Our beloved sister Traci Shimel passed peacefully yesterday. She was a person who cared about things that really mattered..her family, her friends, and being a passionate educator. She loved children with all of her being, was devoted to her daughter and son in law and their 5 children.  She was quirky, had a great laugh and she loved (most especially) terrible jokes.  Traci  devoted her life to teaching and to learning and she thought deeply about the children she taught.  She didn't pay attention to whether she paid her utility bill on time but she was at your door in a heartbeat if you needed help.  She wore baggy clothes that she often bought in the men's department at the local discount store because what she wore wasn't important, but she gave generously of her time and thoughtful wisdom--she spent many hours with me as we talked of parenting and educating (and our two sons are the better for it).  She loved chocolate, baseball and birding.  When she got colon cancer, she told her doctor a colostomy bag was on her "not bucket" list but when she came out of the surgery to learn they weren't able to resection her colon as planned, she accepted it with grace and she and "Anustasia" went on many bucket list adventures together over the next 7 years with good spirits and a positive outlook (although Anustasia was cursed with some regularity).  I am thankful for the 7 years we had with her after that diagnosis (and a special thanks to the folks at MD Anderson in Houston, who kept her alive after her Colorado doctors gave up on her).  My whole family and her many friends will miss her and hold her memory dear for the rest of our lives.  We are better people for having had her in our life.