I only really got to know  cousin Adeline when we started exchanging emails in 2014, catching up on what was happening in both our families. Adeline lived in the UK and I and my siblings lived in Germany and the USA. We cousins had been living for so many years so far apart, we hardly knew each other. As we shared photos and details of our lives, I was very impressed by Adeline's artistic talents as a cake decorator, as well as by her physical fitness - she told me she regularly went trail running in the forest near her home! She also shared many excellent photographs (she was also a talented photographer) taken during nature walks and visits to historic buildings in the UK- they were fascinating.

In 2017, I and my husband were blessed to be able to attend Rachael's wedding in London and meet up with Adeline and her family, and in the following year, a few of us cousins worked together (over the internet, as we all lived in different countries) to plan the Tow family reunion held in Singapore in Nov 2018. The reunion was a wonderful time of fellowship and bonding which was over far too quickly.

In early 2019 Adeline asked if I and my husband would like to join her and her family in Penang in the summer to celebrate her mother's birthday and since we had already planned a trip to Malaysia for later that year, I declined. How I now wish we had taken the opportunity to see her again! 

Adeline was so very courageous and positive during her last months - in her phone messages updating friends and family, she showed unwavering faith in God and never once complained.  Knowing her was, and will always be a blessing and I will truly miss her.

Cousin Grace