May 21, 2022 — Response to the peaceful passing of our beloved Hannlis in her sleep last Saturday night has left no doubt: Grieving is something we each must do in our own personal way. The would-be card you see above … that’s my way.

The commemorative condolence design will go to press with our summer release come Monday, to be available to you by mid-June. The message is one that Contributing Cardie Sarah Ashley Posch submitted many moons ago, and perfectly states how a lot of us who loved Hannlis are feeling now.

You can read the lovely ways members of this community expressed their own sadness and offered support in the Comments section of last Monday’s CNews. Here I’ll say that, for my part, I am beyond happy that Hannlis’s wish has come true: She’s reunited with many of the great loves of her long life. It tickles me to think that she’s able to swim again (now in the clouds!) and hike and sail and do all the things she missed so much these past few of her 98 years.

Probably because I mourned my loss of H nine months ago when she moved from just down the hall to her son’s home several states away, she somehow feels much closer today. I sense her spirit all around now! She’s next to me swimming and, on long walks, outpacing me. 😉 I imagine her with her hearing back to 100% and eyesight at 20/20 again, pointing out beauty and abundance as only that force of nature could. I hear her saying, “Jodee, I’m not allergic to garlic anymore! Let’s pour ourselves a Campari and make up for all the Italian food I missed in my lifetime!”

I have gotten such a kick out of imagining Hannlis finally meeting my quick-witted mother; born just three months before H, Mom has likely been saving her fellow voracious reader a seat in Cosmic Book Club for nearly two decades. Happy tears fill my eyes when I picture my dear friend once again holding Miss Josephine Barker, the master cuddler we lost two years ago now. (Hehe, my little girl dog must have been ready to jump out of her skin at the sight of the person she adored most in the world. 😍).

Like it was yesterday, I remember the night Josephine snuck out and was hit by a car. I was devastated, and dreaded breaking the news to H in the morning as she was so crazy about that sweet snuggler. But she astounded me by standing up a little taller, looking me straight in the eyes and, without shedding a tear, saying, “She gave us so much joy, Jodee. Let’s thank her for that and keep holding her in our hearts with a smile.” Many a day, I would walk out onto the balcony where Hannlis was stretched out in her anti-gravity chair, looking back and forth between the sea and sky … she’d point to a moving cloud and say, “Just saw Josephine float by!” or “I’ve been talking with my brother Fritz there in his cloud today.”

My heart is so full from having loved Hannlis that this week I went in search of an image to pair with Sarah Ashley’s perfect message. I looked and looked around photographers’ sites for just the right one until, hmm, I thought to scroll back through the pics on my phone from last Saturday night. Of course the fullness of the cloud did it for me, climbing right up to the heavens, no less.

That night, knowing Hannlis had just entered home hospice, several friends and fellow H-fans and I sat for hours telling our favorite H-tales over dinner at the shore here on Miami Beach. Marianne and I both took the exact same shot around eight. Then, as we were leaving the beach about 10, the full moon had risen high and was breaking through the clouds in just one spot, shining down on the shimmering sea like from a big klieg light in the sky.

I said, “Look, Marianne, it’s like ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’ Maybe that’s what Hannlis will say tonight.” Marianne laughed her hearty laugh and said, “Maay Beee! That’s what she wants.” Then, looking to the sky, she said quietly, “Please, beam her up, Scotty.” We learned the next day that, indeed, Hannlis’s spirit was finally free.

This is how the design titled The Cloud that Carried Hannlis came to be. Until the new card is printed, we have many designs that may help you soothe other grieving hearts. My colleagues and I find it so interesting that, of our 750 total cards, on the list of top 24 PASSAGES ordered by this community, more than half are condolence and grief support. There is such a need. So, in Cardie Oma Hannlis’s name, we’ll make sure that one of the supportive cards that you add to your cart is FREE with orders placed through the coming week. Pay it forward. How full our hearts are for having loved her!

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative