REMEMBERING ASHLEIGH

by Jim Rauch, Pastor
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Escondido, California

 She was a girl with a sparkle in her eyes, joy in her heart, and feet that loved to dance.

 Ashleigh Elizabeth Roach was born May 29, 1987 at Palomar Hospital in Escondido.   She lived her entire life in Valley Center.  She was baptized as an infant (right here) at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and attended Valley Center schools for elementary, middle, and high school.

 In her childhood years, her primary interests were kittens, puppies, dogs, cats, and animals of all shapes and sizes.  She and my daughter Jesse shared a great love of those Little Pet Shop toy animals, and Jesse loved when Ashleigh would come to visit -- they could spend hours together setting up little animal stories and ceremonies in a little world of their own imagining.  And if they weren’t playing with little pet shop, they would dress up in elegant clothes, gloves, and jewelry from the dress up box and fancy themselves to be fine ladies or princesses. 

Ashleigh loved to draw pictures and present them as gifts for her family, but since she was not a terribly gifted artist, she would often have to explain to her family what exactly it was that she had drawn.  From her early years she always loved to dance – even before she learned the finer points of Irish dance, she loved to dance for her grandpa.

When John & Lori became involved with the Irish community of San Diego, and the Pride of Erin Ceili Dancers, they brought their children along, and Ashleigh took to Irish dance and the Irish community with great enthusiasm.

When Ashleigh was a toddler in diapers, John & Lori used to often reach out and pinch her little behind – so Ashleigh got it into her head that this was a very appropriate greeting for people to give to one another.  Several members of the Irish community, perhaps Jim & Mary Tierney (the founders of the Pride of Erin), and Sister Emyrd Flood may remember their first encounter with Ashleigh when she came from behind to give them a pinch in a rather surprising place.  And I believe Sister Flood, a good Catholic nun, let out quite a whoop when Ashleigh first made contact with her.

As the family learned the ways of Irish Dance, little Ashleigh could often be found perched on the shoulders of the various men as they stepped and reeled to the sound of lively music.  She loved being part of the pageantry and part of the community.  As she grew older, Ashleigh learned the finer points of Irish Dance, first at the Harney Academy, then with Shiela Depuis at the Carrickethan School in Poway, and most recently at the Rose Academy with Patricia Rose.

A prominent place in Ashleigh’s heart has always been reserved for the firefighters of the nearby Valley Center Fire Station.  Her love for this group of people began when Ashleigh was about 10 years old.  While John & Lori were focused on making a home for the family, Ashleigh focused on making friends.  One day she walked over to the fire station and said hello to the firefighters and introduced herself to them.  She came home and asked her mom if she could bake cookies.   Ashleigh loved to bake and cook and be with mom in the kitchen.  After they had baked a batch of cookies, Ashleigh wrapped them up as a gift as she had seen her mother do so many times, and she headed out the door to bring them to her new friends at the fire station.

 Ashleigh took a special liking to Kirt Zingheim because he drove the truck.   But when Valentine’s Day came around, Ashleigh had to make sure to present individual Valentines to EACH ONE of the firefighters.

 Ashleigh would often bring board games along with her to the fire station, and she had many good times playing games with the fire fighters during some of their down time.  Whenever Ashleigh showed up at the fire station, they always made sure to call home to make sure that mom and dad knew Ashleigh was there.