This eulogy was written and delivered by Erin Peterson, who was to be Tiffany's maid of honor.

Tiffany lived her life with joy and adventure and passion.

We all know that she was diversely talented as a photographer, a skier, a cook, a singer, a scientist, and a writer.  I want to share a few of my memories that illustrate her warmth and passion.

Tiffany and I were roommates in Chicago the year she and T.J. began their long distance courtship.  We had so much fun analyzing T.J.’s every move trying to determine his intentions.  Fortunately, their connection was soon apparent for she found in T.J. a man she respected and loved to her core.  I thoroughly enjoyed my first row seat to their beautiful love story.

After Tiffany moved away from Chicago, we would talk almost every other day and sometimes two or three times a day.  But we had a unique relationship, for we were so close despite the fact that we rarely saw each other, given the many miles that separated us.  Therefore, we cherished every opportunity to reconnect if only for a short while.  For example, last winter, we huddled in an airport coffee shop when she had an hour and 45-minute layover in Chicago.  It was such a treat for both of us.

Tiff put so much energy into celebrating and nourishing her friendships.  I could always anticipate a heartfelt card or e-mail message that conveyed just the right sentiments to celebrate my success or lift my spirits.  When I had another knee surgery last winter, she called at least once a day during my initial recovery to say, “Hey Babe, just checking in.” There were so many times when we would be talking on the phone at 11:30 at night and she was just starting to make some yummy home baked treat to take to a friend the next day to cheer them up.  She had an amazing ability to make everyone feel so important.

Tiffany’s love for her friends and family was so genuine.  For instance, she called me four times the day she found out that Katie and Tyler were expecting a child because she said she was just so excited to be an aunt to the “little doodlebug.” Whenever I confided in her, she would ask what seemed like a thousand detailed questions in an effort to truly understand my feelings.  She cared so much that it was important for her to fully empathize with my situation.

Tiffany had so many friends that it was impossible to keep them all straight.  I teased her that she needed to make a spreadsheet describing each one.  Over the past few days, I have had an opportunity to meet many of Tiffany’s amazing friends and family.  I see a little bit of Tiffany in all of them.  She was so beautiful that she attracted the most extraordinary people.

Tiff was so much fun.  She had a delightful sense of humor that was gentle and charming.  A few years ago, she spontaneously decided to visit me for a couple of days in Chicago.  I was initially disappointed because I had already planned to take 50 high school students to volunteer at the Chicago Marathon.  She was delighted and asked to tag along.  Since Tiff was a marathon veteran, she knew how important it was for the volunteers to encourage the runners so we started singing “Move on down the Road” from the Wiz and “Keep on Moving” from the Brady Bunch Show.  Not only did we sing but we incorporated what we felt were appropriate dance moves.  Now, my students listen to rap and salsa music so they had no idea what we were singing and they thought we were lunatics.  Eventually a group of them joined in the fun.  We all had a blast.

Tiffany was feisty and spirited.  Some of you may know that she had surgery on both of her feet a couple of years ago.  She wasn’t allowed to walk for several weeks.  I have the most delightful memory of her scooting around the house lying on her stomach on a little wheeled dolly with her legs in the air.  She looked hysterical.  She was a fighter.  She was not going to allow a mere nuisance to interfere with living her life.

Tiffany had an adventurous spirit.  At times she reminded me of the Where’s Waldo series.  Instead of locating the Waldo character somewhere on the page of a children’s book, the Where’s Tiff series would require the players to locate Tiff somewhere on the world atlas.  Tiff believed that the world is filled with beauty, goodness, and love and she was committed to experiencing and seeing it all.  She found joy in every place she visited for she was genuinely curious to embrace the history and culture of the local population.  It was such a treat to look at her beautiful travel photos and listen to her detailed stories about her many adventures and the interesting people she had met.

I believe there are people who are born to be educators for they relish exploring the world with others.  Tiffany had an insatiable curiosity that was contagious.  She was passionately committed to environmental conservation and education as demonstrated by her work at the Conservancy Association, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and Wilderness Ventures.

She recently decided to go back to school at Penn to obtain her teaching certificate.  She loved her classes and had earned an A+ on all of her assignments.  Since I am a teacher, we had so much fun talking about her classes as well as her teaching experiences.  This week, she was scheduled to go through a second interview and teach a sample lesson at the Baldwin School, an innovative private high school in Philly.  She was so excited about this opportunity for she said the faculty was extraordinary and the students were so bright.  When I notified them about Tiffany, they replied that they fully intended to hire her for they were so impressed with her credentials and enthusiasm.  They knew that Tiff would have been an outstanding addition to the Baldwin family for it was apparent that she was a passionate scientist and she loved working with children.  They knew that she would have inspired her students to be stewards of the earth.

Tiffany continues to teach us.  She inspires us to live as she lived.  Full of joy and adventure and passion.  In her memory, may we all revisit our priorities, tell people how much we love them, nurture our dreams, explore the world, follow our hearts, and live passionately.  Yes, may we all live as Tiffany lived.  Full of joy and adventure and passion.