This is Michael:
Beth was born in Grove City, MN, a small farming community 2 hours west of Minneapolis. The eldest of 5 children, she had grace and peace with her from the time she was born.
I remember the first time I met her, in early 1995. I was working in IBM in Australia, and this beautiful woman just floated into the room. Some people carry their energy, love and spirit with them; with Beth her energy, love and spirit carried her. I truly thought she was 2 inches off the ground when she walked in the room.
Beth sat down nearby to check her email, where I could see her and proceeded to not notice me. Being a man, I thought she must like me because she was ignoring me - later I found out she hadn't even noticed me! I made sure in the next couple of days we got to talk and get to know each other.
I chased her for 15 months until she caught me. The commute between Melbourne and Dallas, and meeting up in various parts of the world got a bit much. We started living together in June 1996 in Tokyo in Hotel Okura, and moved to a small apartment called Elite Inn in Tokyo. She was a stunner in Japan - a 5'9" blond woman who could speak Japanese - she shocked many Japanese men!!
A year later we moved to Singapore, and had a great 2 years there. At the end of the 2 years, Beth was pregnant with Jayde and we moved to Connecticut for 4 years, and then on to Phoenix where Beth had studied her MBA.
Rather than reciting a list of facts, this is what is important. Beth had a charm and grace that I have never seen before or since. She touched children and adults so gently and kindly with a word, a smile or a touch. I remember a couple of times getting worked up about something, and she would gently touch me on the arm, and the world was all of a sudden a better place and it wasn't a problem anymore.
Beth also was so truly focused on delivering the message of a better life through love, food and nutrition. We all have many stories about Beth and many of them revolve around food. From using beet juice for red icing on a birthday cake, to inspiring Jayde's school to buld an organic garden and kitchen for all to enjoy. It was all about food, love, friendship, peace, joy, playfulness and good health.
During this time, we met many fantastic people and made many friends from all over the world, including Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Europe and other places. I have some photos of Beth in India with some beaming kids sitting on her lap. I asked her who they were and Beth said "they were some beautful kids with great smiles, and I just had to scoop them up and get a photo with them". They wouldn't leave her alone, and apparently they were her guides for the rest of the day after that.
We all miss her, but we all have felt the joy of being with her.
