Some Moments You Never Forget

My fiancée, Pamela Jean Zwolinski, passed away on December 17, 2003 at 5:33PM Pacific Standard Time from Ovarian Germ Cell Cancer. Pamela was being cared for at the Swedish Medical Center in ICU Room 855 East Wing in Seattle, Washington.

This picture was taken on June 25, 2003. It was 1:35 PM Parisian time. If you look carefully, you can see the TechEd 2003 badge holder that Pamela and I are both wearing around our necks. We re-used them to keep Pamela's medication information close by and handy as well as our credit cards and IDs. Pamela was very down to earth and always looked for the brighter side of life in situations. Pamela had just finished crying, and saying yes. We had been dating for 8 months, and I knew Pamela Jean Zwolinksi was the one for me. I have never met a stronger, prettier, kinder, or a smarter woman with grace and charm all in one package. Moreover, she wanted to be only with me. Getting a hug from Pamela was like being in the hands of God. Complete and utter bliss. I’ve never been happier in my life. I flew my Pamela to Paris for two weeks and we had lunch in the Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.

We were escorted up the private elevator to the restaurant and walked to our table. As Pamela got to the table, she tripped and went flying into the booth side our table. Without missing a beat, Pamela managed to somehow twist, actually bounced, and sat upright in the booth smiling. Pamela was okay, but I realized that they had electrical wires lying by our tables and if I tripped, my new knee from the knee replacement surgery would not bounce like Pamela just did.

A few minutes later, the wait staff sat Donna and Larry from Manhattan, NYC and their two kids Ajay and Emma next to us. As Donna went to go put a napkin in Ajay’s lap, she also tripped and went flying into the booth. She also bounced and was unhurt. That decided it for me. I was not getting down on my knee when I proposed to Pamela in the restaurant. I was wearing her diamond ring around my neck for the last 6 weeks. After we finished lunch, I asked Pamela to marry me. Pamela cried for a couple of minutes. I went over, and sat down beside her (without actually tripping on the wires), and wiped her tears away. Pamela said yes, and then Donna grabbed my camera and took our picture. That was June 25, 2003. What a wonderful day.