Back in the 60’s & ‘70’s I had the great good fortune of going to Camp Tawanka for a part of each summer.  It was there that I was blessed to meet Darlene, affectionately known to all of us there as “Wibby”

To us campers Wibby was absolutely larger than life.  She had a sparkle, a confidence and a presence that filled the room.  Heck, it filled the whole woods!  She was playful and absolutely hilarious, a strong yet flexible leader, and she had the voice of an angel.  A very powerful angel!  I can still hear her soaring harmonies in my memory. 

I’ll never forget the first time I heard her sing.  We were raising the flag in the morning and the chosen song for that day was “America the Beautiful.”  We all started singing; “oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain…” and in she came, soaring over the top in counter melody, “Oh beau-ti-ful!”  I still get goose bumps and a catch in my through just remembering it.  Any of you who’ve heard her sing know what I’m talking about.  Her voice was absolutely AMAZING!!!

In the dining hall we all looked forward to her leading the songs.  We all LOVED having her lead us in the song, “TONGO!”  She had such a powerful voice and thundered out the lines.  We campers would do our best to match her with all the volume we could muster, shaking the dining hall with our response!  I’m sure they must’ve heard and felt it clear across the lake when she led us in that song!!!  She was known and loved by all for her totally irreverent sense of humor and infectious laughter.  I can still hear it in my mind as if she were sitting next to me now…

I remember sitting on the dock with her once with our feet dangling in the water.  It was a gorgeous sunny day out and I couldn’t believe my fortune at having her all to myself.  I was telling her about an old phonograph my parents had and the really neat old records we played on it.  She was very interested and asked me to sing some of the songs to her, which I did.  She howled in laughter at the lyrics and made me teach them to her!  In fact, here is one of them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzEVqBKS400

As you can imagine, I was on cloud nine sitting next to such an amazing "grown up" who I looked up to so much and adored, yet there she was listening to and enjoying ME!  She made me felt incredibly special that day.

My last year at camp I was a CIT (counselor in training) and she was “OUR” counselor.  YES!  And of course she was totally awesome, helping us to develop our confidence and character.  On our field trip day we got to go off as a unit on an all-day canoe trip on Seven Lakes.  As we were paddling across one of the lakes a boat full of cute guys went buzzing by in a motor boat and we got all demure and flirty, standing up in our canoes and waving to them to come back around.  Wibby couldn’t believe her amazing young women would melt into a bunch of weak witted ninnies just because of a few boys, and would have none of it. 

She was all, “What the heck are you doing!???  A boat full of boys drives by and you start acting like that?   REALLY?!!!” 

So as they circled round she began belting out an opera song in a foreign language at the top of her lungs!  Well we were mortified and tried shushing her up as they drew closer, but with no success.  In a last ditch effort we started splashing water all over her with our paddles, demanding she shut up.  To which she cackled uproariously and broke out even louder with a soprano aria!  You should’ve seen the boys’ faces when they cut their motor to glide in close and couldn’t believe their ears or eyes (LOL!). 

It didn’t take them long to realize they weren’t going to get anywhere with that crazy lady singing and cackling in our midst, so they gunned their motor back to life and roared off, practically capsizing our canoes in their wake!  It taught ME a valuable lesson for sure; not to give up who I was or what I was doing just to try to impress someone I didn’t even know.  Especially someone who would drop their interest and leave so rudely when they didn’t get their way!

So many happy memories…  I cannot put into words how much I loved Wibby and cherished her mentoring, generosity and friendship.

Then I went off to college and lost touch with her for decades.  But a few years back she found me through the Camp Tawanka Facebook page!  We arranged to talk and right after I picked up the phone and said hello she burst out in song singing “Steven Got Even!!!”  After all those years she still remembered it word for word!  We had the best conversation, sharing so many fond memories, catching up on each other’s lives (especially her kids and beloved grand children!), and of course we laughed and laughed and laughed.  That wonderful laugh of hers…I miss it already.  I had no idea it would be the last time I would hear her beautiful voice.  I'm so very grateful to have had that last phone call reunion with her and to learn how happy she was with her life.

It seems impossible that she is gone already; she was still so young.  I know her family’s hearts must be broken…  But I want them to know what a huge contribution she made at such a pivotal time in the life of this girl.  I loved Wibby like the big sister I never had.  She was so special and made such a difference in so many lives.  Her presence and her memory are still larger than life and will live on in my heart forever.  Safe journey dear friend…WoHeLo.