EUGENIE  MARIE  (GARIC)  PEREL, 74, of Wichita, Kansas, passed away on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Edwin Joseph Garic and Shirley Eugenie (DeBlanc) Garic. She was a graduate of Sacred Heart High School and attended University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Eugenie enjoyed giving to others and being a true servant at heart as a caregiver. She is preceded in death by her daughter Cathy Perel, life partner Phillip Brazil, son-in-law Dwayne Deckard, sister Melanie Richardson, parents Edwin and Shirley Garic. Eugenie is survived by her daughters Elizabeth Deckard and Shirley (Tod) King; grandchildren James (Sami) Deckard, Rachel Deckard, Charlie King and Sammy King; many other family and friends. Celebration of Life come and go service will be held Saturday, January 14, 11a.m. to 1 p.m., at the University United Methodist Church, 220 N. Yale, Wichita (across from WSU).  Memorials may be designated in her memory to the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, Kansas 67219. Baker Funeral Home, Valley Center, KS. Condolences may be left for the family at www.bakerfhvc.com

Tribute below is written by Eugenie's daughter ....

While sitting stone faced in front of a computer screen trying to recall moments of clarity from my childhood, a childhood friend called and shook me from my hypnosis.

It's hard for me to recall much of my childhood-before the age of 12- when all our lives were altered dramatically due to my twin sister's diving accident which left her a quadriplegic.  At that point, my mother added many more hats to her wardrobe- beyond the normal hats any mother wears.  These hats would include: nurse, pharmacist, stylist, personal groomer, physical therapist, chauffer, waitress, and most importantly patient/student advocate.

As a kid, I remember a shopping trip with my mother to the grocery store to purchase the steaks included in a newspaper ad.  The advertisement displayed beautiful juicy steaks with very little fat.  When we arrived at the store to purchase the sale steaks, my mother sought out the butcher to discuss the disparity between the steaks that were in the meat case to the steaks included in the ad.  That poor butcher… he could only cut what he was sent, and he had no hand in the design of the ad; but boy he got more of a chewin' than those steaks would ever experience.

My mother employed this same tenacity -when the principal of the junior high school we were to attend-used every method possible to unload the burden of educating a physically handicapped student.  That principal wanted my sister somewhere else, and my mother wasn't having it.  My mother could not and would not be bowled over.  Cathy was going to junior high with her former classmates and not at a school for mentally handicapped students.  All the arrangements were made, and while most mothers of 7 ^th graders were yelling up the stairs for their kids to get dressed, my mother was draining my sisters bladder, yanking and pulling dead weight into one of 2 to 3 pairs of pants that would be worn that day; not to mention organizing the medications needed to care for a c5/c6 quadriplegic.

This dedication to creating as normal a life possible for a tween, who could barely hold a pen, ensured that my sister would live beyond the 32 year old life span predicted by her doctors.

Above all else, mom dedicated her life to care for Cathy. The ramifications of each decision made, in regards to the house, or even Mom's own plans or goals, were considered as to what effect, if any, they would have on Cathy. I recall once registering for, and winning, a weekend trip getaway to Kansas City from a radio station and proudly bestowing it upon Mom and Phillip.  There was never the right time, or Cathy was never well enough-Mom never used that trip.

My father, who boasted a doctorate in mathematics, and who included "Chairman of the Math Department" on his resume could certainly beam that my 2 sisters were chips right off the ol' block.  Cathy and Elizabeth were so academically gifted and I, the forever optimist, reminded my mother how glad she must be to have one stereotypical teenager in her brood.

In fact, looking back, I believe I was most like my mother. She too, was very social.  Any stranger behind her in line at the grocery store could attest to that.  She reached out to anyone and everyone.  One weekend night, when my best friends were otherwise occupied, she volunteered to drag Douglas with me.  When one young man yelled out: "Hey, you have a mattress in that van?" Without hesitation, she replied "Yeah!"  What a minx!

As the years of caring for Cathy wore by, the constant tugging, and pulling and incessant worrying caught up with her, and began to tax her health.  Shortly before Cathy's passing, she developed stenosis of the spine, which created a whole host of other problems; including hernias which choked her abdomen and took her from the rounded figure I grew up knowing as my mother, to the skeletal creature she became at the end of her life.  But stopping to care for others never ended.  From her hospital bed, she would ask me to run food by for a dear friend who was losing her eyesight and to include another in family functions since she was alone.

My mother wasn't a great housekeeper, and I doubt that she ever balanced her check book, but she gave life, preserved it and extended the life of my sister beyond the expectations of the medically elite, and in doing so gave up any life that most of us enjoy after our children leave the nest.

My daughter texted me early this morning to say that she dreamt she'd spoken  to Grammy and that she looked "healthy and free"!  I can only pray that it was not a dream, and that she is indeed…finally free.

By Shirley Perel King- Daughter