A tribute to Angela Risi from a past family friend

On the morning of Oct. 4, we found out about the devastating tragedy that took Angela Risi's life. We have known the Risi family here in San Diego for years; we practically live in the same neighborhood. Our daughter and Angela were very good friends all the way through elementary school, and along with Angela's good friend Rebecca Hovey, they all played together often.

Angela spent a lot of time at our home, and in some ways, she was like a second daughter. Angela was very creative and imaginative, and she and our daughter Meredith would spend hours making up stories, all the while laughing and giggling. Angela had a wonderful laugh — almost a sort of breathless giggle, and she would often just stand up and spin in a couple of circles, so it was no surprise to us that she pursued her passion for dance.

Angela often went with us to the beach in the summer. Meredith and her would boogie board, build sand castles and just have fun all the time. One time at the beach, we had bought the kids some food. Angela had some of her own money, and she was flipping coins up in the air. Somehow, she ended up swallowing a nickel! We were worried about it, but of course told her parents Matt and Patti about it, and ultimately everything was fine (we think the nickel passed through).

Another time, I took them out to a local lake, Lake Murray, where we rented a pedal boat to paddle around the lake. Somehow, we got too close to some shoreline reeds, and they jammed up the pedal mechanism. I had to jump out of the boat and unclog the reeds. I was in deep water up to my neck, but Angela and Meredith thought it was hilarious!

When Angela and our daughter were in Brownie Scouts together, one of the activities was to have a nice bonfire in a fire pit on the sands of Mission Bay on the Hilton Resort property. Almost the entire troop was in attendance, and Angela's father Matt and I piled up some pallets hoping for a nice little fire so the girls could roast marshmallows and make s'mores. Well, the fire grew and grew and got a little bit out of hand! Matt and I were proud of our big fire, but the girls were scared and hid behind a nearby stone wall. We were worried that the hot ashes from the tall flames would catch the nearby palm trees on fire, but luckily everything was okay.

Over the years, our children grew up and went different ways. Angela and Meredith fell out of touch with each other, and we rarely saw Matt and Patti except on an occasional Sunday at church. But we will always treasure the fond memories of Angela when she was young, and we are more than thankful for her friendship with our daughter.

Kim Sturmer is from San Diego, California.