(darius) Darius Van d'Rhys

I miss her too. Had hoped to meet her last September when we traveled to North Carolina and were very, very close to where she lived.

We will see you on the other side, Darius...

I miss her a lot, she had so much knowledge and shared it so freely! Even my husband looked forward to the roundups if he knew Darius was going to be there.

I miss her too. She was such a presence!

She was a special soul that managed to touch so many lives. I feel so blessed to have known her and miss our chats and visits. A few weeks back I had a question and thought Darius would know, dialed her number and it wasn't till I got the disconnected recording did my right brain kick in.

I think of her often. She knew so much about so many different things. I can hardly look around the garden that I don't see something we talked about. I hope she knew just how special she was. She is truly missed.

I miss her lots too. She helped me set up the blueprint for my gardens back in '05. The layout remains the same, but she would be astounded by how it looks today. When we shopped for plants she encouraged me to get a "specimen" tree or two. The weeping youpon holly we got was only as tall as me. We planted it by the pathway to the house. It's now 14 feet (or so) tall and "weeps" over the pathway.

The dragon fruit tree she gave me still lives and thrives and has put off many offspring I have shared with others.

She lives on with us in our hearts.

That thought makes me smile. I would never have dreamed that somebody I never met in person could have such an impact on my life. I can only hope I gave her a bit in return.

I am smiling and thinking of that.

When I made my annual trip East to TN (where I will be taking up residence at the end of Feb), when we passed Marion, Va it was so natural for us to stop by to see Darius for a little bit and have a cup of tea...what a sad time...no trip up that little road and across the cute little creek to her house~!

I k ow you will be sad not to see her. I would have looked to meet her. We talked on the phone a couple times and we talked a lot back and forth here.

Good luck with your move and enjoy your new home.

Just reading this today but knew of her death from another Dave's member. I was a fortunate one who did get to meet Darius in person and gain much knowledge from her presence. Roadrunner, I hadn't been a member of Dave's very long when you wrote me and asked if another of Dave's member might stay the night at my place while visiting The University of Virginia Medical Center which is located near my home. At the time I tried to get out of it and actually offered to pay for the other member to stay in a hotel. I didn't know at the time, when I relented and said yes, though inconvenient it would be okay if she came and stayed one night. I say I was inconvenienced only because our house hold is very laid back and I didn't want to have to do anything special to impress a visitor. I shouldn't have worried because upon the first visit I realized that this little lady was a person who adapted easily and could make herself at home and comfortable in any sort of situation. She fit right in with our mountain folk type of living.

That one night turned in to several years of Darius coming to my husband and my home to stay over as she received her medical care at The University. She visited at least twice a year and sometimes more for a few year period. I had to chuckle a bit when someone posted about the magnificent biscotti that Darius made and also about the elderberry cough syrup. I have had both.

She never arrived empty handed, nor did she go home empty handed as is her style, she researched our area and would often visit farms or orchards if they had something she was looking for. Today I am the proud owner of a beautifully large caladium that she gifted me on one of her trips. It took some years of seeing little growth before the plant bloomed, but bloom it did and today the plant is almost two foot high and two foot wide.

I too miss having Darius visit us. The description of her that many of you have written seems to fit the bill exactly. Upon arrival, she would proceed to hook up her laptop at my dining table where the computer would stay until the end of the visits. She had something to add to about topic that came up. I too was impressed with her intellect and her desire to learn such a wide variety of things.

Those of you who mentioned her smiling down upon us as we remember her made me feel good. She would be honored that so many thought as much of her as everyone here does. Thank you to those who posted pictures of her. We were all lucky to have known her.

Ruby

Ruby! How are you, haven't seen you post in such a long time!

Ruby ~ Thank you so much for your lovely message. I did not live in any area that would have been convenient, but would have enjoyed the wonderful experience that you have so kindly taken the time to share with us.

I also understand the situation of having a guest overnight, and one we never had before. We don't have the room anyway. That is why we are looking for a place with a spare bedroom so we can have company. What a lovely experience that you had.

Thank you!!!

Ruby thank you for your message. How fortunate you are to have met Darius. I still think to myself, "Darius would know the answer" and then realize that I won't be able to ask her. It is one of my great regrets that she did not live long enough for me to meet her when I was very close to where she lived last September.

At the first anniversary of her passing it is amazing to me, but totally not unexpected, to see this thread still so active.
She touched so many lives in so many ways.
She was her own Human... marched to her own beat and brooked no fools....but never in a hurtful way.

Our RU's were always orders of magnitude better when she 'graced us with her presence'.
I told her that once, she turned red and smacked me..... I rolled laughing called her Queen Darius and got smacked again.....;-)

This shots were taken using some of the photo lighting equipment she gifted to me.

Time does fly. Doesn't seem like a year already.

I think so many of us still think often of Darius and I hope somehow she
is aware of that.

Henryr10 - Did she really smack you?

YEP! TWICE!
Like a Mom up side the head whack.... but in fun.
My partner told her to whack me a few more times if she wanted to..... lol!

lol..you must have deserved it..mwahaha.''.the beatings will continue till morale improves or you learn to zip your lips''..bwahah.lol...thats what i tell my adult son when he goes around telling people my age.

Hard to believe its been a year!

I miss her sage advice and sense of humor. Everytime I do something that involves gardening, i remember her. She had such a wide knowledge of so many things! I liked that she would tell you the truth about the current gardening fads, what would work and what was total horse pucky! And she shared so much more than knowledge, i have jerusalem artichokes that were a gift from her and have benn going strong for a number of years now.

I miss her. I was thinking of making some cheese and of course she came to mind.

I miss her too. I think of her every time I have raspberry vinegar on my salad or a biscotti with my coffee. She sent me some of each, and hers were by far the best I've ever had of either.

People who have the impact that she did on others are really rare. Count me with those who miss her.

We were all blessed to have her here and to benefit from her friendship and knowledge which she freely shared. Think of her so often. She is missed.

I thought of her while I was at the big seed swap a week ago.

I remember our last conversation as she was planning to put in a garden for the coming spring....now if she does, there will be no weeds or water restrictions. >smile

I followed her adventures with awe that a person could know so much about so any different things. Her interests got me into new things. I cannot ever hope to do so much but because of her I dabble in many different things now.

Ruby, I have always been known as a "pushy" person, and I knew that you would like Darius when I pushed her off on you, as I had done to my cousin, LizH. She had a time that she needed a place to stay near Boone, NC so, I introduced her to my sweet cuz, Liz.

Me and Carol7 stayed with Darius when we were travelling and Darius lived in Ashville. What a fun time!

Darius is missed~! Jo