Experiencing a Loss

Yesterday I found out a friend, a co-worker died suddenly on Wednesday night of a heart attack. I was coming into work and saw people crying outside and then suddenly, everything changed as I stood in disbelief. Half of my team went home to grieve our loss and the company asked for stories to share with Stacey’s family. She worked at Express Scripts for nearly ten years, and everyone has a Stacey story whether good or bad. This is what I wrote:
Who can really provide a story to glorify a woman like Stacey? Can we really tell just one? She had a larger than life personality that affected everyone in this call center. I presented a couple ASC Presentations with her to new hire classes and she always made an impression. She would tell stories about calls she had taken that tried her patience and would always end up saying she was a strong black woman with the Lord on her side. She would state to the class "I only have to say your name three times and then I've got it!" And she always did.
Stacey was the rock of the ASC team. She used to fuss at me in the mornings if I didn't greet her with a friendly hello. And yes, if I just slumped by saying "Hey" with no enthusiasm she would fuss at me anyway. I loved Stacey. I would talk to her throughout the day and often we casually bantered about our favorite baseball teams, right and wrong, and many other topics. You see, Stacey and I are both very stubborn women but once we understood one another we were fast friends. She would ask for our colored pencils to sharpen because for some reason it relieved stress. She would offer to peal my oranges or throw a pack of popcorn at me if I mentioned someone else's smelled good. She would walk around and rub team member's backs if it were a particularly hard day.
I am not saying that Stacey didn't have faults, all of us do. What I am saying is that when I found out about her sudden death, my world was altered. She is such a big part of my work day. When someone asked for MY supervisor, I wanted Stacey to be on the other line backing me up. When I need to vent, Stacey was there and vice versa. I keep feeling like it's not real, like she'll be back at her desk smiling and calling me a "Knucklehead" and fussing at Brent for not listening to her when she starts rattling on.
I wish this were a dream, but dreams aren't this long. It's time to say good-bye to a beautiful woman.