Fly High. Sing Loud. Be Brave.
Tomorrow, 30th of January, it will be the 2nd anniversary of Liberty’s Home Going. I don’t have a lot to share. It’s been a Achielean feet in this last two year. Some days Liberty’s passing was many years ago, otherdays, the loss of her leaving is screaming in my heart. I can let pity come by, but it cannot stay. Then there are the gift of feeling her dancing, and hear her singing. She is with us in her own ways.
I am grateful for a great therapist who has guided me to unravel my grief. Having her on my journey has been a gift.
I wanted to thank of you who have surrounded me with kindness and support during this month and all days. I know I have a pack of people who also love Liberty: I share my love with you.
The Wisdom of Wolves
Found this book and had to share it with all.
https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about/about-the-founders/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygmhbi6PtdM
“Working Wild U”
https://www.elli-radinger.de/the-wisdom-of-wolves/
Libby’s Music to Share
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/libbys-celebration/pl.u-11zBXDbfN4LPANq
Thank you Rachael Collins for your beautiful words for our sweet girl. I will always be grateful to you.
Obituary
Liberty Alaine Farley Jennings, 25, of Happy, passed away on January 30, 2022. She was surrounded in love by her family as she broke from her Earthly bonds into the arms of God.
Born on January 9, 1997 in Ruidoso, New Mexico, Liberty was welcomed into this world by her mom and older sister, Mariah, who was their birthing coach. Mariah never stopped being Liberty’s coach, best friend, and protector. They had a fierce bond that only grew stronger as the years passed by, a duo seldom separated. Shortly after birth, Liberty, her mom, and Mariah moved back to Amarillo, Texas so they could be closer to their Grandmother Geva and Yaya Helen.
Always an active and inquisitive child, Liberty loved all things outdoors. She spent countless hours trying to save spiders, baby bunnies, snakes, and any stray animal she could find. She earned the nickname “eagle eye” for being able to spot what others couldn’t when outdoors. She wanted to be the Crocodile Hunter when she grew up as Steve Irwin was her hero. For more than a year she wore a Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter outfit daily and ran around yelling “Crikey” at everything she found outside. Around the same time she also wanted to be a paleontologist because she loved dinosaurs or a rock star. In her best version of adulthood, she really wanted to figure out how to be all three. In 2005, she began helping her moms at Elkins Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon as a Lil’ Ranch Hand, and for the next four summers, she helped to welcome guests for the jeep tours or serve chuckwagon breakfasts. She loved Palo Duro Canyon and camping trips. Often she could be found atop a rock staring into the distance. When asked what she was doing, her reply was simple: “meditating.” Her other love was the mountains of New Mexico. Nothing brought a smile to her face quite like seeing “her” mountains. When at home, she could be found in the trees that lined the property of her house in Happy. She loved and adored her cousins Jasmin and Xavier and they spent so much time exploring the lots around the house. Even once Liberty became too sick to play, one of her greatest joys was being with her cousins who could always make her laugh and smile.
Sing Loud. Music was an important part of Liberty’s world. She and her mom had a playlist for anything and everything. Even in her sickest moments, a favorite song would play and Liberty’s eyes would light up. Even once she lost her voice, she would still sing the words to her songs with perfect pitch. She always had a song in her heart and loved to dance. Liberty’s go to dance was lovingly dubbed “Libby’s Happy Feet” dance by her family. In 2003, she started singing in church and in 2005 she played Caiaphas in her church’s ASL rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar. In junior high, Liberty proudly played the trumpet for the Happy High School Band. Around this time, she could also be found with a book in her hands. Her favorites were the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, and any of Janet Evanovich’s books. She loved that series so much that she began contemplating becoming a bounty hunter.
Fly High. In 2010 in the middle of her 8th grade school year, Liberty was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Even after her diagnosis and her body’s slow decline, Liberty was the life of every room she was in. Her smile and bright and beautiful blue eyes drew everyone to her. Her spirit was infectious. She attended and graduated from Caprock High School. While there, she was an active member of the Key Club, the National Honor Society, and the choir. She became very involved in the art program and painted and painted and painted some more. As a senior, she was elected prom queen by her fellow students and later was met to a standing applause on graduation night when she walked across the stage. Upon graduating from high school, Liberty went to Amarillo College to continu painting in the art program for as long as her hands let her hold a paintbrush. For her 21st birthday, her parents held an art show at a local art gallery. Liberty and her art work were center stage. She was positively radiant as friends and family came to admire her art.
Be Brave. Liberty was and continues to be an inspiration to everyone who met her. One could not see her smile and not be changed for the better. She loved everyone intensely and completely and tended to collect people who were drawn to her beautiful spirit. She bravely faced her illness and when given insurmountable odds told others that she didn’t need to “be brave” because she’s “got this,” but she wanted others to be brave. Liberty was a bright light and the embodiment of pure love. Her memory will continue to inspire others to be brave.
Fly High. Sing Loud. Be Brave.
Liberty was preceded in death by her great grandmother Geneva Farley Bumpus; her Papa, Terry Collins; her Grandma Yaya, Helen Jennings; her grandfather, Bert Jennings, and great grandmother, Bernice Jennings. She is survived by her mothers Ileana Jennings and Rachael Collins of Happy Texas; her sister and brother-in-law Mariah and Derrick Neusch of Amarillo, Texas; her Grandmother, Linda Collins, of Happy Texas, her Aunt and Uncle Jennifer and Caebhin Howell of Amarillo, Texas, her beloved cousins, Jasmin and Xavier Howell of Amarillo, Texas, her Uncle and Aunt, David and Mirtha Beveridge, of Garland, Texas, and so many dear friends and family members whose lives she has touched.
