Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Death Of A Friend
Wednesday
August 20, 2003
I received a most disturbing e-mail this morning from Kristie Willhoit, the twin sister of Kimmie, the girl I
met at a nightclub in Jacksonville in March. Kristie told me that Kimmie passed away on Sunday, August 3 from asphyxiation, apparently related to a seizure. Kimmie was just 27 years old.
It came as a real shock to me. Chance encounters come and go, especially on the out of town side of things. But although Kimmie lived in Atlanta and I live in Tampa, and we had only that weekend together in Jacksonville, she and I kept in touch via e-mail and phone calls. I hadn't heard from her since July, and I was wondering what was going on, though I figured she was just busy. Last I'd heard, Kimmie was going to see the Metallica/Linkin Park/Limp Bizkit concert at Turner Field in Atlanta. I remember how excited she was about the show.
Kimmie had found some direction in recent months; she'd enlisted in Pharmacy school and was about to land a job in the Atlanta area. Here's what her sister told me:
Kimmie continued to do well in her Pharmacy classes, ending up with the highest average, and had registered for a larger workload for the Fall semester. She was ready to get things done! She did not get that job at Egleston, but was still avidly searching for a job. In picking through her emails, I found several emailed job notices, and when I last spoke with her (the day of her death), she had several leads she would have followed up on the next day.
With Kimmie being in Atlanta and me being in Tampa, obviously the distance was a problem. I'd planned to visit her over the summer, but logistically it didn't work out. And now she's gone.
I feel for her sister, Kristie; I've had a brother pass away, and while in my case I was very young when my brother Samuel died, I know that it's an especially difficult thing to deal with when it's your sibling who dies. For Kristie, with her and Kimmie being twins, I'm sure it hurts all the more.
There's certainly a feeling of sadness with all of this, but also anger and frustration, particularly with not knowing until two and a half weeks after the fact. The funeral has already taken place, and now Kimmie is gone. Though I am very appreciative to her sister for contacting me -- had she not, I might have never known. You know how it is when friends disappear over time. But at least in those cases, you never know when you might get a chance postcard or phone call. But I know now that I won't have any of those to look forward to from Kimmie.
I hope that Kimmie is in a place of happiness now. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to get to know her, if only for a brief period of time. I still have the picture that James took of her and I on the beach in Jacksonville. And I have the memories of that fun weekend. Goodbye, Kimmie...
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