Loria was not only my sister she was also my roommate, my partner and my best friend. It feels weird to call her Loria because I always called her Lori. She was so protective of me, I believe more so than most older siblings. And it meant so much to me. She was always looking out for me, just being the best big sister she could be.

We had this thing between the two of us. If one of us were headed in the wrong direction, the other would tell the parents. Even though the one being told on would be mad at first, we usually got over it quickly knowing that as sisters, we only wanted the best for each other. It seemed like I was always the one being "told on".

She moved away from home at an earlier age than any of us had anticipated when she chose to attend the School of Science and Math during her junior year of high school. I missed her so much during that time. I visited her as often as possible and felt really special when she would invite me to spend the weekend with her on campus.

When she chose to attend North Carolina State University, I followed in her footsteps. We had not attended the same school in three years and then were TOGETHER AGAIN. She showed a rookie college student the ropes and introduced me to all of her friends. She led me to my classes ahead of time so I wouldn’t get lost. She knew I had a horrible memory.

We always did everything together. We were a team. The sisters.

We shared friends, although I felt like it was always "Lori’s friends". She was the social butterfly and taught me to socialize. She had a really diverse group of friends.

I remember when Lori and I were little. We pushed our twin beds together so that we could sleep next to each other.

I remember going to summer camp together during our younger years. That was an experience.

Lori loved sports. Volleyball, ping-pong, soccer, skiing, in-line skating, snowboarding, anything that was a physical activity. She would try anything once and always wanted to be the leader. She gave 110% of herself to everything she tried and would not give up until she tasted success. She was the first on water skis. She held my hand when she finally talked me into snow skiing. She successfully did things that I still don’t have the courage to try.

We even worked at our first jobs together.

When I would have tough times, Lori was always there … to support me, to encourage me and to simply be a shoulder to lean on.

I remember Lori’s 21st birthday last year. We had a blast. She was so strong-willed and stubborn. She was determined to walk home in the freezing cold, and as HER protector that night I walked with her. She broke the heel on my favorite pair of shoes, and YOU KNOW a girl and her shoes. But I didn’t care.

In August of 2000, we moved into our first apartment together. Mom and Dad thought it was a disaster waiting to happen, but we did OK. We fought, and the parents would tease us and ask if we were getting a divorce.

Yes, we had our rough times, but I wouldn’t trade ‘em for anything. We did OK. It was weird because she was my best friend, yet she could be my worst enemy. We fought over clothes, money, guys … you name it. But we always made up. We had to. We were "the sisters".

After Lori was "legal", it didn’t feel right to either of us that she was able to go out with her other friends without me. So the big sister that she was, she went down to DMV and had a duplicate drivers license made for me to use so that I could still go out with her just like before. Everyone has always said that we looked so much alike – we constantly disagreed with the world on that subject, but I guess it was true. The duplicate drivers license worked every time.

This past June, Lori wanted me to have the best 21st birthday party imaginable. She coordinated everything … made all the phone calls to friends, for reservations, and had the cameras ready with film to spare. I accused her of wanting photos for blackmail. Just like always, she was my protector and took care of me the entire evening. She held my hand, drove me home, and made certain that I was in bed safely. She even set my alarm clock for work the next morning.

I will forever treasure my memories of Lori and hope that each of you can think of a treasured memory that you may have of her as well.

~ Crystal, sister of the best big sister ever