Honoring my friend

I was at a school tonight where I presented a scholarship which carries the name of one of my dearest friends who died a few years ago. I have to leave the details out for anonymity's sake but I hope it's still interesting and, maybe, touching.
My friend and I worked together years ago and then parted career paths but stayed very close. She had been married and divorced and had no children. She was, as I said tonight in my little talk as I gave the scholarship, a woman of great integrity, faith and enthusiasm. She had left me some of her beautiful jewelry and I wore her garnet tennis bracelet tonight wishing so much that it was she giving the award wearing that beautiful bracelet.
Tonight, I was to tell a bit about her and then very casually surprise the winner by just throwing his name into my talk and THAT was so much fun! When I mentioned his name...saying something like "....and so now that you know (my friend) a little better, I know she'd be so proud and thrilled that (his name) is getting this award...", the whole room burst into applause for the young man and it was honestly one of the most fun moments I've had in a long time.
Later, his grandmother approached me, asking "Tell me more about (your friend)!" Both his grandmother and mother were terrific and from the inner city, so it was such a huge thing for me to be able to have my friend's scholarship help their boy get through school.
What began this whole thing was that I'd visited my friend shortly before she died and told her about the school and she was so taken with what I told her that she asked how she could help so I suggested she donate money toward a scholarship. The letter of thanks for her check that my friend got from the school came with the wonderful news that the school had decided to keep the scholarship in her name for perpetuity! I believe that letter might have been the very last thing my friend was able to read before she slipped into unconsciousness and passed on.
Anyway, I felt so grateful to be able to talk about her tonight and then to be able to thrill this boy and his family and I wanted to share it with you. Really good things do happen and I wish you could have all been there to see that boy's face. I got the feeling that though he'd never meet my friend, he'd never forget her name, and as I said "I hope you will live your life with the same great integrity, faith and enthusiasm that she had," he smiled and said "I will." I'll be taking off the garnet bracelet in a few minutes but I'll never forget this feeling and I'll never forget that boy or my friend who made his future brighter.
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