It’s been one year since we said goodbye to an extraordinary woman and my every day hero – my late mother-in-law, Cathy Coffin.

Diagnosed at nineteen with a rare autoimmune condition, she experienced a slow and steady loss of her physical capabilities throughout her entire life, which ended shortly after celebrating her 59th birthday.

As we greeted over two thousand people who came out to pay their respects, I couldn’t help but notice a pattern in the conversation.

She was always smiling. She never complained. She was so positive.