My cousin, the badass

I’m Amy and I am the one of Chip’s cousins. Our Moms are sisters and, as a family, we’ve always been extremely close. By age, I’m sandwiched between Rachel and Chip.

While the Rohrs did move around a lot, we remained close and we got together at every opportunity. I think back to the summer vacations we all spent at Sunset Beach, North Carolina.  For years, every summer, our two families would rent a beach house together and those weeks were some of the best weeks of my life.

Speaking of the beach… there’s one particular story I’d like to share that involves Chip and his (and my) loathing of chores.

Now, at the beach house, the Moms took care of the food. They pre-planned the meals before our arrival, they shopped at the local Food Lion, they cooked the dinners – and they were NOT going to be on clean-up duty. I get it. Totally fair.

So, with a house full of five kids, we became the clean-up crew. The first year, the Moms let us choose our partners. I paired up with Rachel and Chip, Becky, & Leah were the other team.

When the week was over, the Moms realized that this was a bad idea …… because Chip and I weren’t the hardest of workers. Rach ended up doing all the work on my team and Becky and Leah did all of the work on Chip’s team.

The Moms wised-up the following year (and all subsequent years) and assigned the following clean-up crews: Rachel and Becky, Chip and me, Leah and Uncle Walt (because yes, we have to bring Walt into the mix!)    

The Moms knew they had to put us two boneheads together.

And, looking back, it was a fine idea, but… it took Chip and me FOREVER!

I mean, before we could clean off the dinner table and start on the dishes we needed to set the tone by choosing the right music to do the dishes to, and then we needed to show off our best dance moves to said music…

So, slowly, very slowly, but very groovily, we eventually finished the task.

I think back at these yearly dish-duty memories, and so, so many others, with a smile.

Now, as much as Chip could be a goof-ball (and yes, that was most of the time), he could also be serious. Chip could talk with anyone of any age.  Whether it was his 3-year-old niece or his 93-year old grandfather, Chip had this natural ability to connect with everyone.

The four of us standing up here  (Rachel, Leah, Becky and myself) collectively have 160 years of memories of Chip. We’ve seen it all: the good and the bad, the triumphs and the defeats, the smiles and the tears, and the love --- and there is ALWAYS love.

Now, I’d like to ask each of you to all take a few seconds to think about Chip and the absolute joy he brought to all of our lives.

When I think about my younger cousin, I think about his contagious smile, the glimmer in his eye when he was up to no good, or that infectious giggle. God, that giggle.

Today … my heart is broken and dark, but underneath that – deeper into my being – into my soul – there is a warmth that grows when I think about Chip.

That warmth WILL take over and WILL endure forever as we all continue to share the positive impact he had over all of us. It’s now our task to keep alive that Chipper magic.

One of Chip’s last wishes was to have the four of us up here together to speak. I am beyond honored that we could fulfill his wish.

I love you, Chip.