Julene Spurrell

Julene came into my life when I was a child in the early 1980s. She was the partner of my first cousin, who was also my godmother. From the very beginning, she had a wonderful energy that made everyone want to be around her. She treated me like family, and whenever I was with her, I always felt loved and safe.

For a time, my cousin and Julene lived in the same apartment building as my family, and I knew exactly what time they would get home from work. As soon as that time came, I would call upstairs and ask for Julene. My cousin would answer the phone and immediately say, “Riki, you can’t come up right now.” I would quickly respond, “Can I please speak to Julene?” At that point, my cousin would put her on the phone, and I would ask, “Julene, can I come upstairs?” Her answer was always, “Sure, honey, come on up.”

That was just who she was. She was always happy to have an annoying 8-year-old hanging around after work instead of taking time to decompress from a long day with my cousin. She came to our school talent shows and even joined in the line-dancing classes we had. She always had a big smile and a joke ready.

Even after they moved away, they would still have me over on weekends. They took me swimming, watched movies with me, and made me feel special. As an ’80s girl, I was completely in love with Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block, and I brought my Joey doll everywhere. One weekend while I was visiting, Julene took me into her workroom and built a little wooden chair for Joey to sit on. She let me paint it white and even gave me red nail polish so I could paint a heart on the seat. I still have that chair to this day.

When she got sick, it was so hard to process as an 11-year-old. It made no sense to me how someone so young, vibrant, loving, smart, funny, and giving could be taken away. I think of her constantly, and she is still the person I turn to when I need strength.

What really gets to me now is that I never had the opportunity to know her as an adult. She was the kind of woman who would have accomplished so many great things. I have no doubt that if she had become a mother, her child would have been the luckiest in the world, surrounded by nothing but love and acceptance.

Julene, you will always be loved and missed every single day. Thank you for being exactly who you were.

Here is a picture of us (circa 1985) and it completely depicts the joy and love we shared.