To all of those I leave behind:
I want you to be assured that I died happy. In the ending days of my life I learned how to live. I learned who I was and how to love myself and life, no matter what. I also had the opportunity to spend my remaining days with all of you showing you how much you mean to me. I have no regrets. I led a great life. Please honor my memory by remembering that tomorrow is not a guarantee, and whatever goes left unsaid today may never be heard tomorrow. Even in the hardest of times life is a blessing. Happiness can only be found within oneself, but I found happiness in the face of death and misery. Life is precious. Enjoy it.
I Love You All,
Ryan “Rooster” Mitchell Walker
July 21, 1997
“Some people expect that grief should be resolved over the course of a year, but this is not true. The initial severe and all-consuming grief is not experienced continuously with such intensity; rather periods of intense grief come and go over a period of 18 months or more. Over time, waves of grief gradually become less intense and less frequent, but feelings of sadness and loss will likely always remain”