Stephanie Part Three

My latest update in the saga of Stephanie and I. January 20, 2006. Here it is as I received it in my email.

1/20/06. Dear Barry,

I'm writing to you in regards to Stephanie Shumate. 

 I'm her sister, Sandy.  I'm about to give you some shocking news and I'm so sorry there isn't an easier way to do this.

We lost Stef on August 4.  During a hiking trip, Stef went out on her own early in the 

morning and evidently got too close to the edge of a cliff.  There was a rockslide and she fell several hundred feet to her death. 

The family had moved back to Danville in theand Stef lived with her boyfriend in Berkeley.  She was happy with her life and doing what she loved.  We lost our dad 7 months later in a plane crash so it was a pretty devastating time for our family.

Stef never lived in Chicago so I don't know why someone would have thought that.  I'm surprised that no one at the address you were sending cards to in Chicago ever informed you that you had the wrong information.

Again, I'm sorry for the upsetting news.  We have a couple of newspaper clippings but details are pretty sketchy.  Let me know if you would like copies or have any questions I can try to answer.

Take care, Sandy   

   (hummingbird1@netzero.com)  

And my response that day.

1/20/06. Hi Sandy,

I am so sorry to hear that. She meant a great deal to me…well, you know that if you read the letter I sent. I did and still do love her. Thank you for letting me know. Yes, I would like to see copies if you do not mind…emailing them is fine but mail is OK as well. The address in Chicago came from the class reunion group! I will have to let them know. The vital stats of the state do list her death. I should have checked that before bothering you guys by using the back address! Please forgive my insensitivity. I met and liked your dad very much as well. I am sure that was rough for you all. I am glad I didn’t know until now. I am typing through tears as it is.

Did she go to Berkeley and not UC Davis then? In summer, I talked with her often when she worked at the Cinema and I was sure that she was talking up Davis.

Did she ever have children? I hope she had a happy life. Do you happen to have any photos you can email as well. Just a couple from those last few years… All I have are the ones from high school.

I remember you from Mesa High as well by the way! Before Estancia!!! You were in the band correct? And I saw that Janet also went to Estancia. My brother Jeff went there and she is in one of his yearbooks. Luckily I had seen that Janet married Jim C or this would never have got to you.

I can’t tell you how sad I am but I thank you so much for giving me the information.

Please give my love and very belated condolences to all.

Best wishes, Barry

It was a crushing end to a dream. I always expected to be able to talk to her once more sometime in my life. That will never happen now and may not have anyway. Those things are never as sure as we think they might be.

Sandy and I now write regularly. She has become a dear friend now.

This romance now has reached the proportions of a myth. In actuality we dated a short time and we were very close for a couple of years but then we lost touch and never talked again after the last time at Edwards Cinema. I will never forget her and I hope this little archive helps others remember her as well. Life can be a strange thing…. I had been trying for many years to talk to her and had that Chicago Stephanie Shumate ever answered I may not have ever learned the truth to what happened to Stephanie. Sandy sent me one last photo in February 2006. It is so amazing….it is like looking into Stef’s eyes again.

She really was a gorgeous young woman. I miss her very dearly for so many wonderful reasons. She was my princess.