Yesterday marked a sad day. We attended the memorial service of Nancy Thorwardson.  Nancy was a beautiful soul, who composed and performed two Chase the Music pieces, for the children of Respite Care during their wilderness adventure camps.

Nancy’s first piece for Chase the Music was Sweet Saddle Pals. Nancy wrote it as part of a personal project – “60 Turning 60”. 60 things she’d never done before, in her 60th year of life. It was Nancy’s way of challenging herself to continually finding joy through great experiences. You can see her list of all  60 experiences here – 60 turning 60. This project was just one way that she lived her life. Nancy was such an inspiration to many.

Nancy had this to say about #25 on her list:

“Write and perform a song for Chase the Music.  This is a wonderful, heart‐warming project created by Clark Hodge, who matches up children in need of care with musicians and composers who create a piece of music celebrating the child or children.  The project I was involved with was to write a song for Respite Care kids who attend a week‐long camp at the Highlands Presbyterian Camp in Allenspark.  My dear Blue Prairie friends Jani and Zeke Little played the show with me and it was one of the most emotionally rewarding performances I have ever done.  There were other campers there as well, and everybody celebrated everybody!  There was dancing, swaying, and singing along, and the cakes were beautifully made, featuring the name of the new song, Sweet Saddle Pals.   Thank you so much, Clark, for including me in your project, and thanks Jani and Zeke for playing the show!  I will carry the joy of this project with me forever.”

Nancy was the valedictorian of her kindergarten class. For her speech, she exclaimed “FRIENDS!”. That was her speech, in totality. Nothing more needed to be said.

Nancy, FRIEND!, may you always Chase the Music!