Ashley Jean O'Rear

April 27, 1987 - November 24, 2001

Her absence hurts so much because
her presence brought so much joy.


Note: The following songs can be heard by clicking on the song title. These songs require the free RealOne player. If you do not already have the RealOne player on your computer, you can download it for free from real.com.

Ashley Jean


When Ashley was a baby, I often sang to her as I rocked her to sleep. I made up this little song that I sang to her quite often during those "baby days". Shortly before her death, Ashley asked me if I would sing it to her again. At her funeral, this is one of the songs that was played during the slide show celebrating her life in pictures.


Milagro de Amór de Ashley (Love Miracle of Ashley)

When Ashley was just three years old, I led a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. Ashley and Justin were too young to go on the trip (Justin was not even a year old yet). While in Mexico, I met a young preacher named Luis Andres Gomez. We worked together in some of the poor villages south of Monterrey. During the course of our conversations, I told him about my family. One evening, when we went by his house to drop him off for the night, he asked us to wait outside for a few minutes. Luis went inside, got out his guitar, and sat down and sang this song in Spanish for Ashley. He came back out and handed me a cassette tape with the song recorded on it. It is a beautiful song.


Ashley's Song


A few months after Ashley's death, I invited a friend named Andy Moya to lunch. I had a special favor that I wanted to ask of him. I knew that Andy wrote music and played the piano. I had listened to one of his CD's of Christmas music, and was impressed with his talent. So I asked Andy if he would write a special song in memory of Ashley. Some time later I went by to see him at work, and he handed me a CD with a label that said "Ashley's Song". I brought it home and listened to it, then played it for Susan. It is a beautiful piece of music. There is a short melodic phrase that repeats itself throughout the entire piece. Andy told me that this musical phrase represents the words, "When I think of Ashley, I will think of love."

Click here to read Andy's beautiful tribute to Ashley, and his own explanation of how this song came into being. Click here to visit Andy's web page. (Both links will open in separate browser windows.)


Until Then


My own special song for Ashley.