Sadie Hawkins died on Dec. 21, 1989. Unmarried, childless, she lived her entire life in a small port town that most people have forgotten about. She was a chemistry teacher and spent her days on the shore watching the orcas or painting the cherry blossoms that had once grown in the park. She rarely socialized and you could say she only ever really had one true friend. A man who had fallen in love with her but by the time he realized this, had already moved across the water. Then in a frantic attempt to prove his love, he tried to paddle his way back to her. However, drunk, desperate, and hit with heavy waves, he tragically drowned before he could reach her. A memory she never spoke of again.

Though some viewed her as just a lonely old woman who mostly kept to herself, everyone in town remembered her. Whether it was by her mere presence, or by one nice thing she had done, everyone knew who she was. Either way, what was expected to be quiet and uneventful funeral turned into something completely different. The entire town showed up. What was expected to be a rather solemn affair turned into something joyous. People brought stories. People brought instruments. They sang songs for her, they laughed, and they all embraced in her memory. Instead of just a funeral it turned into a celebration of her life. Though few had truly known her, all remembered her, and all loved her.

I have collected and compiled some of the stories and songs from that night into an album to honor the 30th anniversary of her death and to ensure that, though she is an angel now, she will not be forgotten.