I want to thank everyone for coming today. Mia is a special part of all our lives and I know she can see you all here now. This is extremely tough for
me to do, but I will try to get through it the best I can and I want to do it for Mia. Most of you that know me, know that I can be long winded and I
could talk for ever, especially about Mia, but I will try to keep it some what short.
I can remember the first day that I met Mia, Like it was yesterday. I was working at a print shop in Pennsylvania when Mia came in for a job
interview. I was the first person she had talked to when she came in. When she first said “Hello” and smiled at me I knew she was special. I
remember that she had a short bob haircut and was wearing a black button up top, with black and white stripped spandex on. All day I kept hoping
she would get hired. When she started working they put her with me to train her. By the end of the week I already knew she would be a big part of
my life some how. Once we started hanging out all the time and she asked me to move in with her I knew it was going to be forever.
Mia and I balanced each other very well. When we met she was very responsible, but very care free. Where I was very uptight (hard to believe, huh)
and never wanted to grow up. She was a vegetarian and ate very healthy, I am a meat eater and eat junk food all the time. She did get me to start
eating a few vegetables though, but I couldn’t get her to eat steak. She would always say that she loved animals so much that she couldn’t even eat
them. Which is why both our cats and dog were rescues. She would also be feeding the stray cats where ever we lived. When we lived in
Pennsylvania she would even feed all the posuems and raccoons that would come around. She was afraid of animals at times, but her heart was much
bigger than her fear.
Mia and I had worked five different jobs together. Not a lot of people would want to work with their spouse, but Mia and I preferred it and loved
being together all the time. We met working at a print shop, so it was nice that the last place we worked was a print shop. It feels like it all came
full circle. Mia’s true passion was doing hair. She had always encouraged me, as well as others to do what we loved. I gave her some of her own
advice and encouraged her to go back into doing hair. She had the ability to not only make people look good, but to feel good too. She built strong
bonds with her clients, which turned into strong friendships. Mia just seemed to touch people’s hearts everywhere she went. Even though she had a
strong stubbornness and an I can do anything type personality, she had a huge loving soft gentle side too. She was truly beautiful, inside and out.
She would always put others before herself and do whatever she could to make someone else’s life brighter and better. This is one of the things I
absolutely loved about her.
Everyone who knows us, knows that we were both heavily into music and movies. Mia was not the typical wife and she wasn’t a girly type woman.
Mia loved all kinds of music and Nine Inch Nails was her favorite band, which she finally got to see live on her birthday two years ago. Her favorite
movies were The Professional, Dracula, Transformers and Lord Of The Rings. No romantic comedies for her! In fact, our wedding rings are the Lord
Of The Rings love rings. No, I did not suggest these rings to her. Mia wanted them, but I felt the enscription was perfect for us. They read “One
Ring To Show Our Love, One Ring To Bind Us. One Ring To Seal Our Love And Forever Intwind Us.” This is why we would love going to Universal
Studios and Halloween Horror Nights all the time.
Mia and I loved to travel and we have been to a bunch of places. When we lived in Pennsylvania every few years we would come down here to
Florida, we went to Colorado, Vegas and many other places. My favorite trip was when we went to England for our 10 year anniversary. I never
thought I would ever leave the country and don’t think I would have if I wasn’t with Mia. I may travel in the future, but it won’t be the same
without Mia by my side. This August would be 20 years for Mia and I being together. We were planning a huge trip to either Norway/Sweden/Finland
or Japan. I would have loved to been able to make it so we could have had one more huge memory together.
Mia was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2009. She fought a long tough battle for a year and a half. She did chemo, radiation and had two major
surgeries. In that time she had only missed two days of work other than the surgeries. The day of the first surgery, my family and hers were there
all day waiting, in typical Mia fashion, the first thing she did was apologies for making us wait. Then the next thing she did was ask my sister Tara,
“Is My Wig On Straight?”. Always concerned about others even when she had just gone through a major surgery. Once Mia beat cancer we decided
to sell all our stuff and our house and move to Colorado. Most people thought we were crazy, because we had no jobs, no place to live and didn’t
know anyone. We had each other and that’s all we needed. It was scary and exciting, but we knew as long as we were together we could do it. After
two years we moved here to Florida. Mia wanted to be here to take care of her parents. I wanted her here in case this were to happen. I knew Mia
needed to be with her family for her, but luckily it was for us too. Once again, Mia fought a long battle, longer than any of us expected. She didn’t do
it for herself, she did it for all of us. She knew how sad we would all be without her and felt all the love we had for her. She tried to hang on for as
long as she could, thinking of others right to the end.
Mia was not a real religious person, but extremely spiritual. She had a beautiful bright glow to her. Seeing her smile would always make my day
better. Mia has always been very special to me right from the start. I always tried to keep her in a bubble around me and keep her close to my heart
as much as possible. Seeing all the love, prayers and all the wonderful things people had to say about her makes me realize how special she really is.
Believe it or not, Mia and I are very private and prideful people and would never reach out to others for help. Seeing how generous and
understanding everyone has been of our situation really touched our hearts. I want to thank all the people who have sent donations, came to see Mia
when she was home sick, brought my mom and I food, all our families and friends, especially those of you who have come from out of town. Thank
you to our SPI family for all you guys have done. You all have gone above and beyond what most companies would do. We both really appreciate all
the time you’ve let me have to spend with her. Especially a big thank you for hiring her in the first place, because all that time we got to work
together means a lot more to me now. I also want to thank my mother for coming down here from Pennsylvania two different times to help me take
care of Mia. I don’t know if I could have done it without you. I know it made Mia feel comforted knowing you were here for both of us. I can’t thank
you enough for what you have done, you don’t know how important it was to us both.
I have spent almost half my life with Mia and it’s going to be very difficult for me to go through the rest of my life without her by my side. Every
one of us here is here because Mia has a special place and memories in their hearts. Please take those memories and cherish them. We are all the
lucky ones to have had her in our lives. The world has become a darker place without Mia’s beautiful bright spirit. When I have difficulties and feel
like I can’t go on, I will think of her bright beautiful warm smile to push me through another day.
I want to close out by playing one of our favorite songs. The song is “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones. Mia and I are not big Rolling Stones
fans, but we love this song. The song means more to me now that she is gone. The song is about a guy who has lost his love and doesn’t know how to
go on without her. He can no longer see color and his whole world is black. Mia was definitely the color in my life.
I see a red door and I want it painted black. No colors any more, I want them to turn black.
I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes. I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.
I see a line of cars and they're all painted black. With flowers and my love both never to come back.
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away. Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day.
I look inside myself and see my heart is black. I see my red door I must have it painted black.
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts. It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black.
No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue. I could not foresee this thing happening to you.
If I look hard enough into the setting sun. My love will laugh with me before the morning comes.
I see a red door and I want it painted black. No colors any more, I want them to turn black.
I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes . I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.
I wanna see it painted, painted black. Black as night, black as coal.
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky. I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black.
This version that I picked is a cover version by Ciara. The reason I picked this version is it was the last song that was playing during the credits of
the last movie Mia and I watched together. I LOVE YOU MIA!
- Burt Wolf
My family and I are happy to see so many friends and relatives here today. Your love and support means so much to us. If Mia were here today she
would be extremely happy that so many of you are here to celebrate her life. We are all here because we loved her. For those who don’t know us I’
m Marina and this is Melissa, we are Mia’s sisters.
We have been extremely close as sisters all our lives, we are only a few years apart in age, so growing up we had each other to relate to. Mia is the
oldest of the 3 of us. When we were growing up I thought she was the coolest thing in the world. I wanted to be just like her. She was an amazing
sister. I admired her and always followed her around. She always tried to protect us from everything. She was definitely the mother hen. She
worried about us up until her last moments. She wanted to make sure everyone else would be okay when it was time for her to go.
My sister has got to be the strongest person I know to have gone through everything she went through. I respect her courage and bravery. She was
brave and I learned that life is about living every moment and enjoying the people around you.
Mia had a great sense of humor. She always made people laugh. She was a great story teller. Some of my greatest memories are of all of us sitting
around the living room while Mia would stand in the middle recreating a funny story of one of us. She was so dramatic in telling the story that we
could picture it in our heads. She would make us laugh so hard that it hurt. She especially liked telling stories of when we were young and the silly
things we all did. And then Mia met Burt who was equally dramatic in telling stories.
Anyone who knew Mia is aware of her heart of gold. She was constantly doing things for people. She cared so much for her friends and family. My
sister will always be remembered for her positive attitude, strength and generosity.
There are so many things I could say about my sister, but there are really not enough words to express what a wonderful person she was. What I
can say is She is loved, she will be missed, and we will keep her with us every day.
- Marina Waddell
Today is the day I say goodbye, I still hold you in my heart
Today I may cry, I know we will never be apart
I will see you throughout this life, In every precious moment
Peacefully sleep and dance for me, My soul and my sister
I will meet you in my dreams, I will hug you so tight, My soulful sister
I will look up to the sky, I wipe the tears from my eyes
I will remember you as days pass on by, I will see your glimmer up in the night sky, My soulful sister
Thankful for time we spent together , You will forever swim in deepest parts of me. My soulful sister
Tenderness you've shown without any thought and the heartache you've fought, My dear sister
I will forever see your beauty, Sing and be free for your little honey bee. My soulful sister
- Melissa Waddell
I can still picture the first time I met sweet Mia. It was at one in a series of many Goldwell color education classes. As you can gather Mia and I
worked as hairstylists in Pennsylvania. She was welcoming and friendly from that first day. Always willing to share her knowledge and ready to listen
to others, whether about coloring techniques or just life. She always presented a zest for life and wanted to make sure you were OK. I am humbled
by her fight with breast cancer. She would throw her wig on and go with me to a haircutting class and this for a hairstylist was not an easy feat.
A couple of times I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Burt and Mia. It was so sweet to see how attentive they were to each other even down
to Burt needing to eat vegetables. It was pointed out to me that everything in his plate was white, turkey, gravy and potatoes. He just turned to her
and smiled and said OK Honey. I truly feel blessed to have seen first hand there love for each other and to have had Mia in my life.
Rest in Peace Sweet Soul. Hugs and Kisses Always,
Your friend - Abbe Reznick.
Dearest Mia,
MY GREATEST TEACHER
Thank you for your presence in my life. Thank you for being a great teacher. Thank you for being a great influence. You taught me about "The
Path". You introduced me to living a life from a higher vibration. This was an incredible gift to receive. THANK YOU.
You taught me about Passion. You helped me uncover my passion for hair and what it means to live a passion based life. THANK YOU.
You taught me about Connection. You showed me connection is real through the infinite connection we share. You taught me to believe in myself
because you believed in me. THANK YOU.
You taught me about the power of knowledge. You showed me knowledge is the way to self confidence. THANK YOU.
You taught me about positivity. You showed me I always have a choice even though sometimes this feels monumentally difficult. THANK YOU.
Most of all, you taught me forgiveness. This is the greatest gift one soul could give another. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
Thank you for being you and teaching me so much. You alone changed the course of my life and it is important to me that you know that.
Truly you are an inspiration to me and so many others.
With ALL my love, - Trisa McAvenny
I thought I would start off with a favorite memory of Mia. Many years ago I stayed with Burt and Mia for a little while when I was getting back on my
feet after separating from my husband. It was my brothers “tradition” to spend Sundays working on his magazine, eating a steak and baked potato
and watching the Eagles game. One Sunday we were watching together, and Mia was with us – and she was NOT a football fan. As the time was
winding down off the clock, and the Eagles were only up by three leaving Burt and I on the edge of our seats, Mia was glad it was over. Burt said “it’s
not over, there are still six seconds on the clock” and Mia uttered the infamous words “What can happen in six seconds?” And with that, the fastest
guy I’ve ever seen on two feet ran a kick off all the way back for a touchdown – in six seconds.
Mia was an amazing spirit, and she is here with us today. She has touched all of our lives in one way or another, and left her mark, and hopefully we
will be forever changed by knowing her. She had an uncanny way of making connections wherever she went, life long connections in some cases. A
sweet, kind, soft spoken woman that had a smile that would make you smile. She was a wonderful aunt to my daughter and a wonderful friend and
sister-in-law to me. She was a woman that made our family a better family, made my brother a better man and made the world a better place. Her
loss will be felt by so many people, for a long time.
It’s sad and tragic when a life like this is taken at such a young age, and it makes us angry. It makes us question things, things we understand and
things we don’t. We say “why her?” I know that she was sent here to learn something, and more importantly to teach us something. I encourage
you all to take whatever it is you learned from her, give that to someone else. Whatever she taught you with her life, teach that to someone else.
Whatever she shared with you, share that with others.
Dick, Josie, Marina and Melissa – thank you for sharing Mia with all of us. Burt, thank you for making Mia a part of our family.
I know that she as at peace now, and she is no longer suffering. I also know that she would not want us to suffer over her passing. When you leave
here today, and return to the world, take her with you. Take her kindness, her generosity, her smile, and her love of life – and spread it
everywhere. Take her with you wherever you go. Spread her love all over this planet, she wants it that way.
- Tara Wolf
She Is Gone.
You can shed tears because she is gone – or you can smile because she lived.
You can close your eyes & pray for her to come back – or you can open your eyes & see all she left behind.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her – or you can be full of the love she shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow & live in the yesterday – or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her & only that she is gone – or you can cherish her memory & let it live on.
You can cry, close your mind, be empty & turn your back – or you can do what she would want… smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
- Carol Goldstein
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