end of one’s life with immeasurable grace. We talked a great deal over the years about work, politics, the state of the world, history, music. He knew a LOT about many things. But he could also be like a kid. When Pandora first came out, how excited he was that here was this app that would turn you on to music similar to what you already liked. He was so tickled by that! And he could be completely irreverent, like when he regaled me with all the things it is impossible to do with your non-dominant hand after wrist surgery, most of which had to do with using the bathroom. His stories about his years on a commune in Kalamazoo and the old days at CFS (when there was a tanning bed in one of the visit rooms and wild staff retreats at Crystal Mountain) were quite legendary.

Jim and I and another former colleague, Lisa Thomas, met regularly for lunch the past couple of years. In the last months, he’d gone from the small oxygen tank he could carry to the very large one on wheels. Walking and being away from home became much more of a

chore for him. The last time I saw him, a few weeks before he died, his wife Deb joined us and he shared with us that he was in palliative care. Watching the two of them as they talked about navigating this most difficult moment side by side, seeing the love between them, was truly something beautiful to witness. I was honored to have followed in Jim’s large footsteps, and I will miss his humor, wisdom, and counsel.

The untimely passing of these beautiful people with the biggest hearts are a reminder that tomorrow is not promised to us, to love your people with all you’ve got, and to live each moment fully. May Sara, Michelle, and Jim—and all their loved ones—be at peace.

Warmly, Gina