Kerrie Shay Houser
April 17, 1993 - December 20, 2021

"Words cannot express the sorrow in my heart at the learning of Kerrie's passing. I remember her as a darling blessing of a child and from her pictures had grown into a lovely beautiful young woman. I always loved that special little look she'd give that always seemed to appear as though she knew more than anyone. Sweet Kerrie, you were always wiser than your years. My treasured thoughts and memories of her will forever remain as I was truly blessed in knowing her. During this time of sadness, a passage my oncologist recently shared with me came to mind. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 I hope God's love may bring you all comfort and peace during this difficult time. With my deepest sympathy. . ."

"Tiffany, with love and sympathy to you and your family. Mom and I love and care for you very much and are always here for you. We will keep you all in our prayers. May Kerrie rest in peace. You are a wonderful mother, sister and friend. Love, Joanne & Joan "

"The last thing we said to each other was I love you and I know at times it probably didn?t feel that way know that I never stopped loving you you were the only person who really understood what it was like I?m gonna miss you everyday but I will continue to raise Kona I?ll never forget when we used to take her to sonic when she was a puppy and we?d both get diet cokes I forgive you kerrie and I?ll always love you"

"I had the great pleasure of knowing Kerrie as my best friend from about the 4th grade when she entered OLPH as the "new kid", with whom I rode to and from school via the Green Bus, until midway through high school. Attending different high schools, our friendship naturally drifted apart ? a loss of friendship I have always regretted. My regret over our drifted friendship had grown especially strong over the last several years, which I attribute to having grown older and, after experiencing the many friendships & relationships typical of young adulthood, realizing just how irreplaceable Kerrie was as a person and friend. She is one of the few females I?ve ever known who could truly make me laugh. Not only did she have a clever, witty sense of humor, but she was also a complete goofball. Most of my memories with Kerrie involve acting absurd and ridiculous?such as taking "gross-face" photos with our digital cameras, writing entire mini-books of silly "poetry" on Microsoft Word, making truly insane prank phone calls, trolling MySpace, being total mall rats at PV mall and Desert Ridge, conducting MySpace photo shoots, watching countless movies and episodes of Family Guy together, spending hundreds of hours listening to a shared iPod on the school bus and driving to California, or blasting music on her computer or in my bedroom (everything from Britney Spears to Tupac to screamo), walking to Burger King and nearby strip malls, weaving our adventures together through different social settings and getting into preposterous acts of mischief, such as the time we got sent to Sister Marion Grace?s office after the Xavier 8th Grade Day field trip (for having filled a sack with large chocolate chip cookies and proceeding to launch them like saucers out the school bus windows during the drive back to OLPH). I could write a 4,000-page anthology of my memories with Kerrie. We had the time of our lives laughing, and Kerrie?s laugh was infectious. As we got older, the hilarity of our friendship ensued and grew with the addition of Elliot Wolf, a fellow goofball. The unique thing about Kerrie was that she was truly hilarious, but not in the stereotypical "class clown? type of way?Kerrie was also highly intelligent, trustworthy, insightful, and (for the most part?) responsible. Kerrie did not fit any mold or stereotype; she was an independent thinker with a diverse range of interests, from her personal hobbies to her seemingly paradoxical taste in music and movies. Her multi-faceted personality and non-judgmental nature is why she could get along with anyone and what allowed her to have diverse sets of friends. Kerrie's three-dimensional character is what I loved most about her, and what I have missed increasingly more in recent years as we tried to reconnect. Finding friendship with a ?unicorn? such as Kerrie ? someone who can make you belly laugh daily, with whom you can be your true, unfiltered, ?gross-faced? self, and with whom you can spend countless hours simply sitting and listening to music together (something Kerrie and I did a lot over the years) ? is often taken for granted during childhood & adolescence. As we grow older, we begin to realize how rare and irreplaceable individuals like Kerrie are. She had a sense of humor that made us laugh until we cried, an independent mind that offered us unique perspectives on life, and a loving heart that offered us compassion, always. Kerrie lives on in the many memories we share with her, and I look forward to a time in the next life when we are reunited and can, at last, recount our lives & memories together again (while listening to quality tunes, drinking Ovaltine, and eating Velveeta mac n? cheese, of course)."

"We will always treasure the fond memories we have of sweet Kerrie. She was one of the most amazing souls we were lucky enough to have known and loved. We love you all and are sending you lots of love during this difficult time. "