ELIZABETH

In her brief nineteen years on earth, Elizabeth created drawings, paintings, photographs she took and printed, poetry and short stories and essays, music she composed and won awards for, and even a choreographed dance recorded at the senior concert at the high

school she attended and loved, the School of Creative and Performing Arts, where she toured with award winning choirs, took jazz piano, modern dance, Irish step dancing, photography and art classes.

We are just up and running and are able to share examples of her poetry and artwork and hope in the future to share her music and dance.

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Elizabeth loved children.  From an early age, she would take the younger siblings of students aside and tutor them in reading, and math, though she was barely older than them.  She began teaching at the Montessori school in Del Mar at fifteen where she taught music and dance.  She wanted to teach children as a career, as she reveals several

times in her journals.

At Mesa Jr College she took jazz dance and theater, joining the Mesa College Theater group, which expanded her ever growing circle of friends and collaborators.  She appeared in one play before she passed away, winning best supporting actor while her boyfriend Greg won best actor for the same play.

Elizabeth learned piano at an early age.  Her mother being a pianist and teacher, Elizabeth would kick, while in the womb, when Anita's students played certain pieces that were played over and over.  She begin to play simple melodies before she could talk.  She was playing classical pieces for church audiences at eight, played and practiced her

entire life.  She learned violin from Jamie Shadowlight at the age of nine, maintaining a close friendship after she stopped lessons, and continued to play until she left our world.  She sang jazz standards with a beautiful nuanced soprano, singing at our New Year's Eve party two days before we would lose her.

She left early in the morning Jan 2nd, to avoid the traffic in LA.  She was driving, her boyfriend Greg was a passenger.  They were on the way to visit SF, Elizabeth's favorite city.  It was raining an inch of rain an hour in the valley, where it rarely rains that hard.  Outside of Coalinga, on Highway 5 she lost control of her Toyota in the morning. 

There was one abandoned car left on the side of the freeway, surrounded by open fields and she and her boyfriend slid into it.  Her airbag inflated but she died instantly of a broken neck.

She had a spirit that transcended the surface qualities of people and found beauty in so many.  At her service, the diversity of people whom she had loved was inspiring.  In her brief life, she was a connector, and made a deep impact into the hearts of all that knew her. She had so many facets of being and was able to relate and love deeply, without boundries.

We promise to provide more of her story and share her work and her spirit as this site develops. For the many who knew her, if you would like to share a story of Elizabeth, or your story, please visit the Lizfest23 Facebook page and share.  

The gallery on the right contains photos of Elizabeth and paintings, drawings, photos and designs that she created.