By: Natalia Delfini, Senior
As Palisades High School gears up for its 2018-19 Spirit Week, it is also the perfect time to commemorate a once aspiring Spirit Princess. The loss of Abby Stauffer impacted the entire Palisades Community. She was a teammate, a classmate, a student, an active volunteer, and a smiling face walking in the hallways. She participated in softball, basketball, and most recently- tennis. Honorably, the tennis team has made many efforts to remember Abby, such as placing her favorite flower, a sunflower, in all of the team pictures, and then tying the stalk to the fence on the tennis courts. In addition, most of the team ordered hats with a single sunflower on them to represent Abby while they play their matches. Other than her extracurricular involvement in school activities, Abby continued to be active in all of her classes especially Journalism and English; she was an avid and aspiring writer who portrayed her skills through all of her work.
This past year, Abby had plans to attend a volunteer service trip to Bali. On this trip, she would have experienced a whole new culture of people and what she loved most- helping others. In order to attend, the fee was a considerably large amount of money. Therefore, her work ethic came into play, and she worked countless hours at her two jobs- Seraphina’s and Someday Cafe. She was dedicated to pay the full fee before the trip to avoid debt, and she accomplished her goal in April even though her trip was not scheduled until July without help from anyone else.
Abby was not only gifted in photography and writing, but she was also gifted in being a genuine person. In her sixteen years, she accomplished many things and filled her life with good deeds. She was pure- she was not a mix of anything or anyone else. She did not possess copied traits or follow any type of crowd. She was naturally her own person; from her creative colorful outfits to her sense of humor, she continuously showed her indigenous self.
It is evident that the whole Palisades community is deeply saddened by the loss of their friend, Abby Stauffer. Feel free to take a look at some of Palisades’ students’ and teachers’ favorite memories and pictures of Abby on the next few pages of this month’s Pirates Pearl newsletter.
The social media app, VSCO®, contains a gallery of Abby’s photos and poems and is available to the public.
username: abbystauffer
Memories from classmates, teachers, and close friends
“I’ll never forget the first time I had the chance to have a long, amazing discussion with Abby. We were driving home from a long night at Jaycee’s grandparents. It was five o’clock in the morning and we woke up super early because she had to work at seven. We talked about everything and for so long, yet she made it seem like no time had passed at all. I drove while we watched the sun rise and jammed out to ‘Sunset Lovers’ by Petit Biscuit, which now reminds me of Abby. This was one of the first times I really got to know Abby in depth, but she somehow managed to shift my perspective and made me love the person that she was.” -Arden Lewis-Taylor
“All throughout high school, Abby and I shared many classes together causing plenty of chaos and laughs. We had so many memories. Starting with using the ramp by the purple gym as a slide while we were on a bathroom break to our intense deep talks in the weight room during PE with Ariana Grande blasting in the background and us pretending to actually get a workout from a stationary bike set to level 1. The happiest I’ve ever seen Abby is when she forced me to go to a two hour crossfit class with her. Although everyone around us was practically a full-blown bodybuilder, Abby didn’t care and was not intimidated. She was just happy to be trying something new. I remember her jumping around and laughing to the intense music. To this day, she is the only person I have ever and probably will ever see- look happy during an intense workout. And that explains Abby in the purest way.” -Natalia Delfini
“Out of all the small and beautiful memories I have of Abby, the one trait I can remember the most is how full and big her heart was. I can remember one day she was at my house planning the Sustainable Living Expo with my mom and I wasn’t very close with her, but she came into my room and complemented EVERYTHING I own. She knew how to make me feel really good about myself; the one thing I remember most about this day was when she apologized for something that had happened years prior that I had completely forgotten about. She told me straight up that she never would want to hurt me and I always will admire that honesty about her. Abby was extremely loving towards every person she met and always knew how to put a smile on your face, which I have learned to now integrate into how I treat others.” - Pippa Russell
“I remember when I was in football season last year and I had practice the morning after every game. I knew the first Saturday practice of the season was going to be dreadful and overall I was in a bad mood. I decided to get breakfast at Seraphina's before I went to the school that day. When I walked in, I saw Abby and she greeted me with such warmth. Her personality was spectacular and she was full of happiness all the time. From then on, every Saturday after a game, I would go there, and every time, she would brighten my mood.” - Trey Gretzinger
“Out of all of the memories I made with Abby since childhood, it’s hard to pick just one of my favorites. Many memorable thoughts that come to mind when I think of her are the camping trips we took. Our families would partake in traveling to different locations and enjoy the time we spent with each others company. While our parents relaxed, Abby and I would go on all different types of adventures. This included riding in golf carts, pedal boating until we couldn’t get back in, coming up with silly dance routines in swimming pools, hitting on cute guys, and most importantly, having the time of our lives. These memories will last a lifetime. Love you endlessly, Abs.” -Cheyenne Guinan
“Abby was absent for a few days after a group assignment was given to the class. The day she came back to school, she jumped right in, listening to everyone’s ideas and leading the group even after missing so much class time. Her work ethic and leadership really stuck out to me as a teacher. Her approach toward anything was so headstrong even if it was for things she did not want to do. I always admired her happy personality and her stylish and colorful outfits.”
-Mrs. Trieu
“I met Abby when I was in 1st grade. Even when we were little, she always had the brightest smile and warmest heart. We became such close friends right away and I could always count on her. Throughout the years, we had many giggles and inside jokes: jokes that no one would ever be able to figure out. A memory I will never forget is when Abby and I were playing at recess. We were pretending to have a wrestling match for some odd reason. Abby had always been so tall and I have always been very short, so when Abby picked me up and lifted me right above her head and all of our friends screamed, “Abby put her down!”. Abby then quickly dropped me without any hesitation. Every day after that, we would laugh about it. She had the type of personality that you could never forget. When she was having a bad day, she would still make others feel happy and even laugh. She was there for me whenever I was feeling low. I knew I could always talk to her. She is forever a beautiful soul. Abby Mae, an amazing human being.” -Madison Sanders
“During Oktoberfest last year, my nine year-old sister, Jane, wanted to dance in the polka competition. She wanted to dance with me, but I already had a partner. Abby noticed our predicament and offered to dance with my little sister. The way Abby treated others showed the type of person she was: a considerate, unique, fun, and a caring individual. During the polka dance, my sister and Abby came up with a bunch of silly dance moves to impress the judges. They leaped frog, and Abby picked Jane up and spun her in the air several times. Abby and Jane won third place, and Jane was very excited. It made Jane’s day, and she clearly admired Abby. One of my favorite memories that I have with Abby is the time we went to Lake Nockamixon together and kayaked. We spent the day swimming and jumping off rocks. I remember before we paddled away that afternoon, my sister insisted on taking a picture of the two of us with our kayaks. We both laughed and screamed no. In the moment, I thought my sister was being annoying for insisting on taking pictures, but now I’m glad I have a special photo to remember that day.”
-Anne Salva
“My favorite memory of Abby and I is taking her to her first concert. It was the summer going into 8th grade, we were both obsessed with One Direction. I had tickets to see them in Philly, but the night before the concert, someone gave my mom 2 more tickets that were front row seats. I surprised Abby with the extra ticket and we were so excited. I remember jumping around singing to all the songs with her. I love rewatching all the videos we took together. I am forever grateful to have been able to share such amazing memories with her.” -Faith Ferrari
“Abby and I were friends since before I can remember. I’ve never met such an outgoing, caring and honest person. I remember one time she texted me at six AM and asked me to go on a spontaneous trip with her to Philadelphia. So, we jumped out of bed and caught a train to Philadelphia at eight in the morning. When we first got there, she asked me if we could go lay out on the grass because she wanted to admire the beautiful outdoors. And so we did. Abby taught me so many things in the short amount of time that we had together. She taught me to always see the bigger picture and to always be grateful for what this life gives you. Abby was the type of person to always be there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, and there was never a time she didn’t make me feel better. I will forever miss her and her beautiful smile, but she will always be in my heart. I can truly never forget her.” -Hailee Sharpe
“Throughout my Sophomore year at Palisades I befriended Abby. We had Trigonometry and Physics together, two subjects that we both weren’t too fond of. We talked daily of traveling the world and where we would go if we had endless amounts of money and time. We had planned to go to New Hope together and she was excited to photograph me. But my favorite memory of all was one day in Trig class, Abby threw her textbook on my foot and my toenail started bleeding. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder in pain with her than anybody else.” -Nick Caldwell
“Last year during Spirit Week, in pursuit of Abbyś dream of being the Spirit Princess, we spent a ton of time painting the American flag on her face for ¨USA Day.” And then the next day, we dressed up as minions for ¨We Go Together Day.” We planned our outfits for the next day when we dressed up as Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Oddparents for ¨Hero Day.” Abby never won Spirit Princess, but we had so much fun dressing up like characters and getting weird looks from people the whole week. “ -Lisa Lochner
“So I was having a pretty bad day because we were learning about the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings in History class. It actually made me cry a bit and I was just upset with humanity as a whole. Next period I had anatomy with Abby. I entered the class in kind of a depressive state. I was not really talking to Abby or Tali or anyone; I was just kind of being reclusive. So, I went to roam the halls and wallowed for a good long while. About 10 minutes in, I ran into Abby in the hallway. She saw me walking from down the hallway, yelled, “hey DAVE!” in her usual greeting ritual, and walked over. Keep in mind, I didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but she wasn’t having it. Abby kind of made me talk about why I was upset, so I told her all about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and everything and I was actually expecting her to kind of laugh at me, but she actually became suddenly somber and serious, which was unusual for her. She told me that she’d felt the same way and how one of her grandparents or great grandparents
(I don’t quite remember which) talked to her about the bombings, and how the world was just hurting and broken. From then on, me and Abby talked about why humanity was so hellbent on destruction. Abby Stauffer always had a certain sensitivity that she always hid and rarely let come out, but when she did, it really astounded me. I’m upset that life is as fragile as it is, and yet so few people take the time to marvel at miracles our existences in and of themselves. Abby liked marveling, quite a lot. I would ask that everyone does the same. I miss you, Abby.” -David Marks
“My small 4th period Health class will never forget how she creatively performed an informative skit on sexually transmitted diseases, and I will always remember her explanation on holistic methods for caring for her future children for one of her assignments; it truly allowed the class to think of alternative child care options! She was such a fun spirit to be around and always brightened the classroom.”
-Mrs. Rood
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