Eulogy for Darci Ross
Mark Roesler

*Click here to listen to the audio file.

If you called for Darci at the office and didn't get through to her, which is possible because she was always on the phone, you would get her voice mail. When you are put on hold in our office, there is a cd that plays with different client-related audio clips. One of those audios clips is a song that Elton John wrote, "Candle in the Wind." It's a song that's on there because it is for two clients that we represent, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, two clients that Darci worked very closely with. Some of the lyrics in that song are:

And it seems to me you lived your life, like a
candle in the wind...
Your candle burned out long before, your legend never did.

Ironically, Marilyn, Princess Diana and Darci all left us at too early of an age, 36. Fate would have it that it was a remarkable and unusual coincidence. But Darci was a remarkable and unusual person, so that was only fitting.

Like many of the clients that we represent, they were very special, and accomplished a lot of good. Clients like Babe Ruth, who could see a baseball from the moment it left the pitcher's hand. He could see the seams coming at him, and that's one of the reasons why he could hit the ball so well. People like James Dean, who actors still emulated today, because of his unique style. And Marilyn Monroe, because of the charisma and power she possessed.

All those were very special, unique God-given talents that these special people had. Talents that set them apart from their peers. And that's what Darci had, she had very unique and special talents. You know, it's almost become an overused phrase that we've heard so many times during the last several days. I got an email a few hours ago, just before I left the office, from somebody in the apparel business who had worked with us for 17 years, and worked with Darci for the past 15 years. He said, "Darci was the very best at what she did. She was the best person he ever dealt with in the business world."

She was that talented. She had a style, a personality and a presence about her that made her the best at what she did. She was the classiest and the most organized, and she could be the nicest person out there. She was just a very talented business person.

In the second lyric of Elton John's song, he said:

You had the grace to hold yourself...

And that probably the most important thing about Darci. As Dave Coleman so eloquently said, all the accolades that we hear about Darci, and how good she was, and how talented she was, those were all accolades that people in the business world had given to her after she had been diagnosed about 16 years ago with a tumor. A tumor that one of her doctors once told me was the size of an orange.

So, the remarkable thing was that she had the grace to hold herself. She had the strength, the power, and the class to move ahead and to accomplish the things that she did, in light of all the personal adversity that she had to struggle with. Despite the pain, suffering and extra effort that it took, Darci still excelled at the top of her profession.

One of the clients that Darci worked pretty closely with was Ivana Trump. Darci and Ivana had a great relationship. Six or seven weeks ago Darci worked on a fairly involved personal appearance for Ivana up in Canada. There were a number of complexities to it, which I won't go into, but Darci handled all of those expertly and it went very well.

This week, we got a very touching note and beautiful arrangement from Ivana. She was shocked, saddened, and also very surprised. She knew nothing of the many problems Darci has had over the years. It was a testament to what a high level of work product Darci could do, even until the end. She was certainly the strongest and toughest person I have ever met. She was a very special person.

From working with her very closely, I know that business was very important to her. However, at first I was not in favor of not having the celebration of life over at CMG. I wanted to focus more on Darci, and how she was also such a family person. We concluded though, that what Darci did was so important to her, and that she had met so many close friends through work, that we really wanted to have the celebration of life over at the building.

Even though business was so important to her, first and foremost was her family. She loved Scott and Sydney, and her parents, very much. Not too long ago, I remember her gathering life size stand-ups to take to Sydney's class. She was going there to speak, and it was a very special opportunity to her. I also know how highly she was regarded in her parent's hometown of Bridgeport, Illinois.

For the past 15 years Darci had worked very closely with one of our first clients, the estate of James Dean. And it was James Dean who said:

"If one can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he's died, then maybe he was a great man."

Darci truly was great, and she will continue to live on with us as a true inspiration. She was an inspiration not only to her family and friends, but everyone who had the privilege of working with her, and all the people she touched in the business world.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

*Click here to listen to the audio file.

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