Whit's Funeral

Whit's funeral was the following weekend. I took work off on friday and headed down to St. George. I got to the viewing and it was so good to see some of my old roommates. They decorated the church so beautifully. They did a huge display about Whitni's life. The guitar we played for hours, the red shoes she always wore, pictures of her with her family and friends. It was amazing. They also had a few of whit's favorite sweets to take. I got to talk to all of her family members. It was a closed casket but they had the most beautiful picture of whit in her wedding dress right next to her casket. Katie, Kara and I went out and got some frozen yogurt after. It was fun to share memories of whit and to catch up. I went over to Whit's friends house after and played games with them. Whit had amazing friends and they were nice to take me in the last few weeks. I stayed at Andee's house that night.

The funeral was beautiful. Whitni planned her own funeral. Such a Whitni thing to do. She was the best planner that I knew. It was amazing and turned out exactly how she would have wanted it. I had been so sick thinking about this song I was about to sing all week long. How was I going to make it through it? The lyrics were perfect! Anyone that knew Whitni was changed FOR GOOD! When her mom told me that Whit wanted me to sing this at her funeral, I was so torn. How do you sing this song at your best friends funeral. After talking to my bishop about it, he reminded me how lucky I was to know her and asked me if I would have rather only known her for a few years or to have never known her at all. Of course, the later. He reminded me what a privilege this was and that she wanted me to do it and I realized that I could do it and I would do because it was what Whit wanted! I think it went well. I held it together as much as I could. Jared, his parents, and whit's family all spoke and shared memories. There were lots of laughs shared and lots of tears. Whitni wanted the last word at her funeral so they taped her testimony and shared a slideshow during her testimony. Her mom read it because whini got really sick really fast. This is when I burst into tears. What an amazing life! What an amazing friend! What an amazing testimony of Christ! Whitni I miss you SO much and I will love you forever! Til we meet again.....

Whitni's Obituary

Whitni Nisson Reese

June 11, 1981 - September 4, 2011

After her battle with cancer, Whitni Nisson Reese passed away on September 4, 2011. Whitni was born June 11, 1981, in St. George, Utah, to Bruce and Laurie Christensen Nisson. She was the only daughter among 5 brothers.

Whitni enjoyed her childhood growing up in Washington, Utah. She attended Washington Elementary, Pine View Middle School and graduated from Pine View High School. Whitni excelled academically and musically during those years. It was also during this time when she started to establish a group of friends who remain close even to this day. She also gained a strong testimony of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Whitni went on to graduate from Dixie State College and attend massage therapy school, becoming a nationally certified Massage Therapist. She then served in the Zurich, Switzerland Mission where she learned to speak the German language fluently. Upon her return, she delayed her schooling to assist her brother, Blake, in his rehabilitation after a serious accident. This experience helped to direct her interests toward physical therapy and she pursued this career at BYU. However, she became more interested in nutrition and as a result attended Utah State University to complete her B.S. Degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude, in Food and Nutrition, becoming a Certified Registered Dietitian.

Shortly after graduation, Whitni married Jared R. Reese on May 16, 2009, in the St. George LDS Temple. Jared’s employment took them to Roswell, NM, where Whitni became employed at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center as a Registered Dietician. During this time Whitni enriched the lives of many by serving as a Ward Missionary and early morning Seminary Teacher for her church.

Whitni loved to learn, travel and serve in the Church. She had a great appreciation of the Gospel, life, family, friends, music, nutrition and science.

Whitni is survived by her spouse, Jared R. Reese of Roswell, NM; father, and mother, Bruce B. and Laurie Nisson; brothers, Neils Nisson (Holly), Nickolas Nisson, Kael Nisson, Blake Nisson (Missionary in Washington D.C. North) and Breyden “Gump” Nisson, all of Washington, UT.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at the Washington Stake Center, 446 Mangum Rd., Washington, UT. Whitni elected not to have a viewing, but an open house will be held on Friday, September 9, 2011, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the same location. Interment will take place in the Washington City Cemetery.

The family requests in lieu of flowers that monetary remembrances be made at any Mountain America Credit Union under Whitni Nisson Reese.

Whitni and family wish to thank Dr. Derrick Haslem and staff, Dr. Edgard Badine and staff, and Southern Utah Hospice for their special care and concern during her illness.

Because I knew you, I have been changed FOR GOOD!

"It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me 
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend..."


This was the part of the song, "For good" that I got to sing at Whit's funeral. What a heart-wrencher, right?  I love it though because it puts into words exactly how I feel. Well I remember the first couple of weeks of September like it was yesterday. I got a phone call from our friend Kate, around the first of September telling me that Whit wasn't going to make much longer. My worst fears came true. How was I going to get through this? Was I going to make it down to say goodbye to her? Was I strong enough to see her? It was memorial day weekend, the weekend that we were all supposed to be at the Gorge together, crazy huh. I drove down saturday morning and it was the longest drive of my life. I got to Whits parents house in Washington, Ut, and I went in to see Whit. I don't think anyone or anything could have prepared me. I can't even express the heartache I felt seeing her in the lazy boy. Her mom and her friend trying to help her be as comfortable as possible. They let me have some time with her and Jared. She couldn't talk and her eyes were closed but we all knew that Whitni could hear us. I sat there by her side trying to be strong and fighting back tears. No one wants to see their best friend suffer like that. 


Since I was down there, Whit's mom decided it was a great time to practice the song for the funeral. Whit's mom's friend was singing with me, we started practicing in the living room and I got to my part. It well may be that we will never meet again..... I lost it. It didn't help that I don't like to sing in front of people but the fact that Whit was in the other room made it that much more difficult. We practiced a few times and then planned to practice the next day with our accompanist. Kate was nice enough to let me stay with her over the weekend. Sunday, Kate, Jared, Jared's parents, and I went to church. After I got to spend more time with Whit and her family and friends. I got to witness the sweetest thing. Whit's little twin nephews came over and Holly brought them in to see Whit and Whit put a smile on her face and she mumbled something. It was the sweetest thing and the last time I saw a smile on Whit's face. I felt the spirit so strong in that room. I know it was cause the vail was so thin and I loved that they had hilary weeks music playing all weekend long. 


That night we went over to start working on whit's casket. Jared came over and spent some time with us and then we got a phone call that she wasn't going to make it much longer. I am so glad that Jared was able to make it back to be there. We got a call and they invited us over to the house. It was nice to share tears and hugs with whits family. Whitni looked so peaceful and beautiful. I was so hard to kiss her goodbye but she was in a better place now. 
Words cannot express the love I have for Whit. I always told her she was my Ultimate Best Friend. She always had great wisdom for me, we never fought, we were so similar but in many ways so different. She was my sister. She made me a better person.  It is rare when you find a friendship like that. It is such a hard thing for me to lose a friendship like that. I am so grateful that I Heavenly Father crossed our paths even though it was cut short. I am so grateful that I had Whit in my life. Because I knew her I was changed for good.  She continued to teach me through out her cancer. Not once was she mad at God. She was a huge strength to me and she will continue to do be with the memories that I will cherish forever. 


Monday, I went to Jill's parents house and we worked on the casket. It turned out so beautiful and it was so nice to be around people who were feeling the same way I was. I am so grateful that I was able to share this weekend with Whit's family and friends. 

"I thought the rockies would be rockier than this...."

My last vacation of the summer was a trip with my family to see Mike and Katie. We drove and it was kind of a long drive but it was fun to spend time with my family. We stayed in a little mountain town to break up the drive. One thing that I loved right off the bat is that they had elk crossing signs. Awesome right! I have never seen one before and I loved it. The mountains were beautiful. Katie lives just a few minutes outside of denver and so it was great to stay with them. We went and saw the Red Rock Amphitheater. I totally want to go see a concert there sometime. It was so pretty and it has a great view of Denver city. We also went to the Buffalo Bill museum and grave. It was a great look out point into the mountains and city. We went to a baseball game, which was so much fun. We ate in a little city called Golden. This is a cute little town and home of the coors brewery. One of my favorite things was that we went down to Colorado Springs. We went to a place called Garden of the Gods. It was awesome. It is a city park with red rock formations everywhere. It was fun to walk around even though it was super hot. We tried to go to the north pole but it was closed. sad day I know! We went to my cousins Kimra's house on sunday for dinner. My cousin Troy and his family also came down to see us. It was so great to see them and their families. A few of my favorite cousins. It was a fun trip. I am so glad that we fit it in before school started. 

At the Ball park

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs

red rock amphitheater

Having fun with my camera at a small lake by katies house

Park in Golden, CO

Up at the Buffalo Bill museum

Roswell, NM

Well I got home from Europe and a few days later I got a phone call from Whitni. It had been a while since I had talked to her but I went to Europe feeling optimistic. I left the country knowing that chemo had worked and the whole time just thinking that Heavenly Father could keep it away. That phone call was heartbreaking. She had been back in Salt Lake getting treatments. The cancer came back with a vengeance and came back fast. She also found out that she had brain tumors. Really!?! I just sank and didn't know what to do. I was at my cousins wedding shower but I was able to go down and see her that night. It was so good to see her. I panted her toe nails and I had so much time just being with her. She could always put a smile on my face even though she was in so much pain. Her and Jared where heading back to Roswell in a few days after she had radiation on the brain tumors. I knew I wanted to spend as much time with her and I still had one more month before I had to go back to work. I can't remember if it was my idea or hers but we cooked up a plan for me to go down and help her out. It worked out that I drove down with them and then flew back. They picked me up at my house that thursday (July 21st) and we stopped by Sam's Club. She found the beef jerky that she loved and I will never forget how excited she was to have me coming down. They took me to a delicious pizza place in Spanish fork and then we were on our way. We spent the night in a small town in northern New Mexico. We spent some time in Albuquerque the next day. They took me to the zoo, which was awesome, and we also went and saw the temple. On our road trip we listened a lot to wicked. The song 'For Good' came on and she said that she thinks of us when it comes on and she said she wanted us to sing it at her funeral. I told her as long as she was singing with me! It was so fun to see their house. It was so cute and definitely had the Whitni touch. Whit was supposed to start chemo that week which is a big reason why I went down so I could help her out. With how things worked out they couldn't start her that week. So while she still felt like she could work she worked most of the week. So I lounged around and did nothing. And I went down wanting to help her out but she did more for me. She was so sweet, she would bring breakfast to me in bed! She said you are vacation.....oh whit! Whit always looked for ways to make other people happy. I was so glad that I got that time to spend with her.  

2011

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..... What a year. I always thought that line was so clique, but it truly expresses my feelings of 2011. I tried to make the most of 2011. I was able to do a lot of traveling, I got the summer off, and I got to spend some precious time with my best friend. Although I had  the best of times with friends and family, 2011 was filled with a lot of heartache and a lot of tears. Losing a best friend has been one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through. I am going to finish blogging about 2011 even though its over. Here's to the new year!

Europe Adventure: Part 3

BACK TO LONDON (July 9^th – July 15^th)

It was nice to go back to London where people spoke English, but I missed Paris and I missed crazy Megan. I didn’t know what I would do for another week in London but believe it or not I didn’t even get everything done that I wanted to. I guess that means I will have to go back! Lisa was awesome and picked me up at the airport. I was so glad because they had tube closures everywhere.  Lisa’s sister Stephanie came into town while I was in France, so I was glad to have someone to do stuff with while Lisa was at work.

Day 13: July 10^th

Today was a nice relaxing day. We went to church and after church we went to the Natural History Museum. It was huge and we didn’t even see half of it.  I was so excited because we found a Paul’s in London right by the church. I was so excited because I thought I would never see it again. Of course, we had lunch there. Delicious!

Day 14: July 11^th

Today, Stephanie and I ventured out to find the British Museum. It was an adventure finding it but we did pretty well. The outside of the building was awesome. It was full of exhibits on ancient Egypt and Sudan and also Greek and Roman Antiquities. My favorite thing was the Rosetta stone. I am such a nerd but being a math major I learned quite a bit about the Rosetta stone in school so it was so cool to see in person. After the museum we went and shopped on Oxford Street. I bought by white purse and an awesome pair of Barbie sunglasses. After shopping, Lisa met up with us at Regent’s park.  Regent’s park is one of the Royal parks of London. I love the parks in London but this was one of my favorites. It was beautiful.  My favorite part of the park was Queen Mary’s Garden. It was full of beautiful roses and flowerbeds.  The colors were incredible. After hanging out in the park we ate at Pizza Express (so good) and headed home for the night.

Day 15: July 12^th

Today I took off on my own to see St. Paul’s Cathedral. Stephanie and Lisa did it while I was in France and they told me I had to go. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of London and is one of London’s most famous sites. Its dome is also among the highest in the world. I did the audio tour and it was so cool to hear the history and stories of the Cathedral. I walked up a lot of stairs all the way up to the top of the Cathedral. It was an incredible view. Stephanie met up with me after and there was a Paul’s right next to the Cathedral so where did we go to lunch….yes the one and only Paul’s! We walked across the Harry potter bridge and went to the Shakespeare’s Globe. We were to late to tour the globe that day so we decided that we would come back tomorrow. We were walking beside the river and we decided to go see how much it would cost to ride on a boat. It was super cheap and so we bought tickets and took a boat to the Tower of London. It was awesome. We went underneath the Tower Bridge, it was a different view than most people see. We toured the Tower of London. The Tower of London is her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress. It is a historic castle in central London. We did the audio tour but it was confusing to stay along with the commentary. My favorite was the Crown Jewels. It was amazing to see crowns, scepter, and swords full of jewels. After the Tower of London we met up with Lisa to do the London Eye. The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel. Stephanie was scared of heights so she didn’t do it with us. It cost quite a bit of money but it was a fun thing to do once.

Day 16: July 13^th

Today, we went back to Shakespeare’s globe. I was excited about it and we took a tour that taught us some things about the theatre and about Shakespeare. I was disappointed when I found out that the building was just a reconstruction of the globe. After the globe, we went to the Royal mews, which was right by Buckingham Palace.  The Royal Mews (Royal stables) is the mews of the British Royal Family. It was cool to see a few horses and to see the carriages. The Gold State Coach is there and it just reminded me of carriages like Cinderella, which is why I enjoyed it. We then went to Kensington Palace. This was the official residence of Princess Diana. It was under construction but we got to do the haunted museum inside. It was a little weird but what can you do. We met up with Lisa right next to the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where we were going to see Wicked. I have been looking forward to this since before I even got to London. Wicked was incredible! Hands down the best show I have ever seen in my life! The story is amazing; the music was to die for. The song “For Good” hit me hard because all I could think about was Whitni. I knew that would be our song!

Day 17: July 14^th

Today, we ventured out of London and went south to the city of Brighton, which is on the coast of England. We took a train and it took a little over an hour to get there. I listened to Wicked the entire time. I was obsessed what can I say. It was cool to see a different part of England. We went to the beach and then walked the Brighton Pier. The pier was fun and we got henna tattoos. The guy was really cool that did them for us and told us things to do. He suggested we take a bus up to Devils Pyke to see the countryside. I am so glad he suggested that. We took his advice and rode on an open top double Decker bus. We got up to Devils Pyke and it was breathtaking. My pictures don’t do it justice but I would totally move there. When we got back we did some shopping and then we went and saw the Royal Pavilion. Today was a fun day.

Day 18: July 15^th

Let the travel back to the states begin. I was sad that my trip was over but I was ready to come home. I got up and made the trek to the airport. My flight wasn’t bad at all. I just watched movies the entire time. I got to Texas and it took forever to get through customs and then I had to through security.  I was so tired; it was the middle of the night London time. I had to wait a little bit for my next flight. I was so excited to turn my phone on and get tons of messages but my phone only gave me the ones from the last few days so I was a little disappointed. I sat by this guy on the way home that works on the temples and he was just getting back from working on a temple in South America. It was really cool to talk to him. I slept a little bit on the flight and then I was back to the good ole state of Utah. Cami was nice enough to pick me up from the airport. I got to the baggage claim and didn’t see her so I called her while I headed to the restroom. She didn’t believe me that I was out. She surprised me and brought Ac. It was so good to see my friends. They made me a sign and brought me Henry Weinhards. I have some of the best friends ever. I was so excited to be back that I was so tired and loopy I didn’t want to go to bed. We went downtown to see Ac’s new place and then when I got out of control Cami took me home. What a great trip. I am so grateful that I was able to do this trip. It will be a trip I will never forget.

Rosetta Stone

Queens Garden

Regents Park

Shakespeare's Globe

On our boat ride 

Inside the Tower of London

London Eye

View from the London Eye

Carriage at the Royal Mews

Gold State Coach

Kensington Palace

Wicked!

Brighton Pier

Henna

England's Countryside

Royal Pavilion