Though I only knew Loni for a brief period of time, she definitely made an impact on me and the work I do. When I first met her in the spring of 2006, while she seemed hard-nosed and strict, she was fair and extremely passionate about her work. Loni was my supervisor/mentor at Independence Place until she passed last fall. I truely loved working with her because she saw our residents as more than just "residents"...she saw them as people, as equals. She treated the staff as equals, she wasn't just our boss, she was our friend, our confidant. I hate to use the word "was" because I still feel her presence greatly at work everytime I walk in. One memory that comes to mind often is of her painting the dining room in the facility. She was dead set on the color she picked(this caribbean blue...very nice, but not necessarily for a dining room). She was there until after I left at midnight, just painting away. I asked her when she was going to leave and she said, "Honestly, Coriss....I don't know....when I get done, I suppose." I just laughed and told her she was an over-achiever. Loni was so dedicated to her work and her family and to those around her that she cared about that she didn't leave much space for herself. If there was a shift at work and there was absolutely no one to cover it, she was there...it didn't matter if she had worked 16 hours the day before. She was the type of supervisor that wasn't afraid to set you straight, yet, even when she did put her foot down, you knew that she still cared. There was more than one time that she blatantly told me, "Coriss, just get your head out of your ass." LOL. I loved that though, she was totally honest. She once told me that as long as she was working at Independence Place, I'd always have a job because she knew that I felt and still feel the same as she did about the clients there. They are an extended family. Another great memory I have of Loni is one day I was working and she called about Lord knows what and we ended up staying on the phone for almost 3 hours, I had to tell HER, "Loni, I'm at work...you are distracting me." lol Most of my co-workers would agree that that was typical Loni, get her on the phone and a 5 minute conversation turns into a few hours. Anyhow, I just wanted to share a few memories and thoughts that I have of Loni. She was, is, and will always be a wonderful care-giver, mother, sister, aunt, co-worker, and friend. Though my time knowing Loni was all too brief, it was inspiring. You are greatly loved and missed, Loni.
). I can't remember ever leaving her presence or hanging the phone up from talking to her that she didn't tell me "I Love You".