What I remember most about Gilles Amsilli is his smile.
As he led me to the dance floor at a wedding five years ago, I was charmed by his accent; I had minored in French in college and still love the language even though I can barely speak it now. But I was more enamored of his obvious joie de vivre — even in the face of a serious cancer diagnosis — and his love for Josette, his wife, and his girls, Kim and Lea.
I remembered this as Kim kicked off the seventh season of Gilda’s Gang with her “member minute” two weeks ago. I remembered his charm. His wit. His sense of humor. And his smile. Gilles really had a great smile.
Unfortunately, Kim says, they were unaware of Gilda’s Club when her father was in treatment. They found Gilda’s services after his death on Feb. 10 four years ago.
“This place has been a huge part of my journey through grief and a huge part of my healing,” Kim says. “There are girls from my support group who have become my sisters.
“Thank you for what you are doing. It is a huge accomplishment to do 13.1 miles, so congratulations on that. But you are doing something even greater for people you don’t even know. You are doing this for strangers and that is an awesome, awesome gift.”
Thank you, Kim, for sharing your story and inspiring our team as we train for the Country Music Marathon and raise funds that are so important to keep the red door open for everyone impacted by cancer, free of charge.
We will all be thinking of you and your family as Feb. 10 approaches. Anniversaries are never easy.
And I will be remembering your father’s smile. He would be so proud of you.
PS – Here is Kim’s FirstGiving page. Please consider supporting her training.
