Anne Dillon

Last Tuesday I found out that my dear friend Anne Dillon passed away from bone cancer. Anne was an incredible woman. This is how I met her:

I was serving my mission in Oregon and had just been transferred to downtown Portland with a new companion. We were taking over the area from the Elders so we didn't know anyone or anything about our area. Apparently, years ago the Elders had set up service opportunities once a week doing Meals-On-Wheels for a downtown apartment complex. Anne was in charge of making sure we did our job. Sister Johnson and I missed our first week and Anne filled in for us. We wrote her a thank you note and included a scripture from the Book of Mormon, citing the prophet King Benjamin for his words of truth about serving others. The next time we saw Anne she asked, "So, who is King Benjamin?"

We taught the gospel to her, helped her overcome her misconceptions, showed how the Atonement could help her be at peace with her past, and watched her joy and spiritual light increase as she internalized truth and hope and faith. There was more than one occasion when the impression came that Anne was very loved by and very, very special to Heavenly Father.

Sister Johnson and I were there for her beautiful baptism. Later, Josh and I were able to go to the temple with her. My mom had a chance to come up to Portland and meet her.

Anne has been loved as she served in the Relief Society presidency and participated in Family Home Afternoon with other branch sisters in her apartment building. Anne was also very good at loving others. She would tack pictures on the wall of her closest friends and missionaries. She had a love for Josh as soon as I married him. She treasured the scriptures given to her by my parents who she hadn't met yet. She loved her sons who had disowned her years ago. Anne loved giving. We enjoyed exchanging our favorite fruit teas with each other in letters.

Anne was an accomplished teacher and painter. She taught psychology at the University of Chicago. She sold one of her paintings to a card company. She had another picture published in a magazine.

I won't be able to forget Anne's deep and even-toned voice as she closed all of our phone calls, "I love you, Clarissa."

Last Thursday, through a heavenly tender mercy, I was able to register as a bone marrow donor. And I was able to do it in Anne's honor.

Anne will definitely be missed here but I know that there are others in the Spirit World who have eagerly anticipated her arrival.