<<< Previous		Waxahachie Daily Light		Wednesday, November 28, 2001
Ashley is safe in the Lord's arms now, Gookin said, adding, "Ashley, you have taught us so very much. We'll miss you."    Minister Walter Buchanan said Ashley reminded him of a to-the-point speech given by Winston Churchill during WWII as he rallied his troops: "Never, never, ever, ever, ever give up."    "That was his speech," Buchanan said. "You would almost think Ashley was there to hear that. She never gave up -- she talked only about living, not dying.    "Ashley loved life, and she had a zest for life unlike other people I've known. She had short-term plans and she had long-range plans that included travel, college and becoming a child life specialist."    Ashley personified determination, Buchanan said, recalling her efforts to achieve despite limitations her illness attempted to place upon her.    "She loved to ski, which she did as late as last March. She would get tired and rest and then return to the slopes," he said, talking also of a youth group outing where she left her wheelchair behind because the only way to reach a waterfall was by walking.    Buchanan also recalled the fond memories evoked by Ashley's love of shopping.    He said he saw her about two weeks ago at her home, with Ashley telling him, "I'm waiting for Momma to get home, so we can go to Wal-Mart to shop. I love to shop."    The last full day of Ashley's life was spent shopping, he said to smiles again across the expansive room filled to capacity. "She went shopping and when they tried to get her to go home, she pointed down another aisle to go there, and then another aisle. If there's a Wal-Mart in heaven, I know who its best customer is."		Buchanan noted the special relationship that existed between Ashley and her brother, Justin.    That love, Buchanan said, was evidenced in a scrapbook put together Sunday by Justin. "He had pictures in it and comments underneath them. Under one picture was, 'She was a superstar.' Under another was, 'My hero.'    "They were like most brothers and sisters in that they didn't always see eye to eye, but, underneath it all, they loved each other dearly."    Buchanan also quoted from White's essay: "I will remember her as the bright-eyed girl who loved to travel and explore, and for possessing an inner strength that always allowed her to rise above hardships that seemed unbearable to most of us. She was my friend and I will miss her dearly."    On her last day, her father Paul said Ashley raised her hand and gestured, Buchanan said. "He thinks she may have been saying, 'Good-bye.'"    Regarding the cancer, Buchanan offered these words to those gathered in Ashley's honor: "Cancer is bad, but it cannot cripple love, shatter hope, erode faith ... . It cannot suppress memories, silence courage, it cannot invade the soul. It cannot steal eternal life or conquer the spirit -- it did not conquer Ashley."    Reading from a poem that recognizes the loss parents feel over the death of a child, Buchanan said, "You have her lovely memories for solace for you to keep," before adding, "Thank you, Ashley. Thank you for teaching us about faith, and determination."    As a closing to the service, photographs of Ashley throughout her life, as gathered together by her father, were shown during a special screen presentation. Depicting her infancy		through her varied activities through her last weeks of life, her trademark smile and eyes filled with knowledge beyond her years gazed down upon all.    Her family wrote also these words, "We will miss her precious and tenacious spirit. We will miss her gorgeous smile. We will miss her warm hugs. We will miss her mischievous ways.    "In short, we will miss everything that we loved about our 'Princess' Ashley," they wrote. "Her absence hurts so much because her presence brought so much joy. Our aching hearts will carry forever the countless wonderful memories that seem too numerous to have been created in only 14 short years.    "Goodnight, sweet Princess. Thank you for loving us so tenderly, and for blessing our lives so immeasurably. We will see you again, and that assurance brings comfort and peace to our hurting hearts."    Ashley was born April 27, 1987, in Corpus Christi, moving at age 2 with her family to Waxahachie, where, with the exception of 1 1/2 years in Georgetown, she lived out her life.    At the time of her death, she was a freshman at Waxahachie High School, having maintained an "A" average academically throughout her scholastic studies. Her activities included being active with her church, the College Street Church of Christ, 4-H and FFA, and also participating in drama, choir, Student Council, FHA, yearbook staff, the Washington Warriors, City League basketball and Girl Scouts.    Her parents, Paul and Susan O'Rear; a brother, Justin O'Rear; two grandmothers, Bettie O'Rear and Laverne Moore; and numerous uncles, aunts, cousins and other relatives and friends survive her.