Mary Ann Bailey

My girlfriend, Mary Ann, passed away at the end of January a week after we got back from our ski trip to Whistler, Canada. She suffered from an eating disorder and got very sick at the end. Her parents and her sister flew out from New York to see her before she was disconnected from the life-support system and to attend her memorial.


It was a beautiful service held on the cliff above Fletcher's Cove in Solana Beach. We played the video from Mary Ann's skydiving jump because it was a great capsule of Mary Ann's life and personality. As the sun set we had a moment of silence that held until the sun disappeared completely below the horizon. The mayor of Solana Beach told us that the next town hall meeting would be held in her honor.


The absence of Mary Ann from my life is intense. She was the first person that I ever loved and she was an amazing person. We lived and worked together so we were together all the time. I was barely able to eat for two weeks afterwards but my family and friends, especially my father, were great in helping me deal with the immediate aftermath when my life seemed like a blur.