To be read by my sister:
Knikki crossed the Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly
on June 20th after falling at home.
Stubborn to a fault, she consistently told friends she wanted to go to
Dog Heaven when she died rather than Regular Heaven because her puppies always
showed her unconditional love.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Knikki spent a lifetime in
wanderlust visiting or living in at least 32 countries (not counting airport
layovers) – many through her part time job as a cybersecurity instructor. She loved working in computer security and
felt it was her calling when “international movie star” fell through.
Married and divorced twice to two of the greatest men on the earth, she relished her freedom and independence and being able to sleep without someone else snoring in the bed. Her husbands were quick to remind her that she was the worst of them all for snoring after she’d been drinking wine, an addiction that she struggled and fought with for the last 10 years of her life. She experienced tremendous loss and turned to alcohol because she lacked the knowledge of how to process the emotions in a healthy way. She encouraged anyone who is struggling with alcohol or other substances to seek the help she denied herself. I have no doubts she is seriously pissed she died before visiting Australia and seeing her nieces and nephews grown up.
Some of her greatest achievements (in her mind) were
participating in the Miss Utah pageant after someone told her she’d never be a
beauty queen, spending a summer in New Zealand backpacking and working on local
farms to pay for her trip, fighting cancer in a third world country in the middle
of a global pandemic, and being awarded two college degrees without graduating
from high school. She wanted her friends
to know that she felt like the luckiest woman on the planet – having cultivated
so many amazing lifelong bonds of love with truly remarkable people. She loved you whole heartedly, but you know
that already.
She is survived by the true loves of her life, her nieces
and nephews, and her puppies Buddy Jr & Diesel - in addition to her mother
and two sisters (of which I am obviously the favorite). (Technically she has a brother, but he
disowned her so I’m not sure what the etiquette of obituaries dictates). She is preceded in death by her father and
grandparents, all of whom instilled the love of travel and adventure in her
that permeated her life. Also by her
beloved pets, Princess Peanut, Original Buddy, Pepper, Domino and Jake with
whom she is hopefully now surrounded.
She wanted to thank the Academy, her producer, her best
friend Damian…..oh wait, I’m reading the wrong speech now.
In lieu of burial, Nikki will be cremated and encourages all
of her friends to take a portion of her remains and deposit them somewhere new
and exciting that she would have loved to visit. And please post it on her Facebook page –
because, you KNOW how she loved those likes.
But if you’re taking her to Disneyland, please don’t get caught because
they ban you for life if they catch you.
Don’t ask me how she knew that. I
have no knowledge of that.
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