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Cornelius News

Portrait of a life well lived

DonnaMitchell

June 23. POINT OF VIEW. By Bill Russell. Ask anyone who knows me well and they will likely tell you I am a creature of habit. A typical work day begins with cups of coffee, looking through email, scanning the headlines of various news sites before I turn to social media and catch up with the unfiltered discussions of the day.

Last Friday was a day like many others as I perused Face Book, looking over the rants on I77, comments on the new beach at Ramsey Creek Park, and upcoming events over the weekend. I also took note of the birthdays and sent notices to those who were celebrating their special day.

DonnaMitchell2That night was the annual Symphony at McGuire and for those of you who went, you may recall the brief intermission taken to allow for the bad weather to pass.  I took that opportunity to check out Facebook on my phone and there, among the many posts, was one which said that Donna Mitchell was losing her fight with cancer. She was one of those who I had sent birthday wishes earlier that morning.

It was perhaps fortunate that the darkness had fallen on McGuire as the symphony began to play again. It hid the anguish on my face and the tears which filled my eyes.

I wasn’t particularly close to Donna or her sister Tabetha, though both are chamber members. They joined a couple of years ago with their business, Cork & Canvas, and celebrated their ribbon cutting at the Chamber.

It was on a January night last year that the two ladies sauntered up to my table at a Lake Norman restaurant and presented me with a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Donna explained they were celebrating Donna’s daughter’s birthday. It was something they did each year to remember Destin who passed away in a tragic car accident a few years ago.

Last fall, I read a post on Facebook from Donna as she shared they had found cancer and she was being treated at Novant here in Huntersville. I asked Tabetha would it be OK to drop by and she indicated Donna would love it.

The painter’s hands are resting now. Her canvas is complete. A life filled with the bright bold colors of love in the lives she touched and the pastels that spoke to her lows. Donna was a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter…and, yes, a painter.

When I poked my head into the room, Donna was hooked up to an IV. She apologized for how she looked as the chemo had taken a toll on her long locks of golden hair. But what I saw was the radiant smile that I remembered each time that we had met.

We spent the next hour talking about the highs and lows of life. Her low: The tragic death of her daughter. The pain of losing a child and the grief she carried. She had stopped painting, a gift she inherited from her father. But it was the love of her sister Tabetha who encouraged her to move to the lake and start a business with her that filled her life again.

Donna’s love of painting and Tabetha’s entrepreneurial spirt launched the Cork and Canvas painting parties as the two sisters helped people around the lake find their hidden talents.

Then the unexpected—the unwelcome thief who steals moments and brings pain—cancer.

I followed Donna’s ordeal mostly through her posts on Facebook. When I recently read she was at Wake Forest and undergoing treatment, I thought about stopping by on my visits to Raleigh. But like so many of us, time also seemed to get in the way. Maybe next time!

Our last words at Novant were for her to get better so she could teach me to paint. Looking back on that moment, I realize she taught me much more than that. It was really a lesson in how to live.

On June 1st, I read a post where she spoke of her challenge and how much she appreciated the support of so many. I sent her a personal email encouraging her and reminding her she was in our prayers. She thanked me and then sent the little Smiley Face emoticon. That was our last chat and looking back, I cannot help but think how appropriate.  It’s her smile I do remember the most.

The painter’s hands are resting now. Her canvas is complete. A life filled with the bright bold colors of love in the lives she touched and the pastels that spoke to her lows. Donna was a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter…and, yes, a painter. Her illness cut short our time together but it left a portrait not of an unfinished life, but a splendid image of triumph over adversity and the realization to seize every moment with broad bold strokes.

Our last words at Novant were for her to get better so she could teach me to paint. Looking back on that moment, I realize she taught me much more than that. It was really a lesson in how to live.

Bill Russell is the president & CEO of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce