PREFACE: During the time of my early grieving, I was told that often it is helpful to write - poems, memorials, thoughts, and the like. So just prior to a Celebration of Life memorial to Shereen held in March 2011, I sat down on the 4th of March 2011 (coincidentally the same day my daughter and her husband left for home leaving me to now experience the terrible feelings of loneliness and isolation), and penned the following. It may not read well, but then, it was contemporaneous - I simply put words to paper as they came to mind, all in a single sitting. i've read it over many many times since then, and modified it just slightly. But in great part, these were my thoughts at a specific point in time. Shereen Boyajian (nee Koruk)  26 May 1945 - 28 Feb 2011 In Loving Memory of a Precious Wife and Mother. From Her Loving Husband of 47 Years, Her Cherished Daughter Denise, And Beloved Son-In-Law, Andrea. Shereen was born on 26 May 1945 in Pingnan, Turkey - a small village in the western area of the country.  Her father died when she was only a couple of years old, so she was primarily raised by her grandmother and grandfather while her mother went to Istanbul to work at a better job.  I should note that although Shereen is Armenian, her last name of Koruk is not - when her mother remarried, Shereen took the name of her step-father - this because of the ongoing conflicts between the Turks & Armenians. When her grandfather, who she loved tremendously, died, Shereen and her grandmother then joined her mother in Istanbul - this when Shereen was about 10.  I want to also note that her grandfather called her by the sweet sounding nickname of Cheelo (there is no meaning for that word - just something her grandfather came up with).  Shereen so cherished that name because of her overwhelming love for her grandfather, that I was the only other person she would let call her that.  Shereen made me feel very special in part because of that - but that was Shereen - she made everybody she met and know feel special. Shereen went to a French school in Istanbul, and after graduation, went to work for the Hilton Hotel.  She lived with her mother, brother Turgut and sister Menekse, in a small apartment in the center of the city. In the summer of 1962, Vice President Johnson visited Istanbul.  Because the Secret Service was short-staffed, they came out to the base I was stationed at and picked 6 Marines to augment their security needs.  That's how I met Shereen.  Johnson was staying at the Hilton, Shereen was working there, and now here I came for some State Department duty.  She caught my eye immediately.  I asked her out.  She refused.  Again I asked her out - rebuffed again!  The third time was the charm - she agreed to go out with me.  But as I found out later in our marriage, she only agreed because she thought I was a civilian and would be leaving shortly with the Johnson entourage - so to get me to stop pestering her, she said yes to a date the following weekend that she believed would never happen.  Was she surprised when I actually showed up for that date!  The rest as they say, is history. We were married in Istanbul on 8 Jun 1963.  From there the military put us all over the map - Scotland, Puerto Rico, Germany - a separation of a year when I went to Vietnam - North Carolina, and finally Hawaii in 1975 where I retired 1980 and we made Honolulu our home.  Of course wherever we went, we made it a point to travel to surrounding areas and countries as much as possible - Shereen loved traveling, meeting new people, and experiencing new customs, traditions and practices. Shereen was a very outgoing person.  She insisted on not finding fault, but to always look for the good in people.  She loved to mingle, loved being with people and having people around her.  We were opposites in that regard as I'm very much introversive by nature.  But they say opposites attract, and in our case, that was certainly true.  She was always out and about - biking, dinner parties, French club functions, Ski club functions, sporting events, traveling with friends to Asia and Europe at least once a year, and so on.  She simply loved life and did all she could to live life to its fullest. We were married for 47 years - she took such good care of me that I simply can't describe.  She was a very unselfish person - always giving but never looking for reciprocity - she just loved people and giving of herself to them. Around May 2010, she started feeling a bit poorly.  I insisted she see a doctor, but she always brushed it off by saying she'd be OK - no need to see a doctor.  A couple of months later she visited our daughter in Switzerland from where they also went to Italy to see Andrea's mom (Andrea is Denise's husband).  When they returned to Switzerland, Denise also tried to get Shereen to see a doctor - even drove her to a hospital, but Shereen would not get out of the car!  She absolutely insisted there was no need. On her return to Hawaii, I made an appointment for Shereen and took her to Straub Hospital.  Tests were run, and a steroid was prescribed - Prednisone.  Wow - did that perk her up!  It was of such help that she dubbed it her 'wonder drug' - she was back to her old self.  What a relief!  Unfortunately, that didn't last long as she again started feeling poorly.  So it was back to Straub for more visits and tests.  This time, and after an MRI, her spleen showed 'infection'.  She had an operation to have her spleen removed (which when biopsied showed cancer), but before she was able to recover from the operation, chemotherapy had to be started due to the aggressive nature of the cancer she had.  After the third chemo session, lumps started to shrink and we thought we were going to beat this cancer.  Not so - the cancer had done its terrible work - it was now spreading rapidly and more signs of cancer visibly showed up.  Also by this time, Shereen was just so weak and fatigued from both chemo and the operation, as well as from going back and forth for a few a days at home, 911 calls, a few days of hospital, that we finally had to keep her hospitalized for 24/7 medical care.  She had a fourth chemo, but it did little to help, and so when it was time for the fifth session, Shereen refused - she saw no reason to continue with a therapy that we were told probably would not help.  Further, the oncologist told us that with or without that fifth chemo, Shereen probably had only between one to six months to live.  I was devastated and scared, but even as sick as she was, Shereen comforted me.  Again, that was Shereen. Thank goodness our daughter Denise was here to help me. We moved Shereen to hospice, and within a week, at 2am on Monday, 28 Feb 2011, Shereen passed.  She is now with God and at peace.  She suffered greatly these past couple of months, but even as sick as she was, she still reached out - she gave 'instructions' to Denise and I on various matters, and was the driving force in making sure Denise had a place here in Hawaii to stay when she visits - we bought Denise and Andrea a small condo. I also have to talk about our daughter Denise and her husband, Andrea.  Denise came here in November for a month, but because Shereen was in decline, she came back again in early January and just left today, 4 March, for home in Switzerland.  By the time Denise arrived in January, I was exhausted.  So just like her mama, Denise jumped in to care not only for Shereen, but me as well.  A precious daughter indeed.  Our son-in-law Andrea came to be with us also.  His visit was especially difficult - he was attending advanced schooling in re the financial business he's in, but because he had about a 10-day break, he jumped on a plane to be with us at a time we needed him most, notwithstanding Shereen mentioned him often and very much wanted to see him.  For those of you who travel, you know the trip between here and Switzerland is anywhere from 30 to 40 hours each way - a tough journey by anyone's standards. Truly, I am blessed to have the daughter and son-in-law that I do.  Per her wishes, Shereen will be cremated on Saturday, 5 March.  As for services, Wanda S(o) (no last names for privacy's sake) arranged for a Celebration of Life which was held at the Elks Club - and so my sincerest thanks to Wanda for helping me considerably at a point where I had no idea of what to do - I was completely lost and in a deep fog. Additionally, Barbara M. has most generously offered to arrange for another Celebration of Life, at which time I will scatter some of Shereen's ashes over the ocean and I will keep a portion of her ashes with me forever as part of a memorial I have for Shereen in the house. (I also purchased two special bracelets for Denise and I, which are designed to hold a small amount of a loved one's ashes - this to ensure we keep Shereen with us always.) I don't  anticipate this service to occur until Denise and Andrea return to Hawaii this December 2011 or January 2012 and I will let everyone know of the service.  Because I don't know all of Shereen's many many friends, I will have to ask those I contact to in turn contact others. During this whole ordeal, so many of Shereen's friends sent flowers, cards, and telephoned.  Shereen insisted that there be no visitors, so her wishes were in large part respected.  Again, Shereen was reaching out - she wanted people to remember her as the vivacious person she was - she did not want people seeing her sick.  She wanted all of you to carry happy memories of her. Since her passing I've received many phone calls and cards.  Thank you all for remembering.  Thank you all for your support and continued friendship on behalf of Shereen.  God bless Shereen.  God bless you.