"OUR BELOVED CHERESE"
by Chris Laulhere
June 27, 1999

The name "Cherese" is French and it means: Beloved. Her name was chosen several years before she was even conceived and it would fit her perfectly.

Cherese Mari Laulhere, our beloved angel. She was born on a Tuesday morning, it was 7:58 a.m. on September 17, 1974. It was the most joyous day to celebrate the birth of our daughter. She was beautiful. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 0z. and was 20 1/2" long. She had a little bit of light golden blonde hair and her deep blue eyes sparkled like diamonds. Her precious smile melted our hearts from the very first moment we saw her.

Five days later, we brought Cherese home from the Miller Children's at Long Beach Memorial Hospital in Long Beach, California. We were excited for Cherese to meet her big brother, Todd, just 20 months older. He welcomed her with hugs and kisses. Todd loved to hold Cherese and help take care of her. Cherese was a happy baby and we felt so lucky, we now had the perfect little family we had always hoped for.

The first year of Cherese's life seemed to go by so quickly. We watched with amazement as each day brought new adventures for Cherese to explore. She was very social and loved being with people. She was eager to learn and soon was talking all the time. Crawling and walking were soon to follow. The terrible two's really weren't that terrible. Cherese just didn't like to be put into a car seat or a stroller, but she outgrew that. She loved to entertain us by singing and dancing. By this time, Cherese owned her first pairs of tap and ballet shoes. At age three we enrolled Cherese in preschool for 2 days a week. She really enjoyed it a lot.

Around the same time, a little girl named Judy was born, and she lived next door to us. Judy and Cherese played together all the time. Cherese, being 3 years older, made herself in charge, she became Judy's protector and best friend. Judy was always inspired and influenced by Cherese. To this day, Judy is still looking to Cherese for guidance and inspiration. It is so wonderfully apparent, when we talk with Judy, that she is so much like Cherese. We are always delighted when Judy shares her special memories with us, and we are very grateful and lucky to have her in our lives, just as Cherese was, too.

Cherese's 5th birthday was approaching and she was excited to begin kindergarten at Kettering Elementary school. She liked her teachers and they would always tell us how sweet Cherese was. And kindergarten is where she met Anne-Marie, who would also become her best friend. They joined the Brownies and Girl Scouts, and I became one of their leaders. They stayed close friends and did everything together. They went to modeling school when they were 14 years old, and in high school they started a club to help keep the environment clean. After high school, Anne-Marie went to college in Virginia, but they always remained close friends, and Anne-Marie always told Cherese she wanted her to be her maid of honor someday when she would be getting married. Anne-Marie will be married in August, but Cherese can only be there in spirit for her friend, Annie.

Though she would never admit it, Cherese was brilliantly creative, extremely intelligent and very passionate about life. She was wise, beyond her years, and she possessed a rare quality of compassion, gratitude and honesty. She had a sense of humor, and beauty within, as well as upon her smiling face, and most of all, love, profound love for her family and dearest friends. Her spirit touched so many lives. Cherese's life was always full and she was full of life. With such a generous heart and sole, she was shy, serious, curious and the kindest, sweetest daughter one could ever hope to have, we could only ask for one thing more, to have her life back again.

In 1986 at age 12, Cherese entered Hill Jr. High School. She started to notice the opposite sex, and boy did they notice her too! She was thin, but not frail. Her shoulder length hair was silky and golden blonde. And of course, to us, she only got more beautiful. She began running and joined the track team. She loved to swim, skate and bike. Todd took an interest in bike riding, he enjoyed mountain biking and the competition of racing. When he decided to enter a triathlon contest, Cherese decided she would too. It was a cold rainy day, but they both completed the biking, swimming and running events and Cherese even won her age group! That year she participated in several running competitions.

It was also the year she met Sophia and Lisa, and they soon became best friends. Lisa also participated in the above mentioned triathlon, that rainy Halloween day. I remember how tired they all were, but they had a great time! Later that night, Cherese and Lisa dressed up to go out trick or treating. Cherese was a witch with long black hair and Lisa was a bag lady. They always had so much fun when they were together. After junior high school, Lisa moved to Sacramento, but they continued to keep in contact with visits , phone calls and letters all the way through college.

After graduating from Hill Jr. High School, Sophia went to Poly High School and Cherese went to Wilson High School, both in Long Beach, but that did not stop them from seeing each other, and they talked on the telephone all the time. While in college, Cherese was the first person Sophia told her good news to, she was going to have a baby and she asked Cherese to be the baby's godmother. On February 13, 1996 Olivia was born, sadly though, Cherese never had the chance to meet her because she had gone on the Semester at Sea trip on February 1, 1996.

(Read Honoring Her Wishes to learn more about some of the gifts Cherese has given pertaining to Olivia). Cherese is Olivia's angel and is always watching over her. Most people are lucky to have one "Best Friend", Cherese has four, and we cherish and love all of them, just as Cherese does.

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