I'm older than Surain. This is not the way it's supposed to be, to lose my younger sister, so I can really feel for my dad who has lost his wife of 50 years and now a daughter to the same disease.

Surain loved her family and demonstrated it in many ways. She was very creative and loved to make birthdays and holidays special, often in non-conventional ways. She always went the extra mile to personalize any gift she gave.

Surain was the middle child and grew up in the 60's. To hear her parents', Jack and Elaine's, stories she was a fighter and an individual from the start. I think Surain was always searching for the deeper meaning of life, never wanting to settle for the traditional or ordinary. She was the closest to being the "hippy" in the family. My dad might use the word "rebel."

Surain loved to see and do new things; she loved to learn. She was never an establishment conformist, but pursued her own adventures…WSU, Denver, Vienna Foreign Service, Nepal and Europe, The Nature Conservancy. This was Surain.

So, it might surprise you to hear that my vision of Surain as a child was in a dress. She loved wearing a dress, the frillier the better, and the fuller the skirt the better. She'd have a bow in her hair, and she would twirl that skirt out as far as it would go. I didn't take dance lessons, but Surain did. In our summer neighborhood backyard shows in West Seattle Surain was always the star ballerina.

Surain and I pursued different life courses, but I loved her and will miss her terribly.

Ryan Peterson, nephew